Vertical Bearing Capacity - Analytical Solution

The "Vertical bearing capacity" frame serves to verify the vertical bearing capacity
of a pile. Several analyses can be carried out in the frame. The verification can be
performed for individual loads, or the program locates the most critical one (can be
selected from a combo list). The frame appearance changes depending on the
analysis type in the frame "Settings".
The analysis is performed based on the theory defined in the "Piles" tab. This tab
serves to choose the verification methodology (EN 1997-1, factor of safety, limit
states).
Calculation of the pile vertical bearing capacity by using the analytical solution is
performed for:

 drained conditions (CSN 73 1002, Effective stress method, NAVFAC DM 7.2, CTE-DB SE-
C)
 undrained conditions (Tomlinson, NAVFAC DM 7.2, CTE-DB SE-C)
The "In detail" button opens the dialog window containing detailed listing of the
verification results.
The analysis results are displayed in the right part of the desktop. Visualization of
results can be adjusted in the frame "Drawing Settings".

Frame "Vertical bearing capacity" - analysis based on classic theory

 Analysis of vertical bearing capacity

Analytical Solution
 The analytical solution assumes that the pile total compressive resistance Rc is
derived as a sum of the pile base resistance Rb and the pile shaft
resistance Rs (developed due to friction of the surrounding soil along the shaft). The
following generally accepted methods are implemented into the program:

 NAVFAC DM 7.2
 Tomlinson
 Effective stress method
 CSN 73 1002
 CTE-DB SE-C
For the above-specified methods it is possible to choose one of the following
verification methodologies:

 Classical way
 EN 1997-1
When running the compression pile analysis, the pile self-weight is introduced
depending on the setting in the frame "Load". As for the tensile pile, the pile self-
weight is always taken into account automatically. Based on the input load the
program itself performs the verification analysis for either compression or tensile
pile.

Verification
Verification of pile bearing capacity depends on the verification methodology
selected in the "Piles" tab:

 verification according to the factor of safety

 verification according to the theory of limit states
 verification according to EN 1997
Actual analyses (e.g. assessment of the pile base resistance) are the same for both
options - they differ only by incorporation of design coefficients, combinations, and in
the way of demonstrating the structure safety. Design coefficients (verification
parameters) are specified in the "Piles" tab.
If the verification analysis according to CSN 73 1002 is selected, the verification is
carried out exclusively according to the Commentary to CSN 73 1002

Verification According to the Safety Factors

When running the verification analysis according to the factor of safety, it is possible
to introduce the required value of factor safety SF for the vertical bearing capacity in
the "Piles" tab.
The program performs verification of vertical bearing capacity of compression
pile as:
where: Vd - extreme vertical load acting on a pile

Rc - pile compressive resistance

pile self-weight (introduction into the analysis based on the setting in

Wp -
the frame "Load")

and for tension pile:

where: Vd - extreme vertical load acting on a pile

Rst - pile tensile resistance

Wp - pile self-weight

Verification According to the Theory of Limit States

When running the verification analysis according to the theory of limit states, it is
possible to introduce the required values of design coefficients in the "Piles" tab.
The program performs verification of the compression pile as:

where: Rc - pile compressive resistance

Rb - pile base resistance

Rs - pile shaft resistance

γb - partial factor on pile base resistance

γs - partial factor on pile shaft resistance

Vd - extreme vertical load acting on a pile

Wp - pile self-weight

For tension pile the following verification applies:

where: Rsdt - pile tensile resistance

Rs - pile shaft resistance

γst - partial factor on tensile pile shaft resistance

Vd - extreme vertical load acting on a pile

 Wp - pile self-weight

Design Coefficients
The "Piles" tab allows us to specify two groups of design (partial) coefficients:
Partial factors on soil parameters
γmφ - reduction coefficient of internal friction

γmc - reduction coefficient of cohesion

γmγ - coefficient of unit weight

It is also possible to choose a reduction of tgφ.

Partial factors on pile resistance
γb - reduction coefficient of base resistance

γs - reduction coefficient of shaft resistance

γt - reduction coefficient of total resistance

γst - reduction coefficient of resistance in tension

The values of individual coefficients are listed in corresponding standards.

Analysis of Foundations (Spread Footing, Piles)

Analysis based on EN 1997 introduces several partial factors according to
selected Design approach (DPA).
Designing a structure according to EN 1997-1 essentially follows the analysis of limit
states.
Load reduction (DA1, DA2, DA3):
Load of the foundation is taken as a result of the analysis of the upper structure.

 load cases are determined according to rules provided by EN 1990:2002

 combinations of load cases are calculated according to EN 1991
The results of calculated combinations then serve as an input to "Spread footing"
and "Pile" programs.
Either design (bearing capacity analysis, dimensioning of foundation)
or service (analysis of settlement) load is considered. In Design approach 1, the
analysis is performed for both the input design load (combination 1) and input
service load (combination 2).
Only the structure self-weight or the weight of soil above footing is multiplied by
the partial factors in the program. The specified design load must be determined in
accordance with the EN 1990 and EN 1991 standards - individual components of the
 load must be multiplied by the corresponding partial factors - the program does
not change the input load any further.
Reduction of material (DA1, DA3):
Parameters of soils are automatically reduced by the corresponding partial factors.
Reduction of load (DA2), for piles (DA1, DA2, DA3):
The partial factors in the "Pile" program are dependent on the type of pile (bored,
driven, CFA). The window allows us to define all partial factors. The analysis then
adopts partial factors depending on the type of pile selected in the "Geometry"
frame. Verification of the tensile pile always considers the pile self-weight. For
the compressive pile, the pile self-weight can be neglected depending on the
settings in the "Load" frame. The actual verification analysis is performed according
to the theory of limit states.
Vertical and horizontal bearing capacity of the foundation is reduced in the "Spread
Footing" program.

Vertical Bearing Capacity - Spring Method

The "Vertical bearing capacity" frame allows for verifying the pile vertical bearing
capacity. The analysis is performed automatically when switching to this
frame. More computations can be performed in the frame. The verification can be
performed for individual loads, or the program finds the most critical one (can be
selected from a combo list).
The analysis is performed with the help of spring method. The results are
automatically updated whenever one of the analysis parameters "Maximal
deformation", "Coefficient increasing limit skin friction due to technology" or
"Procedure determining influence zone" is changed.
Two options are available to determine influence zone:

 By default, the evaluation of the depth of influence zone below the pile base follows the
procedure described in the theoretical part of the help in section "Depth of influence zone".
The depth of influence zone on the pile skin is determined as a k-multiple of the pile
diameter. The value of k increases from 1 for zero load to the value of 2.5 when exceeding
the limit skin friction.
 The second option assumes the depth of influence zone below the foot and on the skin to be
set conservatively a kth multiple of the pile diameter, where the value of k can be selected.
During a gradual increase of pile surcharge the value of k for the depth of influence zone on
the pile skin is continuously changed from 1 at the onset of load to the specified value when
exceeding the limit skin friction. The value of k for the influence zone below the pile base
remains constant during the analysis.
The second method, originally used in the old version GEO4, with the value of k
= 2.5 offers less accurate results and usually underestimates the pile bearing
capacity. Therefore a new option that allows for specifying the depth of influence
zone through analysis is offered and is also recommended by the default setting.
Switching between results is available in the left part of the frame (load-settlement
curve, distributions of internal forces, dependence of shear on displacement). The
shear-displacement relationship is derived for a given depth measured from the pile
head. The results are updated whenever the depth is changed.
The "In detail" button opens the dialog window, which contains a detailed listing of
the results of verification analysis.
Visualization of results can be adjusted in the frame "Drawing Settings".

Frame "Vertical bearing capacity" - analysis using spring method

Vertical Bearing Capacity - Spring Method

The program module "Pile - spring method" is part of the "Pile" program. It allows
us to calculate the pile vertical bearing capacity in the generally layered subsoil. This
analysis provides the load-settlement curve and distributions of forces and
displacements developed along the pile.
The main advantage of this module is the availability of the required input
parameters of soils around the pile - the user is asked to specify the angle of
internal friction, cohesion, unit weight, and deformation modulus of a given soil.
The solution procedure in the module "Pile - spring method" is based on a semi-
analytical approach. The response of soil surrounding the pile follows from the well
known solution of layered subsoil as a generalization of the Winkler-Pasternak
model. The elastic rigid plastic response in shear is assumed along the pile-soil
interface in view of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The normal stress acting on
the pile is determined from the geostatic stress and soil (concrete mixture) pressure
at rest.
The influence of water in the vicinity of the pile is not only introduced into the shear
bearing capacity of the pile skin but also affects the depth of the influence
zone below the pile heel.
Providing the pile reaches incompressible subsoil the spring method cannot be used.
The pile settlement can also be influenced by the settlement of the surrounding
terrain. In particular, settlement of soil may reduce the pile bearing capacity. The pile
settlement increases without increasing load. This phenomenon is modeled in the
program as so-called negative skin friction.
The analysis may also account for the influence of the technological process of pile
construction on the stiffness of the pile foundation.
The solution procedure consists of several steps:

1. In the analysis, the pile subdivided into a number of segments. Subdivision into
individual segments complies with the condition that the ratio between the pile
segment and its diameter should be approximately equal to 2.5. The minimum
number of segments is 10.
2. Each segment is in the analysis characterized by a spring. The spring stiffness
serves to model both the shear resistance of the skin and at the pile heel the stiffness
of soil below the pile heel.
3. For each segment the limit value of shear force Tlim transmitted by the skin is
determined.
4. The pile is loaded at its top end by increments of the vertical load. For each load
increment the magnitude of spring force for each segment is determined. However, it
cannot exceed the limit value of skin friction Tlim. It is clear that for a certain load level
all springs will no longer be able to increase their force and with additional load
increase the pile becomes supported by the base spring only. This spring has no
restriction on the transmitted force.
5. As a result the analysis provides the load-settlement curve, forces developed in the
pile, and a graph showing a variation of shear as a function of deformation at a given
location.

Load-Settlement Curve
The Load-settlement curve describes the variation of vertical load Q as a function of
the pile settlement.
By default, the program offers the construction of this curve for the maximal value of
settlement equal to 25 mm. This magnitude, however, can be adjusted up to the
value of 100 mm before running the calculation. An example showing a typical shape
of the load-settlement curve appears in the figure.
 Load-settlement curve of
single pile

Shear Strength of Skin

For each segment of the analyzed pile the program determines the limiting value of
the force that can be transmitted by the pile skin at the location of a given segment.
Its value depends on the geostatic stress σz found at a depth of a given segment.

where: γ - unit weight of soil

h - depth below the ground surface

Summation sign denotes that σz is summed over individual layers of the soil.
The allowable shear stress is then given by:

where: c - cohesion of soil at the location of the beam

φ - angle of internal friction of soil at the location of the beam

k - coefficient of increase of allowable skin friction due to technology

If the beam is found below the groundwater table, the allowable skin friction is then
reduced to receive the form:

where: u - pore pressure below the groundwater table

The allowable shear force then follows from:

where: O - length of the perimeter of the pile skin

 l - length of the pile beam

Coefficient of Increase of Limit Skin Friction

A specific input parameter is the coefficient of increase of limit skin friction k due to
the applied technology of construction. By default, the value of this coefficient is set
equal to 1.0. There is no recommendation by the standard for its specific value - its
adjustment depends solely on the practical experiences of the designer. It has been
found from the in situ measurements on real piles that the value of k is usually
greater than 1.0 and may reach a value of 1.5. Theoretically, however, it may attain
values even less than 1.0.

Depth of Deformation Zone

The assumed depth of influence is a variable, which considerably influences the
stiffness of soil below the pile heel. It is one of the input parameters for the
determination of parameters C1 and C2 of the Winkler-Pasternak model. The deeper
the influence zone the smaller the stiffness of subsoil. When the depth of influence
zone approaches in the limit zero the stiffness of subsoil tends to infinity.
The depth of influence zone depends both on subsoil parameters and magnitude of
the applied surcharge, thus on stress below the pile heel. The program assumes that
the depth of the influence zone is found in the location, where the stress below the
heel equals the geostatic stress. Such an idea is depicted in the following figure:

Determination of
the depth of influence zone below the pile heel
For digital determination of the depth of influence zone H serves the function F(β). Its
distribution appears in the figure. This function was derived using the above
assumptions and in the program appears in the form of a table. Its application is
evident from the following steps. The values of F(β) are determined for the current
value of stress fz below the pile heel and for the original geostatic stress γh. For this
value of F(β) we determine the parameter β. This value serves to determine for the
actual value Poisson's ratio ν and pile diameter r the corresponding depth of
influence zone H.

Variation
of function F(β)
The depth of influence zone can be affected by the presence of groundwater. In such
s case its determination is outlined in the following figure:

Determination of the depth of influence zone below the pile heel including water
For digital determination of the depth of influence zone H is then used the
function G(β). Its distribution appears in the figure. In the analysis this function is
exploited in a similar way as function F(β). The only difference when determining the
values of G(β) appears in the use of hydrostatic pressure γw*hw.

Variation of function G(β)

Incompressible Subsoil
At a certain depth below the ground surface it is possible to specify incompressible
subsoil. If the pile exceeds this specified depth the spring method cannot be used,
because the pile is assumed rigid and therefore no deformation can develop in its
surrounding. If there is incompressible subsoil below the pile heel but not deeper
than the depth of influence zone below the heel, the depth of influence zone for the
stiffness computation is reduced such that the influence zone reaches the
incompressible subsoil. This way also the incompressible subsoil below the base
increases its stiffness and consequently also the bearing capacity of the pile base. If
the incompressible subsoil is found below the depth of the influence zone, it does not
influence the analyzed pile.

Negative Skin Friction

Negative skin friction is a phenomenon that arises from a settlement of soil in the
vicinity of a pile. The soil deforming around the pile tends to pull the pile downwards
thus reducing its bearing capacity for a given pile settlement.
The input parameters for assessing the influence of negative skin friction is the
settlement of ground surface w and depth of influence zone of this deformation h.
For a uniformly distributed load around the pile the value of w should be measured in
the distance equal to three times the pile diameter from its outer face. The value then
represents the depth influenced by the ground surface settlement and below which
the soil is assumed incompressible with no deformation.
Computation of negative skin friction is carried out first while determining the limit
shear forces transmitted by the pile skin Tlim. The solution procedure assumes that
the soil settlement decreases linearly with depth from the value of w on the ground
surface up to 0 at a depth of h. The specific value of the soil settlement is therefore
assumed for each level below the ground surface till the depth of h. The forces
developed in springs of pile segments due to their deformation are determined and
then subtracted from Tlim to reduce the bearing capacity of the pile skin.
From the presented theory it is evident that for large settlement w or large
depth h the values of Tlim may drop down to zero. In extreme cases the negative skin
friction may completely eliminate the skin bearing capacity so that the pile is then
supported only by the elastic subsoil below the pile heel.

Influence of Technology
The pile bearing capacity is considerably influenced by technological processes
applied during construction. The module "Pile - Spring method" allows us to specify
the technology of pile construction. The mobilized skin friction and the resistance at
the pile heel are then reduced with the help of reduction coefficients depending on
the selected technology. The values of these coefficients follow from the Dutch
standard NEN 6743 Pile foundation.
Apart from technologies offered by the program and corresponding coefficients, the
users can input user-defined values.

Shear Resistance on Skin

The shear resistance on pile skin is in the analysis represented by the stiffness of
springs supporting individual pile segments. This stiffness is associated with material
parameters of the Winkler-Pasternak model C1 and C2. The values of C1 and C2 are
determined from parameter Edef. They depend on the depth of the influence zone,
which varies with the pile deformation (settlement). The variability of influence zone
is in the analysis determined such that for zero deformation it receives the value of
1x the pile diameter and for deformation at the onset of skin failure equals kx the pile
diameter, where k is the specified value, resp. 2.5.
The decisive parameter for the determination of magnitudes of C1 and C2 is the
deformation modulus. Caution must be taken when estimating the value of Edef from
deformational characteristics of soil using standards. In particular, in case of long
piles we are essentially dealing with deep-seated foundations and the soil at the pile
heel will certainly experience higher stiffness than that proposed by the standard for
spread footings. This holds, particularly for cohesive soils. The most reliable
estimates are of course those obtained directly from experimental measurements.
Formulas given below serve to determine the stiffness of springs representing the
shear resistance of pile skin as a function of computed parameters of the elastic
subsoil. They depend on the shape of cross-section and for the implemented cross-
sections they receive the following forms:
Circle:

where: r - radius of the pile cross-section

C1, C2 - subsoil parameters

K1 (αr), K2 (αr) - values of the modified Bessel functions

Parameter α attains the value:

Rectangle:

where a, b are lengths of rectangle edges and C1, C2 are subsoil parameters
and kred is the reduction coefficient, which reduces the stiffness with respect to the
slenderness of the rectangle.
It receives the following values:

where a is the length of a shorter edge of the rectangle and H is the depth of
influence zone.
Cross, I-section:
For these cross-sections the stiffness is derived from the stiffness of the rectangular
cross-section reduced by subtracting the stiffness corresponding to four "removed"
parts of the cross-section.
a1, b1 - evident from the following figure

Stiffness of Subsoil Below the Pile Heel

The soil stiffness below the pile heel follows from the value of stiffness of the Winkler
model C1. The value of C1 is determined for soil parameters Edef and ν at the location
of the pile heel. The value of C1 further depends on the depth of the influence zone
beneath the heel.
The spring stiffness introduced at the pile base is then provided by:

where: A - cross-sectional area at the pile heel

Distributions of Forces Acting on a Pile

Apart from the load-settlement curve it is also possible to keep track of the
distribution of normal force in the pile and the distribution of shear force developed
along the pile skin. The normal forces decrease from the top to the bottom as the
load is gradually taken by the shear force developed along the pile skin. Unlike the
normal force the shear force thus increases from the top to the bottom. Both forces
are evaluated in relative values related to the magnitude of the vertical load.
 Distribution of internal forces acting on the pile

Dependence of Shear on Deformation

At an arbitrary (selected) depth it is possible to view the distribution of skin friction as
a function of displacement (settlement) of a given point of the pile. This graph shows
the process of gradual reduction of shear stiffness of pile skin until zero with
increasing deformation. This dependency is initially linear, particularly in stage,
where the spring force does not exceed the value Tlim. When this value is exceeded
the spring stiffness starts to gradually decrease manifested by the flattening of the
curve.

Dependence of shear on
displacement (settlement) of the pile