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Helical Pile Application and Design

Andrew P. Adams, P.E.


Course Outline

This one hour online course discusses the Helical Pile History, Typical Application, Helical Pile Types, and Design Considerations. This course will enable the designer to properly understand and specify helical piles for new construction and remediation applications.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Intended Audience

This course is intended for structural and civil engineers.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will be able to properly identify the uses of helical piles in new construction and remediation conditions.

Course Introduction

Helical piles, or often called helical piers, are deep foundation elements that consist of a shaft with helical bearing plates.  The basic principles of helical pile foundation load resistance are very similar to other deep foundations with regard to their reliance of bearing capacity and friction.  However, the shaft diameter on helical piles are usually relatively small, and frictional resistance is usually negligible and omitted when determining the pile capacity.

Course Content

This course content is in the following PDF document:

Helical Pile Application and Design

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

There are many useful applications for helical piles.  The most common uses are for new and remedial foundations, but the applications vary and can be modified to achieve varying results.  Though helical applications seem expedient and simple, engineers should be aware of the code requirements and design considerations to ensure proper design and installation.   

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR HELICAL FOUNDATION SYSTEMS AND DEVICES – ICC Evaluation Services
PRACTICAL DESIGN AND INSPECTION GUIDE FOR HELICAL PILES AND HELICAL TENSION ANCHORS – Intermountain Helical Piers
Design of helical pier foundations in frozen ground – University of Alaska Anchorage

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.