EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR INVESTIGATION OF SOIL STRESSES DEVELOPED AROUND A DISPLACEMENT PILE

Abstract

Experimental arrangements are described that lead to reliable stress measurements in calibration chamber tests involving steel displacement piles in dense sand. The research required: developments with the chamber and pile testing equipment; novel approaches to the calibration and modelling of soil in-situ stress sensors; special arrangements for the sensors’ deployment; and development, calibration and operation of a miniature instrumented ICP pile. Preliminary results are reported from pilot tests to demonstrate the capabilities of the resulting measurement systems.