Pile Load Test: IS: 2911 (Part 4) - 1985 IS: 14893-2001
Pile Load Test: IS: 2911 (Part 4) - 1985 IS: 14893-2001
Pile load testing is the most definitive method of determining load capacity of a pile. Testing a
pile for failure provides valuable information to the design engineer and is recommended for
load tests performed prior to the foundation design. We at Struct Geotech follow IS: 2911 (Part
4) – 1985, IS: 14893-2001 load test on piles method. This method is applicable to all kinds of
deep foundations that function in a manner similar to piles regardless of their method of
installation. It does not specify a particular method to be used, but rather provides several
optional methods. These tests involve the application of a load capable of displacing the
foundation and determining its capacity from its response.
Struct Geotech engineers constantly seek more and more effective techniques of monitoring pile
construction to estimate as accurately as possible the ultimate field capacity of piles. In addition,
our engineers are also interested in monitoring methods that would reveal information leading to,
Struct Geotech has well defined and experienced engineers who conduct pile load test using
standeardized methods, It has advanced in house ( Main and Supports ) equipments required to
conduct pile load test.
Description:
Pile Integrity Testing/ Sonic Echo Testing:
Hammer and driving system performance for productivity and construction control
Dynamic pile stresses during and after installation. To reduce the possibility of pile
damage, stress must be kept within certain bounds
Pile integrity during and after installation
Static pile bearing capacity, at the time of testing. For the evaluation of long term
capacity, piles are generally tested during re-strike some time after installation
We use an enhanced analysis, called CAPWAP, which enables us to correlate the measured data
with the known pile / soil model elements. The end result of CAPWAP, via a rigorous and
repeated signal matching solution, produces a pile driving summary that contains pile capacity,
percent end bearing / skin friction, measured pile compression and tension stresses. Using this
type of empirical and analytical data assistance, we can validate a project's design requirements
with superior accuracy and speed.
The static pile load test is the most common method of testing the capacity of a pile and it is also
considered to be the best measure of foundation suitability to resist anticipated design loads. The
static load test involves the direct measurement of pile head displacement in the response to a
physically applied test load. This test provides very reliable data for pile capacity. The capacity
is actual structural or geotechnical capacities, not calculated from idealized data. This can allow
for a lower factor of safety in the design if the pile performs better than expected (and vice
versa).
This method is applicable to all kind of pile types, over land or over water, and may be carried
out on either production piles or test piles. Test piles are specifically constructed for the purpose
of carrying out load tests and therefore, are commonly loaded to failure. Testing of production
piles however, is limited to prove that a pile will perform satisfactorily at the serviceability or
design load, plus an overload to demonstrate that the pile has some reserve capacity.
Static load testing includes from the most simple (kentledge) to the complex (bidirectional)
method.
Providing all equipments allows the company to offer a full package of design, supply, erect,
test, strip and demobilize. All the Pile Load Test systems are designed to allow easy interfacing
with Struct Geotech range of jacking and testing equipment.
No longer does piling companies have to:-
Design a load frame, select the equipment from its yard, crane them onto a hired-in
lorry, send additional manpower to site, provide a crane to unload the lorry and erect
the frame on site.
Re-mobilize labor and a crane, strip down the frame and load it out, transport back to
yard, off-load and store it.
Worry about whether all the equipments have been sent to site or whether that one vital
part gets "lost" in transit or damaged on site.
All these are efficiently taken care of by Struct Geotech, and the piling/ Construction Company
can concentrate on its core activity.
One of the most difficult tasks in geotechnical engineering is made easy by Struct Geotech in the
determination of skin friction for piers which helps the design engineer in the evaluation of the
pile load capacity. Full-scale pile load tests, on the other hand, are too expensive and time-
consuming for routine design purposes.
Pull-out tests are the ideal alternative because of their low cost, relative rapid execution, and
reliability of results. The actual skin resistance between concrete and in-situ soil can be measured
at different elevations within the soil profile. The greater certainty achieved from pullout testing
eliminates overly conservative design values, which in turn reduces as-constructed costs.
Experience has shown that these savings far exceed the cost of pullout testing.