CONSTRUCTION OF OPEN-ENDED STEEL PIPE PILES IN DIATOMACEOUS MUDSTONE AND PREDICTION OF LOAD-DISPLACEMENT RELATIONS BY DYNAMIC LOAD TESTING

Abstract

This paper describes a new procedure of the dynamic load testing to estimate ‘static’ load-displacement curve. Rational soil models which have been proposed by other researchers are used in the signal matching analysis of pile driving. The soil model parameters except the shaft resistance and the end-bearing resistance are estimated from the soil test results. Only the shaft resistance and the end-bearing resistance are identified through the signal matching analysis. Applicability of the proposed procedure was examined against an open-ended steel pipe pile. The proposed procedure was further applied to a total of 102 steel pipe piles driven in diatomaceous mudstone for foundations of Noetsu bridge No. 3. The results of the dynamic load tests showed that bearing capacity of all the piles increased rapidly after the end of pile driving and exceeded the design ultimate bearing capacity one day after the end of pile driving.