Instrumented load tests in mudstone: pile capacity and settlement prediction

Abstract

The present work stems from the design of a viaduct in South Wales, U.K., where full-scale pile testing was carried out to assess whether the proposed design methods would meet the required load capacity and settlement criteria for the working piles. Five fully instrumented large diameter bored cast in situ piles, up to 30 m deep, were installed in weathered mudstone and tested under vertical loading. A sixth pile, which had no shaft instrumentation, was formed with a voided toe. In conjunction with vast soil data from 218 site investigation boreholes, the extensive data produced from the load tests were analyzed to quantify the key parameters considered to influence load transfer and settlement behaviour. Each pile was first calibrated using four methods to establish the as-built stiffness, taking into account the nonlinearity of concrete and the effect of partial steel encasement. It is demonstrated that the current national norms for bored pile design in cohesive soil – soft rock are overconservative for South Wales ground conditions. To ameliorate this, alternative methods are proposed, which lead to improved reliability and accuracy in shaft and base capacity assessment. In addition, a numerical model is developed that can be used to predict the complete load-settlement variation up to the ultimate state. The model is sufficiently expounded to allow its immediate application in pile design by geotechnical engineers.Key words: piled foundations, load tests, bearing capacity and settlement, Mercia mudstone.