Bearing capacity of open-ended pipe piles with restricted soil plug

The present study investigates the behaviour of plug on pile load capacity and effect of plug removal. The sand used as a foundation soil is poorly graded clean sand. It was prepared at different densities using a raining technique. To simulate the pile load test in the field, a new apparatus was manufactured. A driving-pressing system for pile installation was manufactured. The soil plug is removed by a device manufactured to remove the soil column entrapped inside the pipe piles during installation by driving and pressing devices. The present study focuses on the determination of effect of soil plug on the ultimate compression capacity of single open-ended steel pipe pile, and makes a comparison with closed-ended pipe pile. A new type of pipe piles is suggested; it is closed-open-ended pipe piles driven and pressed into sandy soil of different densities (medium and dense) in which axial compression load tests were performed on model piles. The pile end will be open to a predetermined depth in order to make pile penetration easy and closed at a distance in order to increase the pile base resistance. Twenty-four models of open-ended piles have been modified by closing the pile ends by a plate welded at a distance of 2D, 3D and 4D (where D is the diameter of the pile) from tip of the pile. These piles have been installed in sand by two types of installation, driving or pressing. It was concluded that the pile load carrying capacity in dense sand is several times greater than those in loose and medium sands, especially in the case of closed-ended or open-ended piles, since the pipe pile can produce external and internal skin friction in addition to end-bearing resistance that makes the total pile capacity close to that of closed-ended pile. On the other hand, the removal of soil plug decreases the pile load capacity. This decrease becomes apparent in dense sand. The decrease in load capacity is about 45%-63%, 55%-63% and 51%-79% in loose, medium and dense sands, respectively. Open-ended pipe piles behave as closed-ended, if the soil plug formed inside piles in a state of partial plug or full plug. The length of soil plug depends on the type of installation and relative density. For the type of pile proposed in this study, open-ended piles are closed with a plate welded at a distance of 2D, 3D and 4D from the tip of the pile, and the open part of the pipe pile has a limited length, which was found to be 3D. This length revealed the maximum pile capacity due to the development of both interior and exterior skin friction in addition to end resistance. In addition, at this length, the soil column is pressed inside the pipe and hence the soil was densified leading to increase the skin resistance.