A pile foundation is majorly used to transfer the higher capacity of load into a deeper layer of soil layer or rock strata. There can be numerous reasons why designers are forced to use pile foundations. The reasons might include weaker soil at the shallow depth, more compressible soil strata, presence of water bodies making it impossible for shallow foundations or to simply carry the uplift loads. But whatever the reason is, one must be careful while choosing the pile foundation. These are discussed as follows.

Load capacity and pile spacing

The load-carrying capacity of the piles is the primary concern that you must keep in mind. While you go about determining the capacity of the entire pile foundation, you must also be considering the pile spacing that you have planned. Besides these, considering the capacity of the individual piles are also equally important. The lateral load resistance of the piles also needs to be calculated as they might induce high bending stress in the piles.

Constructability

There are multiple effects and influences of subsurface and surface on the pile foundations and they must be anticipated and calculated carefully. Piles will be susceptible to damage during hard driving and will not be able to penetrate the hard strata or gravel or boulder-prone zones. There will also be a soil disturbance or the transmission of driving vibrations will be witnessed during the construction. It might damage all the adjacent structures and piles. So, the pile spacing and the batters must be carefully selected as it will prevent interference with other structural components. There are chances of the constructability getting affected due to the ease of splicing or cutting the pile.

Performance

The pile foundation must be performing as they are designed to be the life of the structure. The performance can easily be described in the terms of structural displacements. This might just be as harmful to the structure as that of a pile failure. Make sure the load capacity shouldn’t degrade over time as a result of the pile material deterioration.

Availability

The piles should be available in the required lengths. It might be spliced or cut for better usage.

Cost

The comparison of the cost will be based on the pile types. The final cost must include everything from storage to splicing. 

H piles that are commonly needed for deep foundation applications can be bought using this guide.