GGU-AXPILE: Tension piles

Of course, for tension piles, no data is required with regard to the base resistance. The allowable pile load is determined from the skin friction only. This value is compared to the value for the weight of the so-called pull-out cone.

The determining factor for the size of the pull-out cone is the friction angle (see figure above). The weight is determined from the unit weights entered, taking the groundwater level into consideration. The weight is divided by the safety factor eta (pull-out); this can be given in the menu item "Edit/System parameters" when defining the driven piles. If the thus reduced weight is smaller than the force from skin friction, the value is used as the allowable pile loading.

For tension piles, reductions are necessary dependent upon the expected number of load cycles. This reduction is not performed by the current program version.