Influence of Flood on the Behavior of Friction Piles

Structures are commonly supported on pile foundations at locations having marginal soil. Friction piles are provided wherever the depth to a hard stratum is large. The load settlement behavior of a friction pile entirely depends on the interaction between soil and the pile material at their interface. Recently, our state experienced unprecedented flood which caused wide spread damage to various type of structures and their foundations. It was observed that the majority of failure of structures occurred due to the failure of foundation. This paper investigates the influence of drawdown of water on the load-settlement behavior and stability of friction piles. The results of a series of laboratory-scale load tests to determine the influence of drawdown on the settlement of pile are presented. Laboratory-scale load tests on model pile are carried out in a masonry tank, which has arrangements for pumping in water and drawdown. The influence of rate of drawdown on settlement is studied by varying the discharge of inflow of water. It is observed that the settlement of pile considerably increases due to sudden drawdown.