BEARING CAPACITY OF CAST IN PLACE PILES ON THE BASIS OF IN-SITU STATIC LOAD TESTS.

Determining the bearing capacity of reinforced concrete cast-in-place piles based on full-scale static load tests has not been strictly defined in the world practice yet. Different authors propose different criteria's for solving this problem [3]. The bearing capacity of cast-in-place piles is conditioned by a number of factors which should but not always can be taken into account. This determines the substantial differences between the results obtained by the different authors regarding the estimated and actual bearing capacity of piles. One of the key factors affecting the piles' behaviour under load is the technology of their implementation. The most reliable methodology for proving of the bearing capacity of reinforced concrete cast-in-place piles consists of full-scale in situ (static and dynamic) load tests. This report utilizes the results from the full scale static load test of reinforced concrete cast in place pile with diameter D=1000 mm and length L=15m, implemented at "Devnya Cement" site as part of foundation works for vertical kiln for cement clinker. The full-scale static load test is performed under slow maintained test procedure in 3 cycles, with maximum vertical static load of 10 000 kN. The results from the conducted test are used for determining of the bearing capacity of the pile while applying some of the methods used in world practice. The resulting values of the bearing capacity per the different criteria are compared and analysed. On the basis of this analysis, recommendations are made for setting a most appropriate criterion for assessment of the bearing capacity of reinforced concrete cast-in-place piles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]