A falling mass type of rapid loading test, referred to as FM test, suitable for small diameter steel pipe piles has been developed. The loading test method is adopted for piles installed in clayey soils and simple method to evaluate pile performance from the FM test, including the use of accelerometer record to evaluate the pile head displacement, is proposed. The pile head displacement obtained from acceleration record during loading tests conducted on small diameter screw pile is compared with directly measured values and the agreement is fround to be satisfactory for practical purposes. The effective use of the FM loading test method for quality assurance of small diameter steel piles is suggested and the evaluation of the bearing capacity of piles installed in sandy soils are also reported.
