Norwegian Experiences with Steel Piles to Rock

Synopsis The Paper reviews 25 years of Norwegian experience in the use of steel piles for foundations. The condition of soft clay overlying a hard and oftensteeply inclined rock surface which is common in Norway creates a number of problems in the design and driving of point bearing piles to bedrock. Methods of pile driving which have been evolved to ensure a satisfactory sealing of the pile point into rock are described in detail. The problems of the buckling of piles under load and of the corrosion of steel piles in the ground are discussed in the light of recorded experience. Finally, the settlements of single piles and of buildings are discussed.The settlement of a successful single pile is found approximately equal to the elastic compression of the pile, whereas observations indicate that thesettlements of buildings are two to four times this value. L'article passe en revue 25 ans d'experience norvegienne dans I'emploi de pieux en acier pour fondations. Les conditions souvent rencontrees en Norvege, ...