Construction Methodology

Bored Cast in situ Piles

• On Shore ( Land Piles)
• Offshore ( Marine Piles)
 1. Pile Foundation Introduction.
2. Major Equipments Required.
3. Process flow of pile foundation.
4. Pile Foundation Sample Drawings.
5. Liner Fabrication.
6. Pile Driving Method – Hydraulic Rig.
Aspects 7. Pile Driving Method – DMC(Direct Mud
Circulation).

Covered 8. Pile Driving Method – RCD(Reverse

Circulation Drilling).
9. Reinforcement Cage Lowering, Flushing &
Concreting.
10. Bentonite Slurry for Drilling.
11. Alternative to bentonite Slurry.
12. Pile Integrity Test.
 Pile foundations are the part of a structure used to carry and transfer the
load of the structure to the bearing ground located at some depth below
ground surface. The main components of the foundation are the pile cap and
the piles. Piles are long and slender members which transfer the load to
deeper soil or rock of high bearing capacity avoiding shallow soil of low
bearing capacity The main types of materials used for piles are Wood, steel
and concrete. Piles made from these materials are driven, drilled or jacked
into the ground and connected to pile caps. Depending upon type of soil, pile
material and load transmitting characteristic piles are classified accordingly.

Classification of piles -
Classification of Pile with respect to Load Transmission and Functional
Behaviour.
What is Pile • End bearing piles (point bearing piles)
Friction piles (cohesion piles )
Foundations? •
• Combination of friction and cohesion piles
Classification of Pile with respect to type of material.
• Concrete
• Steel
• Composite Piles
• Timber Piles
Classification of Pile with respect to effect on the soil.
• Driven Pile ( Displacement pile)
• Bored Pile ( Non-Displacement pile)
Classification of Pile with respect to Shore.
• On Shore ( Land Pile)
• Offshore (Marine Pile)
Major Equipments Required
- Hydraulic Rotary Rig/DMC Equipments/RCD Rigs
& Tools
- Mobile Crane Crane/Hydra Crane
- Vertical Pumps(10-15HP) ( for bentonite mixing
and circulation)
- Liner Bending Machine
- Concrete Batching Plant
- Transit Mixers
- Trucks/Trailer ( Rebar shifting)
- Concrete Pump
- Tremie Pipes with hopper(Funnel)
- Diesel Generator
- Welding Machine
- Auger for boring
- Bucket for boring
- Bentonite/Polymer Mixing tanks
- Quality Testing Instruments ( Slump Cone, Cube
Moulds, Mud balance/Hydrometer etc.,)
 Bored Cast in-situ Pile – Process Flow
Parallel Activity –
Initial Boring and
Approach Road and Bentonite Tank Setup, checking of
Setting Out of Pile Liner Fabrication, Positioning of Rig
Platform Making Reinforcement cage
horizontal deviation
preparation. and verticality of pile.

Boring in soil/rock
Liner Driving ( upto the required
Checking of Depth by Reinforcement cage Tremie Pipe
Temporary/Permane depth(bentonite/poly
using sounding chain lowering Lowering
nt) as per DWG mer slurry to be used
for soil stabilization).

Flushing of bore hole Removal of

by using bentonite Concreting Tremie Pipe Removal Liner/Casing incase Pile Chipping
slurry/polymer of temporary

Pile Integrity Test

 Liner Fabrication
1. MS plates for liner materials will be
purchased from the approved vendors.
2. Upon the receipt of MS plates, MTC to shall
be reviewed and proceeded for fabrication
works. initial liner materials shall be sent to
NABL lab for the conformity of properties
as per IS2062:2011.
3. Liner fabrication shall be carried out by
using bending machine.
4. Liner joints shall be continues welded by
using welding electrode ESAB 6013, 4MM
thick.
5. Additional layer of MS plates shall be
provided at bottom of the liner upto 200mm.
additional MS plates to be welded.
6. After the completion of welding joint, DPT
tests will be carried out on random basis to
check the crack of the weld.
7. Bitumen primer to be applied on the
surface of liner by using approved product.
8. DFT of bitumen primer shall be checked
and recorded.
9. After the sl. 1 to 8, liners are to be shifted
to the location from the fabrication yard.
Pile Foundation Drawings
Setting of Rotary Piling Rig, Liner Driving & Boring.
Initially, Rig will be centered on pile Point, base machine with hydraulic rotary drill will be
positioned on firm levelled ground. The level of base machine will be checked with the help of
sprit level on the base frame. Drilling will be carried out using auger/bucket to a depth of
approx. approx. 2 to 3 meters. Then a temporary/permanent casing will be driven upto the
required length as per Drawing to protect the soil from falling in the bore hole at locations
where the soil is in loose state and there is a tendency of collapse of bore hole.
The liner will be driven help of hydraulic press/vibro hammer. after driving of liner, its verticality
will be checked by plumb bob. The tolerance limit of the verticality is D/10, where D = diameter
of pile. Verticality of the liner to be checked during installation by plump bob or sprit level.
before the boring passes to toe, the verticality of casing until the toe shall be checked. The top
level of the liner shall be recorded.
The deviation from the true axis shall not be more than 1.5% for vertical piles and piles should
not deviate in location by more than 75mm when used in groups. After achieved the final
boring, the top of the liner to be covered by using proper mesh. The Eccentricity shall be
considered jointly with the verticality.
In the event of rapid loss of drilling fluid from a pile excavation, the bore shall be backfilled
immediately and same will be restore after 2 hours to check the loss, if continues loss take
place then to be consulted with D&E team for further instruction.
Principle of DMC(Direct Mud Circulation) Piling
DMC piling is a typical wash bored piling method, i.e.. The
piles are of REPLACEMENT type. For this type of piling
method, the sub soil must be of cohesive nature. The
basic principle of DMC piling lies in the fact that the soil
layers becomes harder to penetrate with depth, so to
soften the hard soil layers deep below the ground level,
water jet streams are used and then a typical chisel cuts
the relatively softer soil. Bore holes of several depths (for
example 10m,15m, 20m, 25m, 30m, etc.) and diameter
(for example 500mm,750mm, 1000mm etc.) are dug as
per design requirements.
It can be understood quite clearly that the nearby soil can
collapse. To prevent the collapse liners/casings will be
provided during the operation.
After the bore hole is dug and the collapse of subsoil
around the hole is safely prohibited, a reinforcement cage
is entered into the borehole and concrete is filled from the
bottom of the hole with the help of tremie pipes.
DMC(Direct Mud Circulation) Piling Method
For executing DMC piling method which is approved as per IS 2911 under specifications of bored cast in situ piles. The
positioning of points where the piles are proposed to set up are checked by the surveyor.
DMC piling Rig set-up and initiation of boring using the Bailer
After the point for boring operation is set out by the surveyor, the tripod is paced such that each side legs are at least 1.5m away
from the point, keeping the center of borehole exactly in the center.
The bailer is then attached with the rope and the boring operation is initiated. After bailer reaches its full length into the soil, the
guide casing is inserted into the hole for further operations.
Once the guide casing is placed, the boring is started with chisel. The chisel has 4 nozzles from where water jet is forced on the
hard soil layer as the boring progresses.
DMC rods are added one after another as the depth increases. The DMC head are attached on top of the DMC rods which has
the plunge which receives the water from delivery hose.
The whole system is pulled up by the rope and the D-Shackle with the help of the winch system and then left to fall free, so that
the chisel at the bottom cuts the soil and the boring progresses.
The loose soil produced by boring, mixes with water and comes up and is stored in the wash vat, where the soil gets
precipitated, and the water is again usable.
After the boring is complete up to the desired depth, the DMC rods are removed one by one using the DMC fork and the chisel
is also removed.
Then the steel reinforcement cage is inserted.
DMC (Direct Mud
Circulation ) Piling
RCD(Reverse Circulation
Drilling) Piling • Reverse Circulation Drilling System (RCD),
also known as airlifting, is an effective drilling
method that exploits compressed air, as it is
injected into the drill pipe below water level,
to reduce the density of the internal water
column and remove slurries through the
circulation. The mixture of water, air and
cuttings is then flushed out through the drill
pipe into settling tanks. Working with RCD
Rigs is highly efficient, safe and
environmentally friendly solution for drilling
large diameters and depths. RCD is the best
Solution to deal with the following..
• 1) Large Diameter (Larger than 800 mm)
• 2) Deep Depth (Deeper than 20 m)
• 3) Hard Rock Drilling ( ~ 350 MPa)
• 4) Bore Piling in Marine Condition.
RCD Piling Method
- Prepare RCD bored pile machine in place and connect
compressor pipe into the RCD Machine. Connect the
output pipe from the bottom of the machine and point of
output hose towards the river.
- When Boring, water, bentonite or polymer slurry is used,
the function of the bentonite slurry and/or polymer are to
stabilize the borehole and controlling the formation
pressure so that the side of the borehole is table and not
collapsed or eroded. Also, the slurry can help cooling
and lubricating the drill and drill bit.
- Slurry top elevation shall always be kept more than 2
meters above the underground water, or river water.
- Verticality and the diameter of the borehole shall be
checked by using koden machine during and/or after
completion of drilling.
- Removal of sediment will be done in 2 steps, the 1st
removal of sediment is before rebar cage installation,
and the 2nd removal of sedimentation is done before
concrete casting.
Fabrication and Installation of
Reinforcement Cage.
Depth of borehole to be checked by using sounding chain
before cage lowering. Cutting and bending of rebar shall
be carried out in accordance with approved bar bending
schedule in steel fabrication yard and cages fabricated.

Tie wires shall be used to tie the main bars with the links.
Lapping and welding details shall be as per approved
drawings. Circular concrete spacers, constructed of the
same concrete grade as the bored pile, shall be used to
provide the required concrete cover. Vertical distance
between each layer of spacer shall be 2Mtr. Or as
mentioned in the drawings. Clear cover shall be 75mm.

The reinforcement cage shall be lowered into the borehole

by the service crane/rig using steel slings/shackles.
Lifting/supporting hook shall be welded to main bars at the
top to transfer the weight of the cage to shackles and for
supporting the cage over the liner for splicing another cage
on top.

Finally , the complete cage rest on the foundation base of

the borehole or be supported from the top of the liner while
the correct cover to reinforcement being assured by the
concrete spacers.
Tremie Lowering & Flushing of borehole
After lowering the reinforcement cage, tremie pipes having diameter 200mm
/ 250mm to be lowered into a pile borehole upto the required depth. Tremie
chart shall be maintained at site. after tremie lowering tremie head shall be
fixed at the top of the tremie pipe.
The tremie pipes are jointed and lowered into the borehole. The end of the
pipe should not be more than 300mm above the bottom of the pile.
The bore is flushed by fresh bentonite slurry through the tremie head. The
pumping for flushing is done by use of High circulation pump. Flushing will
be done to remove all the loose sediments which might have accumulated
on the founding strata. Further, the flushing operation shall be continued till
the consistency of inflowing and out flowing slurry is similar and should
continue at least 1 hour Before Concreting. PH Value of the Bentonite slurry
should be 9-11.5. Density of Bentonite Slurry at start of flushing (Fresh
Bentonite) should be 1.034 -1.1 gm/cc & at the end of process the density
should be less than 1.2 gm/cc
Concreting & Tremie
Removal
Generally, M35 and above concrete with slump in the range of 150-
180mm shall be supplied from the batching plant/SLM(Self loading
mixture(Ajax). All concrete delivered shall be visually inspected and
checked against delivery note before being tested and used. Before any
pouring is started, two delivery trucks should be available at site.
The concrete shall be discharged from the delivery truck( Transit
Mixer/SLM) to a hopper(funnel) connected to the tremie pipes. As the
level of the concrete in the borehole rises, the tremie shall be rises, the
tremie shall be withdrawn accordingly to aid the flow of concrete. Section
of the tremie pipe shall be dismantled from the top as the pipe is
withdrawn.
During concreting, the level of concrete inside the borehole shall be
monitored either with a weighted tape or sounding chain.
Where cut-off level is less than 2.5 m below the ground level, concrete
shall be cast to minimum of 600mm above cut-off level. for each additional
0.3m increase in cut off level below the working level, additional coverage
of minimum 50mm shall be allowed. In the circumstance where cut-off
level is below ground level, the need to maintain a pressure on the unset
concrete equal to greater than water pressure should be observed and
accordingly length of extra concrete above cut-off level shall be
determined encasing shall be withdrawn after initial setting of concrete.
Concreting
Bentonite Drilling Fluid
What is Bentonite?
Is a clay of montmorillonite having
exchangeable sodium cations.
Why bentonite slurry required?
- Prevent collapse of borehole.
- Seal the formation and form the filter cake,
preventing slurry lose to the ground.
- Prevent sludgy unconsolidated layers from
accumulating at the bottom of trench.
- Carry the cutting in the slurry volume, there by
preventing sedimentation in mud circuit.
- Ensuring free flow of concrete from tremie
pipes to allow complete displacement by fresh
concrete without affecting development of
bond with soil and reinforcement.
- Aid sedimentation in tanks and permit the
separation of solids in shaker screens or
cyclones.
 Bentonite powder to be tested at site for:
Acceptance
Criteria
- Liquid Limit
Lab Test Every Batch Tech. Spec. 400%
- Swelling Index

> 1.034 to < 1.10

- Density
Measureme gm/cc
Fresh Slurry Tech. Spec.
nt
- pH 7 to 11

- Density < 1.25 gm/cc

Working Slurry Tech. Spec.
- pH 7 – 12

During Flushing &

- Density Tech. Spec. < 1.15 gm/cc
Prior to Concreting
What is the Alternate for
Bentonite?

DRILLING POLYMER
POLYMER BASED SLURRIES HAVE EMERGED IN YEARS AS ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATIVES TO
CONVENTIONAL WATER BASED OR OIL BASED MINERAL SLURRIES (BENTONITE,
ATTAPULGITE) FOR DRILLING.

ADVANTAGES OF DRILLING POLYMER

MIXES EASILY IN BOTH FRESH AND SALTWATER.
ALLOWS FOR FASTER DRILLING.
NON-FERMENTING AND NONTOXIC.
REDUCES WEAR ON PUMP AND BITS; UNLIKE BENTONITE, POLYMER SLURRY WILL ALWAYS
WEIGH APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AS WATER, THEREFORE, REQUIRING LOWER PUMP
RATE.
ELIMINATING SWELLING IN MOST CLAYS AND SHALES.
RAPIDLY SETTLES CUTTINGS IN BOTTOM OF PIT.
REDUCES FLUID LOSS.
CAN BE READILY BROKEN DOWN FOR EASYDISPOSAL.
ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY.
 Pile Integrity Test
• It is method of qualitative evaluation of the physical Dimension,
Soundness or Defects of the piles concrete with respect to its
Continuity.
• PIT is a low strain and nondestructive integrity test method
which only involve the impact of small hand -held hammer.
This low Strain test can be applied to any concrete piles.
• Acceleration and stress wave which generated by the impact of
small hammer is the input of this test method.
• PIT Test to be done as per IS 14893
• PIT Test to be done for conformity of pile.
• PIT Test to be done after 14 days of concreting as per
contract requirement, however we can conduct the same
after 7 days.
• PIT Test to be done minimum 6 points per pile.
• PIT Test report should show the shape of pile.
• Limitation:
• PIT testing method is limited to shaft integrity assessments of
major shaft defects or material quality changes. The Location
of the defect is only as accurate as our knowledge of
applicable wave speeds.