II.

Determination of Skin Friction or Friction

Resistance
a) In sand
Ø Consider pile fully embedded in sandy soil. The frictional
resistance between sand and pile-surface is given by

Qs   p . L . f s
Ø The unit frictional resistance, fs , is hard to estimate. So
when making an estimation several factors must be kept in
mind:

1. The unit skin friction increases with depth more or less

linearly to a certain depth (critical depth) and remains
constant thereafter.
• The magnitude of the critical depth may be 10 to 20 pile
diameters, for loose sand to dense sand, respectively. A
conservative estimate would be  L = 15 D.
2. For driven piles in sand, the vibration caused during pile driving
helps densify the soil around the pile, so that original angle of
friction () will be varying around the pile.
Ø The zone of sand densification is about 2.5 times the pile
diameter, in the sand surrounding the pile.

3. At similar depths, the unit skin friction in loose sand is higher for
a high displacement pile, compared with a low- displacement pile.
4. At similar depths, bored or jetted piles will have a lower unit skin
friction, compared with driven pile.
Ø Taking the above factors in to account, unit frictional
resistance is approximate by :-
 For Z = 0 to Z =L. f  K  o tan 
 For Z = L to Z = L .
f  fZ L'
Where :-
ü K = effective earth coefficient.
ü o = Effective vertical stress at the depth under concern.
ü  = soil-pile friction angle.
ü Coefficient of friction between sand and pile material.
Material tan 
Concrete 0.45

Wood 0.40

Steel (smooth) 0.20

Steel (rough, rusted) 0.4

Steel (corrugated) Use sand values

ü From investigation it is concluded that 0.5 ≤  ≤ 0.8.

(ii) In Clay
Ø There are several methods for estimating the unit frictional
resistance of piles in clays as described in the available
literature.
a.  - Method
b.  - Method
c.  - Method
a)  - Method
Ø This method is based on the assumption that the displacement of
soil caused by pile driving results in a passive lateral pressure at
any depth and that the average unit skin resistance is :-

Where
f av    o  2 c u 
 o = mean effective vertical stress for the entire embedment length.
Cu = mean undrained shear strength ( =0 )
Ø The value of ‘’ changes with the depth of penetration of the
pile. The total frictional resistance may be calculated as
Q s  p . L . f av

Figure 2.4 Application of λ - method in layered soil 7

 - Method
ØAccording to the method, the unit skin resistance in clayey soils can
be represented by the equation.(proposed by Tomlinson)
f   .c Where  = Empirical adhesion factor.
u
ØWhere o is the vertical effective stress.
Ø and Cu may also varies with depth.
 So that Q s   f . p .  L    .c u . p .  L

Table 11.10 Variation of α (interpolated values based on Terzaghi,

Peck and Mesri, 1996)

10
3.  - Method
ØWhen pile is driven into the saturated clay, the pore- pressure in
the soil around the pile is increased.
üWithin a month or so, this pore pressure gradually dissipates, so
effective stress parameter is used here.
üThe excess pore water pressure in normally consolidated NC -
clays may be 4 to 6 times of Cu.
üThe unit frictional resistance for the pile (f) is f    o
Where  o = Vertical effective stress.
  = K tan R
 R = Drained friction angle of remolded clay.
 K = Earth pressure coefficient.
Ø Conservatively, K for at rest state
ü For NC(normally consolidate clay) :- K  1  sin  R
ü For OC (over consolidate clay) :- K  1  sin  R  OCR
üCombing the above for NC - clays yields:-
f  1  sin   R  tan   R .  o
ü For OC – clays :-
f  1  sin   R  tan   R . OCR .  o

üThe total frictional resistance may:

Q s   f . p . L
 Point Bearing Capacity of piles resting on Rock.
• Sometimes piles are driven to an underlying layer of rock. In
such case the ultimate unit point resistance in rock (Goodman,
1980) is approximately :-

q p q N  1
u

Where :-
 N   tan 2  45    2 
 qu = unconfined compressive strength of rock
 ’ = drained angle of friction.
ØAs the diameter of the specimen
increases, the unconfined compressive q u  lab 
q u  design  
strength decreases (scale effect.) 5
ØThe allowable point bearing of piles  
 q u ( design ) N  1 . A p 
Q p ( all )   
 FS 
Typical values of unconfined compressive strength & angle
of friction of rocks.
Type of rock qu (MN/m2)  angle of friction,(o)
Sandstone 70-140 27-45
Limestone 105-210 30-40
Shale 35-70 10-20
Granite 140-210 40-50
Marble 60-70 25-30
Example 4
Refer to the pile in saturated clay shown in Figure Ex4. For the pile,

b. Using the results of Example 2, estimate the allowable pile capacity(Qal).Use FS =4.

Figure Ex4 Estimation of the load bearing capacity of a driven-pipe pile

Solution
Part a
(1)

(2)
Part b

From Example 2,
Ø is a downward drag force exerted on a pile by the soil
surrounding it.
Ø It is a phenomena that occur when a soil layer surrounding a
portion of the pile shaft settles more than the pile.
The condition can develop when :-
1. If a fill of clay soil is placed over a granular soil layer into which a
pile is driven, the fill will gradually consolidate.
Ø The consolidation process will exert a downward drag force on
the pile during the period of consolidation.
2. If a fill of granular soil is placed over a layer of soft clay, it will
induce the process of consolidation in the clay layer and thus
exert a downward drag on the pile.
3. Lowering of the water table will increase the vertical effective
stress on the soil at any depth, which will induce consolidation
settlement in clay. That induce a downward drag force.
ü It is important to take
care of such situation
because an additional
down drag load will be
induced on the pile.
ü Negative friction is result
in pile foundation failure
so we need to take care
 1. Clay Fill over Granular Soil
Ø Similar to the  - method, the negative skin stress on the
pile is given by
f  K .  o. tan 
Where:- n

K '  1  sin   .... Earth pressure coefficient.

 ' o    . z ….Vertical effective stress at any depth z.
f

  ( 0 . 5  0 . 7 )  …. Soil – pile friction angle.

 f ....effective unit weight of fill.
 Hence, the total downward drag force on a pile is
H p K  f . H 2
tan 

f
p K  f tan  . zdz 
f
Q n
0 2
 Where Hf = Height of fill.
 2. Granular Soil Fill over Clay
 In this case, the negative skin stress on the pile may exist
from Z=0 to Z=L1,which is referred to as the neutral plane.
The neutral depth may be given as (Bowles, 1982)

L1 
 L  H f  L  H f

 f . H f  2  f . H f

 
L1  2   
Where :-
 f and  are Effective unit weight of the fill and the underlying
clay layer, respectively.
 For end - bearing piles, the neutral depth may be assumed to be
located at the pile tip ( i.e. L1 = L – Hf )
 The unit negative skin friction at any depth from Z=0 to Z=L1 is
f n K   otan 
Where K   K o  1  sin    'o   f .H f   .z   0.5  0.7 
Ø Total negative skin friction
L1 L1
 
Q n   p . f n . dz   p K   f . H f   . z tan  . dz
0 0

L12 . P .k   tan 
Q n   p K  f . H f tan  L1 
2
Ø If the soil and the fill are above the water table, the
effective unit weights should be replaced by moist unit
weights.
Examples on Negative skin Friction
ØNegative skin friction is a downward drag force exerted on a pile
by the soil surrounding it.
ØSuch a force can exist under the following conditions, among
others:

1. If a fill of clay soil is placed over a granular soil layer into which
a pile is driven,
2. If a fill of granular soil is placed over a layer of soft clay,
3. Lowering of the water table
 Example1: Clay Fill over Granular soil
In Figure blow, let Hf=2m . The pile is circular in cross section with a
diameter of 0.305 m. For the fill that is above the water table
γf=16kN/m3 & ф’ = 32o, and. Determine the total drag force. Use
δ’=0.6ф’ .
 Solution
Similar to the β method, the negative (downward) skin stress

Where Hf = height of the fill. If the fill is above the water table,
the effective unit weight,γ’f , should be replaced by the moist
unit weight
 Example2: Granular soil Fill over Clay
In Figure blow, let Hf=2m . The pile diameter =0.305 m, γ’f=16.5kN/m3
Solution
 In this case, the negative skin stress on the pile may exist
from Z=0 to Z=L1,which is referred to as the neutral plane.
The neutral depth may be given as (Bowles, 1982)

L1 
L  H   L  H
f f

 f . H f  2  f . H

f
 
L1  2   

Where :-
 f and  are Effective unit weight of the fill and the underlying
clay layer, respectively.
 For end - bearing piles, the neutral depth may be assumed to be
located at the pile tip ( i.e. L1 = L – Hf )
 The unit negative skin friction at any depth from Z=0 to Z=L1 is
f n K   otan 
Where K   K o  1  sin    'o   f .H f   .z   0.5  0.7 
Ø Total negative skin friction
L1 L1

Qn   p . f n . dz   p K   f . H f   . z  tan  . dz
0 0

L12 . P .k   tan 
Q n   p K  f . H f tan  L1 
2
Ø If the soil and the fill are above the water table, the
effective unit weights should be replaced by moist unit
weights.
33