Laboratory investigation of pore pressure dissipation in clay around permeable piles

Excess pore-water pressures induced by pile driving could have a detrimental effect on a project, especially on the construction sequence and ground settlement. Measures that can effectively accelerate dissipation of pore pressures are therefore valuable. One way to reduce the pore pressure is the use of permeable piles. This paper presents a series of model-scale laboratory tests conducted on piles with drainage holes around the pile circumference. It is found that permeable piles could accelerate soil consolidation significantly, and the beneficial effects are more apparent for group pile tests. An approximate influencing zone of permeable piles was derived in this study based on the experimental observations.