Load-Testing Program to Evaluate Pile-Setup Behavior for Individual Soil Layers and Correlation of Setup with Soil Properties

TLDR: In this paper, six instrumented static-load test piles were driven at four different locations along the LA-1 highway alignment in coastal Louisiana provided the opportunity to study the soil-setup behavior in relation to the soil properties.

Abstract: Six instrumented static-load test piles driven at four different locations along the LA-1 highway alignment in coastal Louisiana provided the opportunity to study the soil-setup behavior in relation to the soil properties. The instrumented piles consisted of six square prestressed-concrete (PSC) test piles of different sizes and different lengths. Both soil boring and piezocone penetration tests (PCPT) were conducted at each test-pile location to characterize the subsurface soil conditions. The testing program consisted of performing dynamic-load tests (DLTs) at predetermined time intervals, followed by one static-load test (SLT) at the end. These piles were instrumented with vibrating-wire sister-bar strain gauges along their length. Case pile-wave analyses were performed on the DLT data to calculate the soil-resistance distributions along test piles. Design parameters such as the adhesion factor α and the effective stress coefficient β were also backcalculated. The α values ranged from 0.68 to 1...