Indian Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Improvement
Year : 2019, Volume : 8, Issue : 1
First page : ( 3) Last page : ( 9)
Print ISSN : 2277-5625. Online ISSN : 2277-5633.

A study on the effect of micropiles on load capacity of pile foundation in a cohesionless soil

Pandey Nitesh, Mittal Satyendra

Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India

Online published on 13 January, 2020.

Abstract

Micropiles, initially, devised to aid the reconstruction in post-war era, are small diameter piles that are highly capable of sustaining high loads. The in-situ application of micropiles, to increase the bearing capacity and reduce the settlement, has been observed as a practical and technically effective method. Reinforcing the ground, increasing the bearing capacity, stabilizing slopes and retaining walls, restraining differential settlement and deformation by tunnelling, and increasing the resistance to earthquake forces are some of the applications of micropiles. This paper deals with the parametric study of the reinforcement effect of micropiles on the settlement of pile foundation and improvement in the load capacity. Tests were carried out on model piles of diameter 75 mm and length 500 mm in unreinforced and reinforced ground, prepared in a 600 mm diameter circular tank using dry sand. The micropiles were installed in the ground in a circular pattern around the model pile. Parameters such as diameter of micropiles (d), distance of micropiles from the edge of the model pile (x) and spacing between micropiles (s) were considered variables in the study. The results obtained from the experimental work was validated through the FEM-based software, PLAXIS 3D. This study showed a significant reduction in the settlement and improvement load capacity of pile upon varying the diameter of micropiles.

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