Development of negative skin friction on driven piles in soft Bangkok clay

Abstract

This paper describes the results of short-term pullout tests and long-term full-scale measurements of negative skin friction on driven piles in Bangkok subsoils. Two instrumented cylindrical (hollow) prestressed concrete piles were fully equipped with two independent load-measurement systems, load cells, and telltale rods. Pore pressures and ground movements in the vicinity of the piles were monitored throughout the period of investigation. The effect of bitumen coating on negative skin friction was also studied. The long-term behaviour of driven piles was compared with the estimated values obtained from short-term pullout tests and soil strength data. It was found that the negative skin friction can be predicted well by the effective stress approach using values of β between 0.1 and 0.2. The load–settlement and load–transfer behaviour were numerically modelled to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of negative skin friction developed on driven piles. A settlement-controlled concept is also introduced for piles subjected to negative skin friction, on the basis of these findings. Key words : consolidation, downdrag, driven pile, embankment, finite elements, pore pressures, pullout, settlements, soft clay.