1.

Introduction

Plate load test is the most definitive method of determining load capacity of pile. Testing a pile to failure provides valuable information to the design engineer and is recommended for load tests performed prior to the foundation design. Such testing permits the selection of both optimum helical screw foundation and the design load.

Pile load testing provides an opportunity for continuous improvement in foundation design and construction practices, while at the same time fulfilling its traditional role of design validation and routine quality control of the piling works. In order to achieve this improvement, data from pile tests has to be collected and analyzed to enable the piling industry, both individually and collectively, to make the best use of resources. To justify its cost to the industry, pile testing must have a value. The magnitude of this value will be increased through a better understanding of the process and its benefits.

2.0

Principle or Purpose

According to DIN 1054 and Euro code 7, the purpose of pile load testing is to reliably determine the bearing capacity as well as the settlement behaviour of single piles for a particular project.

The second objective of pile load testing in addition to determining the bearing capacity of a pile is to determine its settlement behaviour. If a compression pile settles significantly in a loading test or if a tension pile rises "significantly" in a pull-out test, the limit condition with load Qg is reached. A pile's safety is related to this load limit Qg as follows:

= Qg / Qul

The load limit Qg is marked on the load/settlement or load/heave curve where the significant settlements and heaves occur. With large-diameter piles, the test load (at least twice as high as the subsequent structural load) often fails to result in a limit load Qg . To comply with DIN 1054 in these cases it is sufficient to conduct the load test up to settlement of the pile head equal to four-fold the settlement at design load. Other standards recommend a settlement limit of 2.0 cm for bored piles and 0.025 d (in cm) for driven piles in such cases.

3.0

Equipment

3.1

Reaction Beam

The steel girders will be laid across the test pile with system set up

3.2

Hydraulic Jacks

i) Axial Compressive Test: One hydraulic jack (1x400) ton capacity will be provided on top of the pile head as loading apparatus. ii) Axial Tension Test: One hydraulic jack (1x165) ton capacity will be provided on top of the pile head as loading apparatus. iii) Lateral Test: One hydraulic jack (1x59) ton capacity will be provided on the side of the pile head as loading apparatus.

3.3

Ball Bearing

To provide non-eccentric load to the pile head, a ball bearing shall be inserted in between the reaction beam and the hydraulic jack.

3.4

Dial gauges

Four dial gauges will be provided to monitor the pile movements by mounting between the pile head and reference beams. The micrometer has a range of 0-50 mm and an accuracy of 0.01 mm.

3.5

Reference Beam

Two reference beams (channel 125x65x5 mm) will be cross-connected and laid on support, firmly embedded in ground with one end fixed and the other end freed.

3.6

Leveling instrument

Relative movements of the test pile head, reference beam and anchor pile will be checked by a Shokisha precise leveling instrument with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. Readings will be made on ruler scale fixed on the reading points (1 point at pile head, 2 points at reference beams and 1 point at each anchor pile).

4.0

Procedure

4.1

Compression Pile Load Test

The test shall conform to the modified ASTM D 1143-81 (Reapproved 1994) item 5.0 Standard Loading Procedure with load sequence in percentage of design load. Three cycles of test will be performed.

4.1.1

Cycle 1 (maximum to 100% of the design load)

a)

The load will be added gradually by increasing from initial 0 to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the design load.

b)

When each load increment will be achieved, the next load increment will be added only when the settlement rate will be less than 0.25 mm per hour or after 2 hours, whichever shall occur first.

c)

At each load increment, load, settlement and time will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 240 minutes and every 2 hours with an accuracy of at least 0.01 mm.

d)

The maximum load will be kept constant for at least 24 hours and then reduced to 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of the design load, respectively. Each load will be maintained until the rate of settlement would not be greater than 0.25 mm per hour or after two hours, whichever shall occur first.

e)

At "0" load, rebound movement will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 40, 60 minutes and every hour thereafter until a constant settlement will be reached.

4.1.2

Cycle 2 (Quick Test, maximum to 200% of the design load)

a)

The load will be added gradually by increasing from initial 0 to 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 175% and 200% of the design load.

b)

When each load increment will be achieved, the next load increment will be added every after 5 minutes.

c)

At each load increment, load, settlement and time will be recorded at 1 and 5 minutes with an accuracy of at least 0.01 mm.

d)

The load will then be reduced to 175%, 150%, 125%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of the design load, respectively

e)

At "0" load, rebound movement will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 40, 60 minutes and every hour thereafter until a no further settlement will be experienced.

f)

The test pile will be considered failure when a rapid progressive movement of the pile in the direction of loading under a constant load or physical failure of the test pile is observed or a settlement of more than 15% of the diagonal dimension of the pile, which is equivalent to 90mm.

4.2

Tension Pile Load Test

The test shall conform to the ASTM D 3689-90 (Reapproved 1995) Standard Test Method for Individual Piles Under Static Axial Tensile Load. with load sequence as explain below. The test will be conducted until the pile exhibit signs of failure.

4.2.1

Cycle 1 (maximum to 100% of the design load)

a) The load will be added gradually by increasing from initial 0 to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the design load. b) When each load increment will be achieved, the next load increment will be added only when the settlement rate will be less than 0.25 mm per hour or after 2 hours, whichever shall occur first. c) At each load increment, load, settlement and time will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 240 minutes and every 2 hours with an accuracy of at least 0.01 mm. d) The maximum load will be kept constant for at least 24 hours and then reduced to 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of the design load, respectively. Each load will be maintained until the rate of settlement would not be greater than 0.25 mm per hour or after two hours, whichever shall occur first. e) At "0" load, rebound movement will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 40, 60 minutes and every hour thereafter until a constant settlement will be reached.

4.2.2

Cycle 2 (Quick Test, maximum to 200% of the design load)

a)

The load will be added gradually by increasing from initial 0 to 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 175% and 200% of the design load.

b)

When each load increment will be achieved, the next load increment will be added every after 5 minutes.

c)

At each load increment, load, settlement and time will be recorded at 1 and 5 minutes with an accuracy of at least 0.01 mm.

d)

The load will then be reduced to 175%, 150%, 125%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of the design load, respectively

e)

At "0" load, rebound movement will be recorded at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 40, 60 minutes and every hour thereafter until a no further settlement will be experienced.

f)

The test pile will be considered failure when a rapid progressive movement of the pile in the direction of loading under a constant load or physical failure of the test pile is observed or a settlement of more than 15% of the diagonal dimension of the pile, which is equivalent to 90 mm.

4.3

Lateral Pile Load Test The test shall conform to the ASTM D 3966-90 Standard Test Method for Individual Piles Under Lateral Load. with load sequence as explain below. The test will be conducted until the pile exhibit signs of failure.

a) The load will be added gradually by increasing from initial 0 to 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 170%, 180%, 190% and 200% of the design load. b) When each load increment will be achieved, the next load increment will be added after each load duration shown in Table 3. c) At each load increment, load and time will be recorded at 1, 5, 10 minutes with an accuracy of at least 0.01 mm. d) The test pile will be considered failure when a rapid progressive movement of the pile in the direction of loading under a constant load or physical failure of the test pile is observed. e) During the load test, records including plots of load vs. time and load vs. settlement will be maintained progressively.

5.0 The Diagram / Picture

6.0 Standard Used in Procedure 6.1 Compression Pile Load Test ASTM D 1143-81 (Reapproved 1994) item 5.0 Standard Loading Procedure with load sequence in percentage of design load.

6.2 Tension Pile Load Test ASTM D 3689-90 (Reapproved 1995) Standard Test Method for Individual Piles Under Static Axial Tensile Load.

6.3 Lateral Pile Load Test ASTM D 3966-90 Standard Test Method for Individual Piles Under Lateral Load.

IS CODE - 2911 Part IV (Latest Revision) Code of Practice for Design and construction of Pile Foundations - Load test on Piles

ASTM is American Society for Testing Materials

7.0 Interpret Load-time Curve After Load Test

8.0 Conclusion