Optimization of End Bearing Capacity of Bored Piles on Rock Based on Field Measurements

Abstract

Bored piles are one of the famous deep foundation techniques which are practiced all over the world. Most bored piles are socketed into the bedrock to gain higher bearing capacity. However, the estimation of end bearing capacity for rock socketed bored piles is questionable in the design of piles. Although there are some pile load tests available to estimate the end bearing capacity which is very costly, it is not practicable to adopt them for small-scale projects. There are a lot of theoretical methods that have already been developed to estimate the end-bearing capacity of bored piles on rock and there is no clear indication of the accuracy of those methods to apply into the Sri Lankan context. Therefore, designers use different methods based on their experiences which may result in overestimated designs. As such, in this research study, different theoretical methods were compared with the pile load test results in Sri Lanka and concluded that the most reliable method/s to estimate the end-bearing capacity of rock socketed bored piles in Sri Lankan context. The suggested method/s in this research study can be directly applied to estimate the end-bearing capacity of bored piles without conducting any field load tests.