Piles in consolidating soils

Elasto-plastic load transfer theory of piles and pile groups in a consolidating upper soil is introduced and the effect of delayed pile installation after commencement of consolidation is investigated. Values for various parameters for piles in consolidating soils encountered in practice are reviewed. Transformation of multi-layer soil for practical problems have to be transformed to a two layers soil with a consolidating upper soil layer. Illustrative examples on the use of design charts of elasto-plastic load transfer theory for single piles and pile groups are presented.