Information presented on this page is intended to demonstrate the section design convergence of AS 2159 & 3600 provisions for pile foundations that can be achieved with SkyCiv. All examples are taken from the following books:
Book 1: Ruwan Rajapakse, Pile Design and Construction Rules of Thumb, 2016.
Book 2: Lonnie Pack, Australian Guidebook for Structural Engineers, 2018.
Discrepancies between the manual calculation and SkyCiv results are expected due to the recent changes in AS 3600. Lonnie Packs follows the previous version of the standard (AS 3600-2009), as SkyCiv implements the most recent release (AS 3600-2018).
Vertical Geotechnical Capacity
Example 7.4.1 (Book 1): Compute the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Section | |
| Diameter | 500 mm |
| Length | 10 m |
| Soil Properties | |
| Unit Weight | 17.3 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 30 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Groundwater Table | Not present |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual | SkyCiv |
| Vertical Effective Pressure | 173 kPa | 173 kPa |
| Base Resistance term | 713.3 kN | 713.338 kN |
| Average Effective Vertical Stress | 86.5 kPa | 86.500 kPa |
| Shaft Frictional Resistance Term | 703.5 kN | 703.510 kN |
| Ultimate Bearing Capacity | 1,416.8 kN | 1,416.848 kN |
Example 7.4.2 (Book 1): Compute the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Section | |
| Diameter | 500 mm |
| Length | 10 m |
| Soil Properties | |
| Unit Weight | 17.3 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 30 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Groundwater Table | 3 m |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual | SkyCiv |
| Vertical Effective Pressure | 104.33 kPa | 104.330 kPa |
| Base Resistance term | 430.19 kN | 430.188 kN |
| Average Effective Vertical Stress | ||
| 0-3m | 25.95 kPa | 25.950 kPa |
| 3-10m | 78.12 kPa | 78.115 kPa |
| Shaft Frictional Resistance Term | ||
| 0-3m | 63.32 kN | 63.316 kN |
| 3-10m | 444.72 kN | 444.720 kN |
| Total Shaft Frictional Resistance Term | 508.04 kN | 508.036 kN |
| Ultimate Bearing Capacity | 938.22 kN | 938.224 kN |
Example 7.4.3 (Book 1): Compute the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Section | |
| Diameter | 500 mm |
| Length | 12 m |
| Layer 1-Soil Properties | |
| Thickness | 5 m |
| Unit Weight | 17.3 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 30 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Groundwater Table | Not present |
| Layer 2-Soil Properties | |
| Thickness | 7 m |
| Unit Weight | 16.9 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 32 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Groundwater Table | Not present |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual | SkyCiv |
| Vertical Effective Pressure | 204.8 kPa | 204.800 kPa |
| Base Resistance term | 1,166.2 kN | 1,166.159 kN |
| Average Effective Vertical Stress | ||
| Layer 1 | 43.3 kPa | 43.250 kPa |
| Layer 2 | 145.7 kPa | 145.650 kPa |
| Shaft Frictional Resistance Term | ||
| Layer 1 | 176.1 kN | 175.878 kN |
| Layer 2 | 891.6 kN | 891.295 kN |
| Ultimate Bearing Capacity | 2,233.9 kN | 2,233.332 kN |
Example 7.4.4 (Book 1): Compute the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Section | |
| Diameter | 500 mm |
| Length | 15 m |
| Layer 1-Soil Properties | |
| Thickness | 5 m |
| Unit Weight | 17.3 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 30 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Groundwater Table | 3 m |
| Layer 2-Soil Properties | |
| Thickness | 7 m |
| Unit Weight | 16.9 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 32 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 0 KPa |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual | SkyCiv |
| Vertical Effective Pressure | 137.9 kPa | 137.780 kPa |
| Base Resistance term | 785.2 kN | 784.538 kN |
| Average Effective Vertical Stress | ||
| 0-3m | 26 kPa | 25.950 kPa |
| 3-5m | 59.4 kPa | 59.390 kPa |
| 5-15m | 102.4 kPa | 102.330 kPa |
| Shaft Frictional Resistance Term | ||
| 0-3m | 63.4 kN | 63.316 kN |
| 3-5m | 96.6 kN | 96.605 kN |
| 5-15m | 895.2 kN | 894.573 kN |
| Ultimate Bearing Capacity | 1,840.4 kN | 1,839.032 kN |
Axial & Flexural Capacities
Example 4.6 (Book 2): Determine the compressive and bending capacity of the following section:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Section | |
| Depth | 600 mm |
| Width | 400 mm |
| Reinforcement | |
| Top Bars | 4-N20 Bars |
| Middle Bars | 2-N20 Bars |
| Bottom Bars | 4-N20 Bars |
| Shear Bars | R10-200 |
| Materials | |
| Concrete Strength | 40 MPa |
| Rebar Strength | 500 MPa |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual (AS 3600 2009) | SkyCiv (AS 3600 2018) |
| Plastic Centroid (dq) | 300 mm | 300 mm |
| α 1 | 0.85 | 0.85 |
| α 2 | 0.85 | 0.790 |
| γ | 0.77 | 0.870 |
| Squash Load Point (ΦNuo) | 5,774 kN | 5,774.389 kN |
| Compression Block Area (Ac) | 89,040 mm2 | 99,597.600 mm2 |
| Concrete Compressive Force (Fcc) | 3,027 kN | 3,147.284 kN |
| Top Bar Strain (εs(top)) | 0.0023 | 0.00227 |
| Middle Bar Strain (εs(mid)) | -0.0001 | -0.00014 |
| Bottom Bar Strain (εs(bot)) | -0.0025 | -0.00256 |
| Ultimate Axial Capacity (Nu) | 2,913.5 kN | 3,030.648 kN |
| Design Axial Capacity (ϕNu) | 1,748 kN | 1,818.389 kN |
| Ultimate Bending Capacity (Mu) | 837.4 kN-m | 818.739 kN-m |
| Design Bending Capacity (ϕMu) | 502 kN-m | 491.243 kN-m |
Laterally Loaded Piles
Example 5.2 (Book 2): Calculate the horizontal geotechnical capacity of free-headed pile found on a stiff-over consolidated clay with the following pile and soil parameters:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Pile Data | |
| Pile Length | 3.5 meters |
| Pile Diameter | 0.6 meters |
| Soil Properties | |
| Unit Weight | 16 kN/m3 |
| Friction Angle | 45 Degrees |
| Cohesion | 2 KPa |
| Geotechnical Reduction Factor | 0.45 |
| Material | |
| Concrete Strength | 40 MPa |
| Concrete Modulus | 32,800 MPa |
| Concrete Placement Factor | 1 |
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Manual | SkyCiv |
| Stiffness Factor (R) | 1,845 mm | 1,845.203 mm |
| Critical Length | 3,690 mm | 3,690.405 mm |
| Equivalent Eccentricity | 725 mm | 725 mm |
| Passive Soil Pressure (At depth: 3.5m) | 843.9 kPa | 843.943 kPa |
| Passive Force (At depth: 3.5m) | 354.4 kN | 354.456 kN |
| Moment about V*applied (At depth: 3.5m) | 1,373.5 kN-m | 1,373.517 kN-m |
| Moment about the Rotation Point (At depth: 3.5m) | 124.1 kN-m | 124.060 kN-m |
| Unfactored Horizontal Capacity | 184 kN-m | 184.077 kN |
| Factored Horizontal Capacity | 82.8 kN-m | 82.835 kN |
