Measuring pile shaft and tip capacities of a single pile embedded in saturated and unsaturated expansive clayey soil

Abstract

This research presents a series of compression load tests conducted on a single pile embedded in saturated and unsaturated expansive clayey soil. Soil water characteristics curve (SWCC) and initial soil suction (total and matric) are measured using the filter paper technique to study the influence of soil suction on the pile and tip capacities. Soil pressure gauge is used and embedded in the soil under the pile at a distance of 2D. The results showed that the ultimate pile capacity is increased when the initial degree of saturation decreases. In addition, the tip capacity is increased when the degree of saturation decreases. Then, the sharing ratios of the ultimate tip and shaft capacities to the ultimate pile capacity are calculated. The results have shown that the sharing ratio of the ultimate tip capacity to the ultimate pile capacity of a single pile is increased with the decrease in the degree of saturation while the ratio of the shaft capacity to the ultimate pile capacity is decreased.