Observations on Pile Design and Construction Practices in India

This paper reviews the design and construction practices on pile foundation being adopted in India observed over the last three decades. The factors that affect the choice of the pile have been discussed highlighting the necessity of initial field tests prior to the detailed design. A case study is presented where choice of the pile was made based on initial field tests on piles of promising types. The common problems faced during pile construction in each type of pile with possible remedial measures that can improve the performance are described. Various issues in pile design are reviewed with some of the experimental and numerical work carried out on lateral load on piles in slope, pile group effect under lateral load, negative drag force, rock-socketed pile, etc. Finally, the need for more such full-scale field tests and monitoring with instrumentation is emphasized to achieve an optimum pile design along with few case studies on such tests carried out. The review reveals remarkable improvements, both in the design and construction, comparable with that in other countries.