68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference and 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

EVOLUTION OF PILE SHAFT CAPACITY OVER TIME IN SOFT CLAYS (CASE STUDY: LEDA CLAY)

Mohammadamin Hosseini, Carleton University (Canada)
Mohammad Rayhani, Carleton University (Canada)

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental investigation to examine the evolution of pile shaft capacity over time. This phenomenon is observed in pile foundations that are driven into soft clays, and is referred to as pile set-up. In this research, a series of pile load testing was performed on steel and concrete piles driven into Leda clay in Gloucester, Ontario. The piles were tested immediately after driving to measure their initial bearing capacities, and were tested repeatedly over different elapsed time to study the change in pile shaft capacity over time. The excess pore water pressure around the pile was also monitored by a piezometer. The average pile capacity measurements for steel and concrete piles indicate that there is approximately an 80% increase in the pile capacity after 30 days from the initial day.