PILE FOUNDATION
In recent years, pile foundation has entered widely in our construction practice. The design of the pile foundation is a complex and interesting engineering and technical task. MCK JSC has the equipment and the specialists for the implementation of pile foundation with ducted reinforced concrete piles and for reinforcing excavations by brazing steel profiles (type “Berlin Wall”) or reinforced concrete and steel gable walls. The most commonly used reinforced concrete piles are produced with a cross section of 30×30 and 35x35cm. and a length of up to 15m. By splicing the piles and depending on the engineering and geological conditions, a foundation depth of 25-30 m can be achieved.
What are the main advantages of this way of founding and are accepted by designers as preferred:
- Use of poorly cultivated or uncultivated areas for the construction of industrial buildings
- Independence of construction from the level of groundwater
- Significant reduction of earthworks and bulk works to overcome terrains with weak and collapsing soils and raising the foundations of the required elevation through the so-called “high rook”
- Minimize the inevitable for buildings and facilities settlements, and in several cases, their complete removal.
The implementation of pile foundation technique has also a number of other advantages such as:
- Faster construction period
- Fully mechanized process
- High reliability and effectiveness.
Depending on the impact energy of the hammer and other factors, the term “pile refusal” is used. This is the pile’s sinking at a hammer blow. It is recommended that the pile’s refusal of the last ten strokes is not less than 2.5mm per stroke. Thus, through the empirical formula, the pile’s dynamic test is determined, which is not absolutely accurate but sufficiently reliable for the pile’s carrying capacity. Typically, these values range from 40 to 80 tons of vertical pile load. Horizontal forces in the foundation are assumed by inclined piles up to 15 °. This process is used in a pile foundation (1 to 5 piles) to determine both the design load of the pile and its length.
In conclusion, it can be said that the method of foundation by docking piles is extremely reliable, because, as soon as the piles are thrown, all participants in the construction process embrace the idea of the load-bearing capacity of the foundations therefore having a prompt and effective solution for ground reinforcement.