We were engaged by a structural consultant for a peer review of the pile foundation design for a 12-story building with one basement in Kerala. At the time of our involvement, the pile foundation construction was already completed, and the building had reached ground level. Our objective was to meticulously review the geotechnical data and evaluate the existing pile foundation design.

How SGES Identified Overstressed Piles Under Eccentric Loads

Steps Followed:

• Structural Hold: The structure was completed up to level-1 and was under hold for structural verification.
• Site Visit: SGES senior engineers, along with the project's structural consultants, visited the project location.
• Discussion and Data Collection: Engaged in detailed discussions with the project team on-site and collected relevant data and documents.
• Pile Execution: A total of 138 piles with a diameter of 1000mm were executed on-site as per the design, with pile depths varying from 16m to 20m.
• Pile Load Test: One pile load test data was available, which was carried out on a production pile.

SGES Findings and Foundation Improvement Recommendations

• Pile Group Selection: Four pile groups were selected for review, out of which three groups were under eccentric loading due to column position.
• Confirmatory Boreholes: Conducted confirmatory boreholes in the outer periphery of the building close to the pile groups.
• Ground Model Development: Developed a design ground model based on field and laboratory tests.
• Review of Existing Design: Reviewed existing pile design, pile load test data, structural loads, and pile configuration.
• Capacity Estimation and Analysis: Estimated axial and lateral pile capacity and conducted pile group analysis using GROUP software for selected four pile groups with actual pile termination data.
• Analysis Outcome: The analysis revealed that piles in two of the pile groups under high eccentric loads were experiencing higher stresses and uplift forces. To reduce the moments in overstressed piles, micropiles were designed and recommended.
• Foundation Modification: Foundation modification was carried out as per our recommendations, and the structure is now completed to the final level.

Issues Identified in the Original Foundation Design

• Insufficient Soil Investigation Data: The initial design was based on inadequate soil investigation data.
• Inaccurate Foundation Recommendations: The foundation recommendations were not accurate, leading to overstressed piles under high eccentric loads.

At SGES, we ensure that all aspects are meticulously reviewed to provide the best recommendations for your project.

We support pile foundation peer review and remediation across India, UAE, KSA and Indonesia, helping clients resolve soil investigation issues, overstressed piles, and foundation design problems efficiently.

Contact Us: +91 91640 00080