Micropiles are an upcoming foundation element and many colleagues – designers as well as
contractors - are surprised about the possibilities.
But Micropiles are not something new – they have been used already for a very long time as
foundation elements. What´s new are the materials used. Very simple and easy to use are
Ductile Iron Cast Piles, which are in use in Europe since the beginning of the 90-ties – especially
in Austria. Admissible bearing capacity varies between 300 kN up to 1100 kN depending on
diameter and wall thickness. The main part of the pile system is the coupling, which enables
an “unlimited” length and besides that no wasted piece of ductile iron cast pile. Combined
with a reinforcement bar the piles can also be used for tension piles.
Subjects: micropile foundation, ductile iron cast piles
Author: Andreas Brandner
Publisher: ISM, DFI, ADSC