1808.2.23.2.1 Design Details for Piers, Piles and Grade Beams

Piers or piles shall be designed and constructed to withstand maximum imposed curvatures from earthquake ground motions and structure response. Curvatures shall include free-field soil strains modified for soil-pile-structure interaction coupled with pier or pile deformations induced by lateral pier or pile resistance to structure seismic forces. Concrete piers or piles on Site Class E or F sites, as determined in Section 1615.1.1, shall be designed and detailed in accordance with Sections 21.4.4.1, 21.4.4.2 and 21.4.4.3 of ACI 318 within seven pile diameters of the pile cap and the interfaces of soft to medium stiff clay or liquefiable strata. For precast prestressed concrete piles, detailing provisions as given in Sections 1809.2.3.2.1 and 1809.2.3.2.2 shall apply.

  Grade beams shall be designed as beams in accordance with ACI 318, Chapter 21. When grade beams have the capacity to resist the forces from the load combinations in Section 1605.4, they need not conform to ACI 318, Chapter 21.