Precast Concrete Pile Sections:: Prestressed Concrete Piles General Information
Precast Concrete Pile Sections:: Prestressed Concrete Piles General Information
Precast Concrete Pile Sections:: Prestressed Concrete Piles General Information
The prestressed concrete pile sections used by the Structure and Bridge Division and listed in
File No. 12.06-2 along with their section properties are taken from the AASHTO/PCI standard
prestressed concrete pile sections.
CONCRETE:
Concrete used in the design of prestressed concrete piles shall be Class A5 having a minimum
28 day compressive strength of 5000 psi.
The minimum compressive strength of concrete required at release shall be 3500 psi.
When piles are exposed in bridges over tidal water such as in pile bents and in footings
constructed above Mean High Tide elevation, the concrete shall be cured and finished in
accordance with Section 404 of the VDOT Road and Bridge Specifications.
REINFORCEMENT:
All prestressed and non-prestressed reinforcement used in the design and fabrication of
prestressed concrete piles shall conform to the requirements contained in File Nos. 12.01-1
and -2, and as specified below.
Prestressing strands used in the design of the prestressed concrete piles shall be 1/2” diameter
strands.
Spiral ties shall be #5 gage steel wire. For Seismic Performance Category B bridges or other
structures, #4/0 gage wire or #3 reinforcing bars shall be used.
Prestressing strands shall be laid out symmetrical about a vertical and horizontal axis through the
centroid of the pile cross section. Strand pattern may be either square or circular.
When piles are exposed in bridges over tidal water such as in pile bents and in footings
constructed above Mean High Tide elevation, the spiral ties and all other reinforcing bars shall be
epoxy coated or hot dipped galvanized.
The design bearing capacity of a pile used for foundation design is generally governed by the
pile-soil system which is usually limited by the strength of the soil and not by the structural
strength of the pile. Therefore, the designer shall have these loads evaluated by the
Geotechnical Support section.
Pi = Prestressing force per strand just prior to release after losses due to anchorage set and other
factors.
fpc = Compressive stress in concrete after total losses at c.g. of pile cross section.
The design bearing capacity (pile strength) shown above is based on the
equation N = Ag[0.33f’c – 0.27fpc] for concentrically loaded and laterally supported piles
(kl/r values less than or equal to 60) fully embedded in soil using concrete having a strength
of 5000 psi and the effective prestress shown above.