Estimation of bearing capacity of open-ended model piles in sand

The plugging of pipe piles is an important phenomenon, which is not adequately accounted for in the current design recommendations. An open-ended pipe pile is said to be plugged when the soil inside the pile moves down with the pile, resulting in the pile becoming effectively closed-ended. Plugging is believed to result in an increase in the horizontal stresses between the pile and the surrounding soil, which results in an increase in skin friction. A total number of 60 model pile tests are carried out to investigate the behavior of plugs on the pile load capacity and the effects of plug removal. Different parameters are considered, such as pile diameter–to–length ratio, types of installation in sands of different densities, and removal of the plug in three stages (50, 75, and 100 %) with respect to the length of plug. The changes in the soil plug length and incremental filling ratio (IFR) with the penetration depth during pile driving show that the open-ended piles are partially plugged from the outset of the pile driving. The pile reached a fully plugged state for pressed piles in loose and medium sand and partially plugged (IFR = 10 %) in dense sand. For driven piles, the IFR is about 30 % in loose sand, 20 % in medium sand, and 30 % in dense sand. The pile load capacity increases with increases in the length of the plug length ratio (PLR). The rate of increase in the value of the pile load capacity with PLR is greater in dense sand than in medium and loose sand. Based on test results, new empirical relation for the estimation of the load carrying capacity of open-ended piles based on the IFR is proposed.