See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/315191885

Verification of pile load capacity using static pile load test

Conference Paper · December 2016

CITATIONS READS

0 3,252

1 author:

Ningombam Thoiba Singh

Assam Don Bosco University
9 PUBLICATIONS   14 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Influence of piles on load-settlement behaviour of raft foundation View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ningombam Thoiba Singh on 17 March 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 CESDOC 2016

Verifications of pile load capacity using static pile load test

Ningombam Thoiba Singh

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Assam Don Bosco University, Azara, Guwahati -781017, India.

ABSTRACT

The static pile load test on a single pile involve uplift force, axial compression and lateral tests when applied either
horizontally or perpendicular to the pile axially. These tests can be applied to the pile in groups consisting of vertical piles,
batter piles or a combination of both. The observed settlements made at the top of the pile may not necessarily represent
the downward movement of the pile into the ground. The possibility of local failure of the pile above the ground surface,
or crushing of the ground under the test plate, should be recognized as possible factors contributing to observe settlements
along with the material type and size of the test piles. The results of the test program to the foundation design and
specification can often produce a substantial alteration of information and costs. Although, practically, the test results
would lead to the selection of a single design load, the requirements for various types of piles and sizes, length, shape,
installation methods and driving requirements could be varied over a wide range.

Keywords: pile load test, skin friction, settlement, crushing, test pile.

the soil obtained from the Lamphelpat was sometimes

1. INTRODUCTION used for burning purpose during the winter as the nature
of the soil is sticky expansive clay which is known as
Pile load tests are normally conducted at the
black cotton soil. The underlying soil stratum of the
construction site to verify the design load and to assess
Lamphelpat area is found layer by layer in the form of
the quality of various piles. After validation and
the mattress and no good/hard soil layers are found till
assessment, the designer confirms the design load
50 to 60m. However, the Govt. of Manipur chosen the
which already obtained from the soil testing report or
area as educational institution area which at presently
modified accordingly for the safer design in pile
exist like RIMS Imphal, NIT Manipur, CAU, ICMR,
foundation. The use of pile load test result in the
INDUSTRIES etc.
verification of foundation is limited to experiences and
The problems generally facing in this area is that the
quite often neglected by the builders or agency. The
septic tank or outside peripheral service drain will
variation of load bearing capacity of the pile having the
remain at the same level as it was because of not much
same configuration is relatively narrow down by
weight, while the building is sinking because of its own
conducting various load tests to all the construction
heavy weight during heavy vehicles running near the
using piles. Possible increase in number of load test at
building or earthquake. Thus, there is level difference
the construction site, compromising the cost and time
between the septic tank/drain and inside room level at
overrun is discussed. Prediction of load carrying
the ground floor. Because of the level difference,
capacity and possible settlement of the pile foundation
during the rainy season, all the dirt from the Septic tank
can be extrapolated from the pile load test which is
or service drain float inside the room and thus create
quite advantages and simple. In most of the advanced
many the unwanted situation. Therefore, it is mandatory
country also like Japan, USA, Canada, Australia etc.
to give full attention with research for providing a
the use of the ultimate load bearing capacity from the
proper foundation of any buildings/projects otherwise,
pile load test is common practice for pile design using
the buildings or the structures may found sinking and
the empirical relations following the design codes.
after some years the building looks like a plinth-less
Before 2010, Engg. Project India Ltd. (EPIL) started
structure.
construction some buildings at the Central Agriculture
University (CAU) Iroisemba, Imphal main campus. Pile
2. PILE DESIGN RELATIONSHIP
load tests were initiated for every building to verify the
design specifications and conducted through the Govt. Normally, piles are designed based on empirical
College of Poly-technique, Imphal. The agency casted relations specified by several design codes, using SPT
RCC under-reamed piles of normal diameter 400 mm N-values. Single boring or more boreholes pilling
and bulk diameter 750mm. The CAU is situated at the investigations may not be enough to apprehend the
south-west corner of Lamphelpat where the place has ground conditions of the whole pilling site. There are
been being known as the "Pat" means the lake. The lake different methods of estimating bearing capacity using
is being used for temporary water storage pond from the design codes and this situation often confused the
the surface run-off during the rainy season from the pile designers. Therefore, conducting more number of
surrounding catchment Imphal city area. In early 80’s, pile load tests are the most reliable approached to

136

confirm the performance of the completed piles at the
site. However, this approach is not performed in most
of the piling projects in India, because of the
conventional static pile load test and also more
expenditure.
Matsumoto et al. (2016) discussed the important of
conducting piles load test to verify the design factor.
IS-Code 2911 (1995) for obtaining the ultimate load
from the load-settlement curve whether the observed
settlement is within the permissible limit or at 12mm.
The necessary use of pile load test data in the prediction
of pile load capacity from load settlements curve within
the given criteria specified by Poulos (2012) along with
two examples. Poulos (1989) concluded that the pile
load tests should be accompanied by detailed site
investigation to define the entire soil profile accurately.
Comparison of field pile load test and FEM analysis
using the ABAQUS presented by Jozefiak et. al. (2015)
is discussed.
The objective of the study is to verify the load
bearing capacity and settlement criteria of the pile by
the method known as Initial pile load test which was
used at the design center before the commencement of
the piling project. After completion of piling work,
routine pile load tests can be conducted to the selective
piles for the confirming and safe load within the
specified limiting value as given in the code.
3. TEST PILLING BEFORE PILLING WORK
Initial piled load test was conducted to confirm the
design safe load by field experiment and to provide
guidelines for setting up the limits of acceptance for
routine tests. It is also given an idea of the suitability of
the piling system following the procedures laid down in
IS-2911 Part IV. The loading mechanism is the
reversible reaction and the loads are continuously
applied till the pile maintained the rate of displacement
either 0.1 mm per 30 minutes or 0.2 mm in the first one
hour or 2 hours whichever occurs first. The next load
increment shall be applied on achieving the aforesaid
criterion. The test load shall be carefully observed for
24 hours. Similarly, the selection of piles for the routine
test is done based on the number of piles subject to the
maximum of 0.5% to 2% depending on the nature of
structure but maximum settlement should be within 12
mm.
The load carried by the pile is the combine effect of
shaft resistance and base resistance. The behavior of the
pile general follows the load settlement curve as shown
in the Fig. 1 and the maximum shaft resistance is
occurred from the depth 2% of pile dia. till to end of the
pile length due to skin friction. The base resistance may
be increased correspondingly with pile length and soil
stiffness. However, in the soft clay, the base resistance
is comparatively lesser than the shaft resistance. The
test can be either initial or routine test and the
settlement is observed for every incremental load of
137
CESDOC 2016
10% of the estimated safe load. The ultimate load is
said to be reached when the final settlement is more
than 10% of the diameter or the settlement keeps on
increasing at constant load.
Fig. 1. Formulation of pile foundation
Recommendation as per IS-2911 (Part IV) 1995.
The recommendations are as follows:
 2/3rd of the final load at which the total
displacement attains a value of 12 mm unless
otherwise required in a given case on the basis of
nature and type of structure in which case, the safe
load should be corresponding to the stated total
displacement permissible.
 50% of the final load at which the total
displacement equals 10% of the pile diameter in
case of uniform diameter piles or 7.5% of the bulb
diameter in case of under reamed piles.
4. EXPERIMENTAL WORK
The test piles were cast up to a depth of 7 m initially
at various buildings like Gymkhana, Farmer Hostel,
Type-II & III quarters, Guest House, PG Gents hostel,
Canteen etc. as bored cast in situ under-reamed pile
having normal dia. of 0.4m and bulk diameter as 0.75m.
All the buildings were proposed for Ground plus two
storied building. Initial pile load tests were conducted
after 28 days of casting and the kentledge weight is 3
times the design load. The hydraulic load is applied till
to failure. Those piles which were failed during the load
test were cast again by increasing the pile length up to
12 m and 15 m and the number of bulkheads was 2 as
in the case of P.G. Hostel.
Regarding the routine test, around 0.5 to 2% of the
piles were selected from among the piles and tested
only to the Gymkhana building. In this case, care was
taken that no pile should be failed due to excessive
loading.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
After 28 days of casting, the initial load test was
conducted. Load vs settlement graph for the test is
presented in Fig. 2. The design load of the pile is given
 CESDOC 2016

as 13.85 Ton. However, from the curve, it is predicted

that the pile can carry up to 17 Ton which is safe for the
building. The safe load was calculated as 2/3 of the load
corresponding to 12 mm settlement from the graph i.e
25.50 Ton (approx.). Therefore, the safe load may be
taken as 17 Ton. The ultimate load is also obtained
from load-settlement curve as the final point of the
curve if the curve is within the permissible value,
Bowels (1996). Alternatively, the ultimate load can also
be obtained from the load-settlement curve at the
intersection of two tangents drawn at the initial point of
the curve and settlement corresponding to 10% of the
diameter of the pile, Tomlinson (2001). Fig. 4. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site
of Farmer Hostel

Fig. 2. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site Fig. 5. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site
of Gymkhana of Type – II and III quarter

Fig. 6. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site

Fig. 3. Routine test result - Gymkhana
Fig. 3. shows the routine pile load test of Gymkhana
building. The graph shows that all the piles are good
enough and performed well as the settlement plot keeps
on increasing correspondingly with the applied load i.e.
no failure. The settlement corresponding to 1.5 times
the working load should not exceed 12mm. i.e. 20.77
tons says 21 tons is 5 mm which is within the specified
settlement of 12 mm and therefore, it is safe.
of Guest House
Similarly, for other buildings i.e. Farmer Hostel,
Type-II and III quarter, Guest House etc. initial pile load
tests were conducted and the results are shown in Fig. 4
to 6 respectively. Since the buildings were proposed for
G+2 storied building, the design load of 13.85 Ton
(given) is same for all the buildings. The safe design
load is 2/3 of the load obtained from the graph
corresponding to 12mm settlement which is given in
the Table-1.

138
 CESDOC 2016

In the case of P.G. Hostel, the tests were conducted

3 times because of the unsatisfied results in bearing
capacity and settlement as shown in Fig. 7. and Fig. 8.
The building was proposed for G+3, design load is 21
Ton. The length of the pile was subsequently increased
by 12, 15m respectively. Finally, at 15m pile length, the
result was found satisfactory in terms of bearing
capacity and the settlement recommendation as shown
in Fig. 9.

Table 1. Results of Pile load test

Name of the L/d. Bulk Design Safe Remarks
Fig. 7. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site building dia. load load
of PG Gents hostel (1st test) (m) (Ton) (Ton)
1. Gymkhana
Initial 7/0.4 0.75 13.85 17 Fig. 2.
Routine test 7/0.4 0.75 Settlement Fig. 3.
corresponding to
1.5*13.85 is 5mm
2. Farmer hostel 7/0.4 0.75 13.85 17 Fig. 4.
3. Type II & III 7/0.4 0.75 13.85 21 Fig. 5.
quarter
4. Guest house 12/0.4 0.75 13.85 28.6 Fig. 6.
5. P.G. Hostel
1st test 7/0.4 0.75 21.0 7.6 Fig. 7.
2nd test 12/0.4 0.75 19 Fig. 8.
3rd test 15/0.4 0.75 27 Fig. 9.
6. Canteen 7/0.4 0.75 13.85 8.4 Fig. 10.

Fig. 8. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site
of PG Gents Hostel (2nd test)
Further, it should be noted that the observed
settlements made at the top of the pile may not
necessarily indicate downward movement into the
ground in the case of higher load test. The possibility of
local failure of the pile above the ground surface, or
crushing of the ground under the test plate, should be
recognized as possible factors which contributing to
observed settlements.

Fig. 9. Initial pile load test results of proposed building site
of PG gents Hostel (3rs test)
6. FEM MODELING
Finite element software, ANSYS from the IIT
Guwahati was used for modeling considering the soil,
piles and cap as 8-nodded brick element. The soil was
modeled as Drucker-Prager having cohesion value 20
kPa, soil modulus (Es) 2x104 MPa, Poisson’s ratio (µs)
0.45 and non-linear newton Raphson’s incremental
methods. Whereas, the pile and cap was modeled as the
elastic material (concrete) having elastic modulus (Ec) 2
x 107 MPa and Poisson’s ratio (µc) 0.15. Because of
symmetry, one fourth (1/4) of the plan was modeled i.e.
0.20x0.20 m2 pile cross sectional area, 1.2x1.2x0.6 m3
cap area. Regarding boundary conditions and other
details are shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 10. Initial pile load test results of proposed building

site of Canteen

139
 CESDOC 2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express sincere thanks to
the authority of CAU, EPIL for allowing the
opportunity to conduct this research work.
Appreciations also extended to Govt. Poly-technique
College for providing the data and assistance to the
review of the analyses of the pile along with the
verifications.

REFERENCES
1) Matsumoto, T. Matsuzawa, K. Kitiyodomi, P. (2016). “A
role of pile load test - Pile load test as element test for design
of foundation system”. Journal of Science, Technology and
Practice, 39-58.
2) Jozefiak, K. Zbiciak, A. Maslakowski, M. Piotrowski, T.
(2015). “Numerical modelling and bearing capacity analysis
of pile foundation”. XXIV R-S-P Seminar, Theoretical
Fig. 11. FEM modeling of pile with cap and soil Foundation of Civil Engineering (24RSP) (TFoCE 2015),
Elsevier, 356-363.
3) IS: 2911-Part IV (2010). “Code of Practice for Design and
Construction of Pile Foundations”. Sixth Reprint, July 2003.
4) Poulos, H.G. (2012). “Pile Testing & Settlement Prediction”.
Geotechnical Special Publication, March 2012, DOI :10.
1061/9780784412084.0044.
5) Tsai, C. Zhang, Z. (2008). “Design and Load Verification of
Driven Pile Foundations”. Sixth International Conference on
Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, Arlington, V.A,
paper No. 1.59, 11-16 August, 1- 6.
6) Poulos, H.G. (1989). “Pile behavior- theory and application”.
Geotechnique 39, 365-415.
7) Susic, N. Nikovic, G.H. Dokovic, K. (2014). “Bearing
capacity of piles estimate differences”. International
Conference Contemporary achievements in civil Engineering,
24-25 April, Subotica, Serbia, 259-264.
8) Tomlinson, M.J. (2001). “Design and Construction Practice”.
Fig. 12. Load settlement curves based on FEM analysis 7th Edition, Prentice Hall.
9) Bowles. J.E. (1996). “Foundation Analysis and Design”. 5th
After running the program, the result is plotted Edition, McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc.
between the load (time steps) vs settlement and they are
found to be good agreement to the field data presented
in the Fig. 2 and Fig. 12. Back to table of contents

7. CONCLUSIONS
The variation of load bearing capacity of the pile
having the same configuration is relatively narrow
down by conducting various load tests. Possible
increase in the number of load tests at the construction
site, compromising the cost and time overrun.
Prediction of load carrying capacity and possible
settlement of the pile foundation can be extrapolated
from the pile load test which is quite advantages and
simple. The use of pile load test both initial and routine
pile load test result in the verification of foundations is
mandatory.
At the same time proper soil investigation along
with pile load tests are mandatory at the Lamphelpat
area including Langol under the purview of
geotechnical engineer as they fall in the same belt.

140

View publication stats