Methodology Dynamic Load Test On Cast in Situ November, 2020

Pile

METHODOLOGY FOR
DYNAMIC LOAD TEST ON CAST IN SITU PILES

Project: Rehabilitation of Road from Badarkhali Naval Police Station to Yunuskhali (Ch.30+339
to Ch. 36+123) including new 680 m Kohelia Bridge

AFRA CORPORATION LTD.

Flat-2/A, House-05, Road-2/3,
Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh
Tel: +880-2-55040066, +8801955-520820, +8801722-166848, +8801955-520800
Web: afracorporation.com, Email: [email protected]

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Methodology Dynamic Load Test On Cast in Situ November, 2020
Pile

Introduction
High Strain Dynamic Pile Testing is commonly performed on driven pile, micro pile, cast in place pile, steel
pile and other pile type. It has been proven to be cost effective and reliable. It involves attaching strain sensor
and accelerometer to the pile by bolts, to measure and determine the effect of impacts on a pile. The impact
is often applied by the pile driving hammer on a driven pile, but may also due to the impact of a large drop
weight applied to a bored or augured cast pile, or pile driven in by hydraulic injection. High Strain Dynamic
Pile Testing is guided by ASTM D4945-2008.

Preparation of DLT
Dynamic load testing is conducted to determine the static capacity of a pile either by a drop hammer or by a
re-strike from a pile driving hammer. Measurements are made for a number of blows, the quality of which is
judged by the test engineer who indicates when the test should be stopped.

(i) Preparing the pile

If permanent steel casing is not used during the pile construction, then a pile top extension or build up,
consisting of a thin walled casing or equivalent will be used to extend the pile head by about 1.7 times of
pile diameter. In most cases, the concrete used for the buildup should be equivalent to the pile. The concrete
must cast to the same level at the top of casing, and to a good even and level finishing.
The pile head must be readily accessible either by extending the buildup above ground, or by excavation
surrounding the pile to provide working area. The depth of excavation should be enough for the attachment
of sensors at least 2 times of pile diameter from the pile top.

Figure-1
The sensors are attached to the pile diametrically opposite to each other (if 2 sensors are used or at 90 degrees apart
if 4 sensors to be used). The sensors attachment should be onto a smooth concrete surface to prevent the sensors
from warping or bending during attachment. This can be done either by cut open 2 square outlets on the casing
which most of the time render smooth surface, or by grinding or chipping to smoothen the surface. In permanent
steel cased pile, the sensors can be attached to the steel casing.

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2.2 Transducer Mounting Methods

Transducers can be attached anywhere on the pile, though it should be noted that transferred energy decreases down
the pile and blow eccentricity increases closer to the pile top. Typically, the transducers are mounted at a distance
of 1.5–2.0 pile diameters from the pile top such that a uniform stress wave is recorded with sufficient energy and
minimal blow eccentricity. As well, transducers should be attached far enough from the pile top to avoid end
defects but close enough to avoid damage from the ground at final penetration or the hammer sleeve. Local contact
stresses are reduced with cushioning.
Note:
 For regularly reinforced (not pre-stressed) concrete piles, the transducers should be attached
nearer the pile top where pile tension is closer to zero and the pile top has not experienced
normal cracking.
 For re-strikes, the pile should be excavated 1.5–2.0 times of pile diameters.
 During high water level, standard PDA transducers must remain above sea level or Water level.
 For concrete piles, the transducers are mounted on the pile using anchor bolts (e.g. Hilti HKD-
S bolts) and a mounting template.

2.3 Testing Equipment:

Sl. No. Equipment List Quantity Remarks

01. Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA – Model 8G) 01 Nos.

02. Piezoelectric (PE) Accelerometer 02 Nos.

03. Strain Transducer 04 Nos.

04. Caliber & drilling tool 01 set

05. Data Connection Cable 50 m 02 Nos.

06. Articulated variable weight Drop Hammer & Frame 01 set

07. Misc. Drilling Tools & Equipment as required 01 set

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2.4 Test Methodology:

Dynamic pile test will be conducted after the pile has acquired sufficient concrete strength or at a time to be
agreed by the Engineer. Dynamic measurement of force and velocity will be collected by the strain sensors
and accelerometers attached to the pile. The PDA monitors the strain and acceleration caused by the hammer
impact, and processes these signals after each hammer blow to give immediate visual. The signals are
digitized by PDA, results are computed, and the data array of the signals for a blow is stored. The data may
be interpreted for pile bearing capacity, compression stresses induced at top and bottom, tension stresses
along the shaft, energy transferred to the pile or shaft, and pile integrity. It should be noted that High Strain
Dynamic Pile Testing estimates for the pile capacity indicate the mobilized pile capacity at the time of
testing. Increases and decreases in pile capacity with time typically occur (soil setup / relaxation).

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2.5 Testing Procedure:

For Dynamic Load Test:

i. High Strain Dynamic Pile Testing is performed by an experienced engineer who is familiar with all aspects
of data acquisition and analysis to assure that correct results and interpretation be made.
ii.PDA testing involves the transducers attached to the selected test pile. Four strain transducers and two
accelerometers will be attached diametrically opposite to each other. Please refer to Figure 1 for diagram of
typical strain sensor and accelerometer attachment to test pile and setup of equipment at site.
iii. The PDA will be connected to the transducers via the main computer cable or wireless transmitters.
iv. The testing hammer will then be set-up to the test pile and impacts applied to the pile top. The records will
be examined to assess data quality, the driving system and pile stresses.
v. Each blow monitored by the PDA will be displayed for immediate data quality control and are stored
digitally on the hard disk for later replay and further analysis if required.
vi. Typically, for most bored pile testing, a minimum of 3-5 impacts will be required, starting from a low
drop height and increasing gradually until the required pile test capacity has been reached or the pile had
set per blow of 3-5 mm. If the set is small (less than 3mm per blow) and the activated pile resistance is less
than the required test capacity, a higher drop height will be used to activate more pile capacity, subject to
review of the pile stresses for the previous blow. If the set is large (5mm per blow), a further impact is usually
not required as the pile is deemed to have achieved its ultimate capacity.
vii. Surveying instrument should be provided on site by Contractor (or others) so as to record the
settlement of the pile head after each hammer drop to ascertain the set of the pile

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Drop Hammer
Guiding frame will be used to ensure the drop hammer does not fall eccentrically that may cause damage to
the pile or equipment, and also as site safety measure. By ensuring the drop hammer fall centrally and creating
a full surface impact also ensure the quality of the data.
Generally, the weight of the drop hammer shall be 1% to 2% or more of the test load. For restrike test, it is
usually started with a relatively low drop height. The uniformity of stresses can be checked, and adjustments
to cushion thickness or ram/shaft alignment made before application of subsequent blows. Subsequent blows
can be made from a higher drop height subjecting to the following conditions:
1. If the data during testing shows the pile has yet to be mobilized,
2. Pile integrity is still intact, and
3. The compression stress at the top is still within the limit.
Plywood cushion should be placed on the pile top as to absorb excessive vibration created during the
hammer impact.

2.6 Field data:

The following pile properties will be recorded in our field sheet after the test from a selected blow:

RMX - Maximum ‘Case Method’ capacity

EMX - Energy transferred to pile
FMX - Maximum Compressive Force at sensor
CSX - Maximum Compressive Stress
RSU - Original ‘Case Method’ capacity for high friction case
BTA - Integrity Factor

The PDA automatically processes each blow recorded during the testing. Over 30 variables can be computed
by the analyzer. These will include the total pile resistance, static pile capacity, hammer energy, pile integrity
factor, pile compression and tension stresses.

During the testing, the PDA automatically checks for pile integrity and ‘out-of-range’ stresses. In the event
of any damage being detected, the PDA will indicate the location of the damage and provide an estimate of
severity of the damage. Once the stresses exceed that of specified values, PDA automatically provides a
warning of any high stresses situation. Pile integrity and driving stresses along the whole pile will be checked
continuously during the testing and an immediate indication will be given onsite

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3.0 CAPWAP ANALYSIS:

In all cases we highly recommend CAPWAP ‘signal matching’ analysis of the data as a better way to estimate pile
capacity. CAPWAP is a rigorous numerical analysis which models the pile and soil behavior.

Selected representative blows will be transferred for further analysis using the CAPWAP suite of software. CAPWAP
analysis involves applying the measured pile top force and velocity-time as a boundary condition to a wave equation model
of the pile. The pile-soil model will be continuously adjusted until a close agreement is obtained between the measured
and computed pile top data.
This will allow for the elimination of the dynamic response and static load distribution along the pile shaft (skin friction)
and the pile end bearing can be computed. The elimination of the dynamic response also allows the program to calculate
the load-settlement response of the pile.

The PDA and subsequent CAPWAP analysis will effectively give a more accurate estimation of static capacity, skin
friction, end bearing and the pile head settlements at any given loads.

4.0 REPORTING OF RESULTS

The final report will be furnished with the following:
- pile details and working load
- date of installation and test
- pile identification according to the construction drawings
- length of pile below grade
- total length; length below instrumentation
- hammer details
- pile total capacity, skin friction and end bearing
- computed load-settlement curves
- force and velocity matched curves
-
5.0 List of Personnel available for the Test.
Analyzing and Preparation of Test Report:
1. Engr.Md. Nuruddin,Bsc.Engg(civil),MIEB
2. Md.Mohiuddin Hons & Masters, EDU (Dhaka University.)
3. Engr. Maruf Ahmed, B.sc. Engr.(civil)
4. Engr. Ariful Islam, B.sc. Engr.(civil)
5. Engr. Salim Ahmed, B.sc. Engr.(civil

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Field Data Modeling and Maintenance of Test Archive:

6. Engr. Maruf Ahmed, Bsc.Engg(civil)
7. Engr. Ariful Islam, B.sc. Engr.(civil)
8. Engr. Salim Ahmed, B.sc. Engr.(civil)

Conducting of Field Test:

9. Engr. Maruf Ahmed, Bsc.Engg(civil)
10. Engr. Ariful Islam, Bsc.Engg(civil)
11. Engr. Salim Ahmed, Bsc.Engg(civil)
12. Engr. Mahfujur Rahman, B.sc. Engr.(civil)
13. Engr. Md. Moinur Rahman, B.sc. Engr.(civil)
14. Engr. Aslam Hossain, Dip. Engr.(civil)
15. Engr. Golam Rabbanee, Dip. Engr.(civil)

Skilled Technicians for assisting Testing Engineers at Site: 2 persons.

6.0 General Safety and Precaution:

All operation DLT shall be carried out in such a manner so as to minimize, avoid or eliminate the exposure of
people to hazards. Following examples of safety rules shall be followed in addition to general safety requirements
applicable to construction operation.
a. Keep all work areas, walkways and platforms clear of scrap, debris and small tools, mud, oil or other slippery
substances.
b. All struts and devices used for the test system of the test pile shall be free from any susceptible attachments.
c. Attachments to the test pile(s), pile cap, drop hammer, frame, locking and lock releasing system shall be
designed and installed to transmit the required loads with an adequate factor of safety.
d. Loads shall not be hoisted, swung, or suspended over anyone and shall be controlled by tag lines.
e. All personnel shall stand clear of the drop hammer and other attachments.
f. Only authorized personnel shall be permitted within the immediate test area.
g. All struts, blocking, bearing plates, and testing equipment shall be accurately aligned to minimize eccentric
striking of the drop hammer and true verticality of the hammer drop shall be controlled so as not to affect the test
results.
h. Attachments to the test pile(s), pile cap shall be designed and installed to transmit the required loads with an
adequate factor of safety.

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7.0 Calibration Certificate:

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8.0 Photographs:

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