Curing of pile foundations

The curing of construction in Pile foundation is not done with the conventional approach. In fact, curing is not done manually. Curing is happened due to moisture, presence in wet soil. Curing period of concrete as per is code minimum of 14 days.

Why the curing of concrete is important?

The basic purpose of curing is to maintain the moisture in the concrete. Since the added water to the dry concrete mix is sufficient for the reaction of hydration of cement plus workability of concrete, there is no further requirement of water for curing. Water requires gaining the strength of concrete during the setting. The water in the concrete should not be reduced due to solar heat and wind.

Pile foundation recommended mostly in marshy land, having a low bearing capacity of soil strata. Normally this type of soil has sufficient moisture.

The entire concrete mass of the pile foundation is below ground level. This prevents any direct exposure to the sun rays and the winds. Water presence in moist soil will sufficient for curing.

How is pile foundation curing done?

The curing of concrete in a Pile foundation is not done with the conventional approach. In fact, curing is not done manually. Curing is happened due to moisture, presence in wet soil.

How is the relationship between curing temperature and pile cover thickness?

Pile cover thickness is a major concern of geotechnical engineering. In order to solve this problem, new monitoring technology has been developed. This technology is based on the temperature monitoring of the concrete pile at an early age using distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS). It is shown that the measured curing temperature of the pile is closely related to the concrete cover thickness. This relationship between curing temperature profile and pile cover thickness can be calculated using finite element analysis. In one case study, the calculated pile cover thickness varies with depth, which shows a good match with the concrete cover thickness profile obtained by the in-situ sonic calliper.

Why is the factor of safety (F.O.S.) required to obtain the design-working load?

It is necessary to divide the calculated ultimate resistance of the pile (or the ultimate resistance derived from load testing) by a safety factor to obtain the design working load on the pile.

A safety factor is required for the following reasons:

  • To provide for natural variations in the strength and compressibility of the soil
  • To provide for uncertainties in the calculation method used
  • To ensure that the working stresses on the material forming the pile shaft are within the safe limits
  • To ensure that the total settlement(s) of the single isolated pile or the group of piles are within tolerable limits
  • To ensure that the differential settlements between adjacent piles or within groups of piles are within tolerable limits.

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