Auger Cast Piles

Auger cast piles can be used as a:

• Friction pile, where the superstructure load is transferred to the soil through friction between the pile surface and the soil;
• End bearing pile, where the superstructure load is transferred through the pile tip into a hard stratum of soil or rock;
• Anchor pile, where hydrostatic or other uplift forces are resisted through a full length tendon embedded in the grout column;
• Vertical component of a continuous auger cast curtain wall in temporary or permanent shoring systems and below grade walls; and
• Temporary or permanent diagonal tieback in auger cast curtain walls, beam and lagging walls, and sheet pile walls.

Auger cast piles are installed by rotating a continuous flight, hollow shaft auger into the soil to a specified depth. High strength cement grout is pumped under pressure through the hollow shaft as the auger is slowly withdrawn. The resulting grout column hardens and forms an auger cast pile. Reinforcing, when required, can be installed while the cement grout is still fluid or, in the case of full length single reinforcing bars, through the hollow shaft of the auger prior to the withdrawal and grouting process.

Advantages using auger cast piles include: Less noise - Auger cast piles are a drilled and pumped pile not a driven pile, which eliminates the hammer-impact noise created by driving piles. No objectionable vibration - The elimination of a pile-driving hammer allows the installation of auger cast piles adjacent to existing structures without the danger of settlement or damage to existing footings, walls, other structural components, or existing nearby equipment. No casing required - During the installation of an auger cast pile the earth filled auger maintains the shape for the pile hole during the drilling phase. The pressures produced by the grout pump during the withdrawal and grouting phase exceed the lateral pressures exerted by the soil, and while the gout is still fluid, the lateral pressures per foot of depth from the grout exceed those pressures per foot of depth of the soil. Can be installed in limited headroom conditions - Auger sections can be manufactured to accommodate installation of auger cast piles inside buildings with as little as 7-10 feet of headroom. Soil at each pile hole can be inspected - The grout that is pumped into the pile displaces the existing soil for the entire length of the pile. This displacing action makes the soil along the length available for visual inspection and testing. For additional technical information regarding auger cast piles, go to www.augercastpiles.com