Does filling the PEARSON PILE with reinforced concrete increase the structural capacity?
The load bearing capacity will be increased by some percentage (based on pile diameter), but not significantly. A 14″ pile driven to refusal may have an initial capacity of between 60,000 lbs. and 90,000 lbs. depending on hammer energy and skin friction with the soil. Filling this pile will not change the skin friction but, on the plus side, it will increase the inertia (mass) of the pile to dampen lateral accelerations. We have found that filling the pile with concrete will increase the stiffness somewhat, but it will not increase the lateral load capacity at all because the concrete will crack long before the composite starts to assume the load.
