Major differences among Pile, Pier, Column and Pillar

In this exclusive civil engineering article, you will come to know the basic discrepancies among different types of structural components like pile, pier, column and pillar.

These are basically structural members mostly found at the construction site.

Pile: It stands for any compressive member that is situated under the ground level. Fundamentally it signifies that any compressive member underneath the ground level that has the strength to withstand operative load from structure is known as pile.

Pile are mostly utilized in areas where bearing strength of soil is weak. The pile can be erected in foundation of bridges as well as buildings. Therefore, the prime objective of pile is to enhance the bearing strength of soil.

Pier: Pier has the similarity with a pile but the basic variation among these two is that the pile is erected underneath the ground level an it remains hidden whereas the pier is erected over the ground level and it is observable.

The load is normally transmitted from beam to pier, then from pier to pile cape and then from pile cape to pile.

Column: Column stands for a compression member that is mainly applied in RCC structure and it is mainly used to withstand the load of the structure & deliver it to the foundation.

Also Read: Types of piles generally found in construction

In RCC structure loads are passed on from slab to beam, then beam to column & then from column to footing and the walls are non-load bearing walls.

Pillar: Pillar is mainly constructed to enhance architectural look. Therefore, the column built up for architectural view is known as pillar. It can’t withstand load.

It contains own self weight but it is not capable of bearing any sort of load from the structure. People integrate column and pillar jointly but column is intended for load and pillar is for astatic view.