Comparison Study of Pile Foundation Using Eurocode 7 and Working Stress Design Approach

Abstract

-Working Stress Design Approach (WSDA) has been used extensively to design Footing, Raft and Pile foundations with a global safety factor. A new design concept, Limit State Design Approaches (LSDA), following the Eurocode 7 has become popular in recent years. A comparison study between a working stress design approach with a factor of safety equal to two and the Ultimate Limit State (ULS) using Eurocode 7 design approaches with Serviceability Limit State verification (SLS) is done to evaluate the most economic design approach. This is done by calculating the number of piles to support a building of a characteristic vertical permanent load of 60 MN and a characteristic vertical variable load of 20 MN on 18 m bored piles with a diameter of 0.5 m founded on a multi-layer system of silty clay and silty sand and spaced at 3 meter centres. A simulation of three pile load tests using Finite Element Method PLAXIS Software were used in this study to determine the characteristic value of pile resistance and demonstrate pile foundation design using static pile load tests following the Eurocode7.