Driven cast in-situ (DCIS) piles are constructed by driving a closed-ended hollow steel or concrete casing into the ground and then filling it with concrete.

Driven cast in-situ piles illustration

Common uses

Foundations for new buildings (residential and commercial)
Infrastructure
Floor slabs and load transfer platforms
Bridge abutments and piers
Where ground conditions are highly variable as they are driven to a set or pre-determined resistance
Regeneration sites where a legacy of obstructions would otherwise damage pre-formed piles

Process

The 25mm thick heavy steel tube is driven with the end closed by a steel shoe. On reaching the required driving resistance, a full length cage is lowered in to the tube and filled with high slump concrete. The tube is then vibrated out leaving a shaft of concrete.

Advantages

Quick to install and can be installed with an integral pile cap to reduce the thickness of any floor slab supported by them
Offer significant load capacities
Avoid the need to dispose of spoil associated with displacement piling
Extensive range of pile sizes, typically from 340mm to 630mm diameter
Potential to overcome hard bands or minor obstructions
Provides a self-sealing displacement pile which limits contamination pathways to the surface which can occur with other piling techniques

Quality assurance

Keller has extensive experience with driven cast in-situ piles, evolving the technique to ensure that high quality standards are achieved at all times.

Driven cast in-situ piles are instrumented during the installation process to provide high quality records during the construction process. A robust testing schedule also demonstrates the high performance/quality standards achieved.