The effect of group pile installation

무리말뚝 시공의 영향

Most of the piles are designed as group piles. In certain geotechnical environments, the installation of group piles causes heaving of the already installed piles. The unfavorable effects of pile heaving on pile bearing capacity have been well known to field engineers. However not many engineers pay enough attention to this subject. According to our recent researches, not only the bearing capacity but also the pile material could be seriously damaged due to the installation of nearby piles, especially with the cases of precast concrete piles. When the pull-out force due to installation of neighboring piles acting on the already installed precast concrete pile exceeds the shaft friction, pile heaving occurs. At the same time, if the pull-out force exceeds the allowable tensile strength of the precast concrete pile, tensile failure is inevitable, which is critical for the pile integrity. In other cases the pile material was not damaged but serious relaxation occurred as the results of pile heaving. In this paper, the pull-out mechanism due to the installation of group piles is explained.