Adhesion of piles in stiff clays

Considerable research has already been undertaken on the adhesion of bored and cast-in-situ piles in London Clay with the result that reliable methods have been established for estimating the carrying capacity and settlement at working loads of piles of this type. However, for piles driven into clays, research has generally been limited to studies of pile behaviour in soft clays. It was considered important to undertake research on piles driven into stiff clays to obtain an understanding of the mechanics of the development of skin friction, enabling a design method to be established.