HIDDEN DRAGLOAD
RISKS POSED BY NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION TO PILE INTEGRITY IN SOFT SOILS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/jpensil.v15i3.70959Keywords:
Consolidation, Dragload, Negative Skin Friction, Pile Integrity, Soft SoilAbstract
Consolidation of soft soil surrounding pile foundations can generate negative skin friction and dragload that is not represented by the superstructure load. This study presents an integrated field, analytical, and numerical diagnosis of pile vulnerability at an operating industrial facility in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, where 3.5 m of fill overlies 3–7 m of peat and soft clay. Sixth-year field observations indicated 0.50–0.80 m of ground settlement. Borehole and laboratory data, one-dimensional consolidation, dragload estimation, pile-length sensitivity from 18 to 28 m, and MIDAS SoilWorks modelling were combined. The estimated dragload was 330.7 kN, or 50.3% of the sustained structural load. Including dragload produced geotechnical utilization ratios of 1.334 and 1.013 for 18 m and 21 m piles. The 22 m pile was the minimum length satisfying the adopted axial geotechnical criterion, with URg = 0.935 and a 68.6 kN margin, but the maximum moment reached 86.86 kNm, or 95.9% of the adopted cracking moment. These results indicate limited geotechnical margin and structural vulnerability, not confirmed pile damage. Continued settlement monitoring and pile-integrity testing are required before intervention decisions.
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