Question

Difference between bearing piles and friction piles

Answer 1

When a pile is driven into the soil of fairly uniform consistency and the tip is not seated in a hard layer, the load-carrying capacity of the pile is developed by skin friction. The load is transferred to the adjoining soil by friction between the pile and the surrounding soil. The load is transferred downward and laterally to the soil is called friction pile. A friction pile gets his bearing load mostly from friction along the shaft. 

Typical end-bearing piles are driven through the very soft soil, such as a loose silt-bearing stratum underlain by compressible strata. Remember this factor when determining the load the piles can support safely. A bearing pile gets his bearing load mostly form its resistance at its pile point, normally these are very short piles.