I'm involved in a project where the client plans on installing bored piles. These have been designed according to the relevant standards for the area they will be installed in, but there is some suggestion that these capacities should be confirmed post-construction.
Some static pile load testing has been performed at an adjacent site to assist with design method calibration. However, the client cannot undertake such testing at the actual site due to project constraints (time, money, etc.).
So my question is: how can the axial pile capacity be confirmed using non-destructive tests?
My initial thoughts:
[ul]
[li]Derivation of axial pile capacity from drilling logs: there are several methods which aim to do this and might provide some indication;[/li]
[li]Low strain dynamic pile test: I'm not so familiar with the ins and outs of undertaking this sort of test, but I understand it is fairly standard, though cannot be used to calculate capacity (only length confirmation and the possible presence of voids, so would be quite indirect at estimating capacity if these results were used with other measurements);[/li]
[li]Full 're-strike' test: the trouble with this is that the interface would become damaged, since the piles were not originally driven, hence couldn't really be considered 'non-destructive'. Ultimately it is also based on inference like the other methods, so I would expect it is the worst option to consider.[/li]
[/ul]
Are there any more methods? What method is most common? How do these methods work? Are there any good references for such capacity confirmation methods of bored piles?
Some static pile load testing has been performed at an adjacent site to assist with design method calibration. However, the client cannot undertake such testing at the actual site due to project constraints (time, money, etc.).
So my question is: how can the axial pile capacity be confirmed using non-destructive tests?
My initial thoughts:
[ul]
[li]Derivation of axial pile capacity from drilling logs: there are several methods which aim to do this and might provide some indication;[/li]
[li]Low strain dynamic pile test: I'm not so familiar with the ins and outs of undertaking this sort of test, but I understand it is fairly standard, though cannot be used to calculate capacity (only length confirmation and the possible presence of voids, so would be quite indirect at estimating capacity if these results were used with other measurements);[/li]
[li]Full 're-strike' test: the trouble with this is that the interface would become damaged, since the piles were not originally driven, hence couldn't really be considered 'non-destructive'. Ultimately it is also based on inference like the other methods, so I would expect it is the worst option to consider.[/li]
[/ul]
Are there any more methods? What method is most common? How do these methods work? Are there any good references for such capacity confirmation methods of bored piles?
