Lateral Piles load test by

Subrahmanaya S Murthy TATA.

METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR LATERAL PILE LOAD TEST

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.no Content Page

1 3
INTRODUCTION

2 OBJECTIVE 3

3 SCOPE 3

3.1 TEST PILE INFORMATION 3

4 METHOD OF LOADING 4

5 MEASUREMENT OF MOVEMENT 4

6 5
LOADING PROCEDURE

7 DETERMINATION OF LATERAL CAPACITY OF PILE 5

8 LOAD TEST EQUIPMENT 6

9 7
RECORDING OBSERVATIONS

8
LATERAL LOAD TEST RECORD FORMAT
 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

1. INTRODUCTION
This method statement describes the detailed procedure to be adopted for conducting
Static Lateral Compression Load Test on Test Pile using near slope as reaction. Lateral
Load Test on Piles is performed on a completed single cast-in- situ pile in order to
evaluate its performance relative to the lateral load / displacement criteria for the
design of the working piles. The test shall be conducted as per ASTM D3996-90.

2. OBJECTIVE

To evaluation lateral capacity and displacement of piles using static lateral load tests in
the project site.

3. SCOPE
Every pile foundation design should be based on the results of a static load test.
Standard procedures concerning axial and lateral capacity testing of foundation piles
usually consist of a single loading cycle. Constant load steps or constant settlement
increments may be applied in the test. Such a procedure significantly differs from in
situ conditions of pile loading, which can be cyclic especially in the case of the
constructions, which are subject to wind load. Several tests were performed to observe
the behavior of the piles subject to fast cyclic loading in horizontal direction (lateral
load). In the case of conventional static load testing, the measurement of pile
settlement may be affected by the ground movement due to displacements of the
reference beam or the anchor piles. The application of direct high precision leveling
enables to provide an independent reference measurement which is free from
systematic errors.

3.1 TEST PILE INFORMATION

Pile Type 600mm dia; Spun Pile

Location of Pile Co Ordinates: E- 193467.250, N-1857803.097

(near PUB)
Design Load 7.5 Ton

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 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

Test Level At Cut off Level – (+)6.8m

Maximum Test Load 15.0 ton

Test Type Lateral Compression Test

Testing Standard ASTM D3996-90

4. METHOD OF LOADING
The Lateral Load is applied to the test pile by using a hydraulic jack and a suitable
reaction system such as weighted platform as shown in figure (1). A steel test plate of
sufficient stiffness to prevent it from bending under lateral load and of sufficient size
to accommodate the hydraulic jack cylinder is placed in full contact with the test pile.
Blocking used between reaction system and the hydraulic cylinder should be of
sufficient strength so that it can transfer applied lateral load without distortion.

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 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

SCHAMATIC DIAGRAM OF LATERAL LOAD TEST (figure. 1).

5. MEASUREMENT OF MOVEMENT
There are two common modes of movement measurement in lateral load tests. These
are the lateral movement of pile head along the line of load application and the lateral
movement of pile axis with depth. The pile head movement is measured in all tests
while the lateral movement with depth is measured in special case only.
Lateral movement of pile shall be measured by one of the following two methods.
(1) dial gauges
(2) wire mirror and scale system
Dial gauges are mounted on reference beams with stem bearing against the side of pile
as shown in figure (1). A frame should be supported on two foundations or stakes
placed sufficiently far from the pile and the reaction system as to be unaffected by
ground movements resulting from the test. The movement shall be measured using
two dial gauges another one dial gauge shall be provided near the thrust block to
check the movement of supporting structure.

6. LOADING PROCEDURE

The stages of loading for standard loading procedure is described below.

Load as percentage of Minimum Time of

working Load (%) Holding Load
(Minutes)
0 10
25 10
50 10
75 15
100 20
125 0
170 20
180 20
190 20
200 60
150 10
100 10

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 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

50 10
0 10

7. DETERMINATION OF LATERAL CAPACITY OF PILE

Methods of determining failure load from lateral pile load tests vary depending on the
tolerable movement of the structure supported by the piles. The generally accepted
criteria for estimating the ultimate lateral load is that failure load may be taken at 0.25~
0.375 inch in lateral movement or deformation.

8. LOAD TEST EQUIPMENT

The set up for applying load to pile using hydraulic jack is shown in figure (1).
The type of load testing apparatus is series R.C 1000 with a 6 inches’ diameter ram with
100 tons’ jack. A pressure gauge is connected the cylinder hydraulic system to measure the
load applied in terms of psi (pound per square inch). The conversion table from PSI to
metric ton on 300 mm diameter ram is as follow.

a) Effective internal ram diameter 6 inches

b) Effective area of ram 28.27 sq.in
c) Conversion factor for one metric ton 77.95 psi

Metric Tons psi

1 78
2 156
3 234
4 312
5 390
6 468
7 546
8 624
9 702
10 780
11 858
12 936
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13 1014
14 1092
15 1170
 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

9. RECORDING OBSERVATIONS

ALL the test data are recorded as shown in the following table.

 Analysis of the data and interpretation shall be described in final report.

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 Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement

LATERAL LOAD TEST RECORD

PROJECT NAME
PILE INSTALL DATE
PILE REF
DATE OF TEST

DIAL GAUGE 1 DIAL GAUGE 2 AVERAGE

DATE TIME PRESSURE LOAD REMARKS
READING SETTLEMENT READING SETTLEMENT SETTLEMENT

( PSI ) METRIC TON (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)

:00 0.0 0.00

:10 0.0 25.00

:20 0.0 25.00

:20 0.0 50.00

:30 0.0 50.00

:30 0.0 75.00

:45 0.0 75.00

:45 0.0 100.00

:05 0.0 100.00

:05 0.0 125.00

:25 0.0 125.00

:25 0.0 150.00

:45 0.0 150.00

:45 0.0 170.00

:05 0.0 170.00

:05 0.0 180.00

:25 0.0 180.00

:25 0.0 190.00

:45 0.0 190.00

:45 0.0 200.00

:05 0.0 200.00

:25 0.0 200.00

:45 0.0 200.00

:45 0.0 150.00

:55 0.0 150.00

:55 0.0 100.00

:05 0.0 100.00

:05 0.0 50.00

:15 0.0 50.00

:15 0.0 0.00

:25 0.0 0.00

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Horizontal Load Test -Method Statement