ABSTRACT
Piles must be designed to withstand stresses caused during their installation and subsequentlywhen they function as supporting members in afoundation structure. Stresses due to installation occur only in the case of piles driven as preformed elements. Such piles must be capable of withstanding bending stresses when they are lifted from their fabrication bed and pitched in the piling rig. They are then subjected to compressive, and sometimes to tensile,stresses as they are being driven into the ground and may also suffer bending stresses if they deviate from their true alignment. Piles of all types may be subjected to bending stresses caused by eccentric loading, either as adesigned loading condition or as aresult of the pile heads deviating from their intended positions. Differential settlement between adjacent piles or pile groups can induce bending moments near the pile heads as aresult of distortion of the pile caps or connecting beams.
