Validity of methods used to determine the design load on a driven pile

Conclusions

1. The methods given in Construction Norms and Regulations II-17-77 for determination of design loads permitted on piles are not equivalent in terms of reliability of results obtained and the time and resources expanded for their realization. They should be used with consideration of the stage of design development, complexity of the engineering-geologic conditions at the construction site, and characteristic structural features of the buildings and designs, in conformity with Appendix 3 of "Guidelines for the design of pile foundations."

2. The more precise definition of methods used to compute the bearing capacity of piles from static-probe data and the combined use of fundamental methods makes it possible to save 25 million rubles, 8000 tons of steel, and 70,000 tons of cement per year throughout the country on the whole due to an increase in design loads on piles.