Relationship between installation torque and axial capacities of helical piles in cohesionless soils

Abstract

With the rapid growth of the helical piling industry for oil and gas projects and transmission lines, reliable installation torque estimates and measurements become crucial. This paper presents a theoretical model developed to estimate the torsional resistance of cohesionless soils to helical pile installation. The theoretical torque model was verified using installation records collected from different sites. The paper also highlights factors that affect helical pile installation, including soil properties, fluctuation in groundwater levels, shape of pile shaft, pile geometry, and method of helical pile installation. The proposed torsional resistance model was then used to establish the traditional torque factors to proportionally correlate the axial capacity of helical pile and the installation torque. The results of the study indicated that the torque factor is a function of the load path (i.e., tension or compression). Therefore, torque factors in compression and tension, K c and K t , respectively, were formulated and presented in the paper.