Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization 4 – Coutinho & Mayne (eds)

 © 2013
2013 Taylor & Francis
Francis Group,
Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-62136-
978-0-415-62136-6
6

The use of Osterber

Osterberg
g cell load tests to predict piles resistance

A. Pinto & X. Pita

JetSJ Geotecnia Lda, Lisbon, Portugal 

ABSTRACT: The use of the Osterberg

ABSTRACT: Osterberg cells
cells (O-cell)
(O-cell) load testing
testing technology has been applied
applied in the
the last
years as a complement to the geological and geotechnical information, allowing the prediction of piles
and barrettes bearing and shaft resistance, as well as the verification of the construction procedures.
procedures. The
aim of this paper is to present a case history where the O-cell’s
O-cell’s were successfully used for the calibration
calibration of
the piles execution and design, for a high rise building, located at the Luanda baybay,, in Angola, emphasizing
its contribution for the optimization of the foundations design. At the end of the paper, paper, the main advan-
tages and limitations of the O-cell’s,
O-cell’s, comparing with conventional
conventional top load static tests, also performed in
the same site, are presented.

1 INTRODUCTION

The O-cell static bottom up load testing is being

used since 1984, where it was first adopted on
an experimental bored pile. In 1987 the O-cell
load test was used for the first time on a practi-
cal application on a 457 mm diameter steel pipe,
where a maximum load of 1.26MN was applied
(Schmertmann & Hayes (1997)).
The static and bi directiona
directionall O-cell bottom—up
load testing was developed as an alternative
alternative to the
conventional top load reaction testing, providing
a practical method for assessing the performance
of bored piles, as well
well as driven piles and barrettes,
allowing the confirmation of the main construc-
tion and design criteria, as well as the comparison
Figure 1. Compariso
Comparison
n between conventional static top
with the geological and geotechnical conditions load and bottom up O-cell test.
considered at the design stage (Fig. 1). 1).
The O-cell testing method consists on placing a
sacrificial hydraulic jacking device at, or near, the
base of a bored pile or at the tip
tip of a driven pile,
pile, and
expanding the device in order to reach the test load.
Appropriate instrumentation along the pile shaft
is very important in order to access the pile and
soil response, lateral and end bearing resistances.
This method allows the construction of two load—
deflection curves: load—upward deflection, assess-
ing upper skin friction, and load—downward
defection, assessing base resistance and lower fric-
tional capacity.
capacity. The combination of the two curves
allows the calculation of an equivalent top-load
deflection curve with sufficient accuracy for most
engineering applications (Fig.
( Fig. 2)
2). The test is con-
sidered complete after reaching ultimate capacity
above or below the O-cell, or upon reaching the
maximum capacity of the O-cell. Figure 2. Typicall O-cell testing method results.
Typica

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 2 CASE HISTORY 2.3 Main design and execution criteria
As main design criteria it was considered the need
2.1 Introduction
to avoid the executions of ground anchors below
The presented case history relates to the bored the ground water table, as well as the control of the
pile–raft foundation of a high rise building at the ground water inflow to the excavation pit. This cri-
Luanda bay, in Angola. The excavation works teria led to the development of a solution of periph-
comprised an area of about 1800 m2, with a rec- eral 0.60 m diaphragm walls, with 8 m of embedment
tangular shape of about 50 × 36 m2  and 10 m length. The walls were braced during the excavation
of overall depth, necessary for the construction works by a 3 m thickness horizontal jet grouting
of 3 underground floors and 26 upper floors sealing slab, located below the excavation final level.
(Fig. 3). Additional support of the diaphragm wall was pro-
vided by three levels of reinforced concrete bracing
slabs, acting as stiff diaphragms, located at the level
2.2 Geologic and geotechnical settings
of the basement floors, and cast against the ground
The geological and geotechnical conditions com- during the excavation works. Those slabs will become
prised high permeability sandy soils with the part of the basement structure. The jet grouting seal-
ground water table located about 1.5 m below the ing slab would also be used for limiting the ground
   5 ground surface, and oscillating due to the influence water inflow through the excavation base. For the
   1
   0 of the tides at the Luanda bay. The sands resist- building structure foundations, 1 m diameter bored
   2
  e ance increased with depth, as assessed through piles with 20 to 30 m length were adopted, being
  n several bore holes and in-situ SPT tests, as well as capped by a reinforced concrete raft with 0.6 to 2.0 m
  u
   J
   6 through laboratorial identification tests from the thickness (Figs. 4 – 6). The piles were built before the
   2 collected samples (Fig. 4). excavation works (Pinto & Pita (2011)).
   1
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  a
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  n Figure 3. Building location and perspective.
Figure 5. Plan of the adopted bracing solution.
  w
  o
   D

Figure 4. Solution cross section and geological

conditions. Figure 6. Plan of the foundations solution.

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 The design of both, earth retaining and foun-
dations solutions, was performed using 2D FEM
programs (Plaxis V8 and SAP2000-V14).

2.4 Pile testing 

In order to assess the piles main design and exe-
cution criteria, four O-cell tests were carried out
prior to the excavation works. The main aim of
the tests was to evaluate the bored piles shaft and
base resistance, as a complement to the geologi-
cal and geotechnical information, as well as the
consequences of the use of bentonite slurry and
temporary casing to stabilize the piles hole. Piles
were drilled and cleaned using telescopic “Kelly” Figure 7. O-cell bottom up static W4 test layout.
bar with auger and bucket.
Two tests were performed on experimental piles
   5
(P1 and P2, with 20 m and 25 m respectively) and
   1 two tests were performed on working piles (W3
   0
   2 and W4, with 20 m and 25 m respectively). The
  e
  n O-cells were installed at approximately 10 m above
  u
   J the piles toe. The first 10 m, correspondent to the
   6 excavation depth were not casted.
   2
   1 Complementary to the four O-cell tests, a con-
   5
  :
   9 ventional top—bottom static load test was also
   0 performed. This test was performed on a 25 m length
   t
  a bored pile. The main aim of this test was to evaluate
   ]
  a
   i the bored piles resistance, including the creep effect.
   l
  a
  r In this paper, are presented and compared the
   t
  s results of the 25 m length W4 bored pile (tested with
  u
   A e O-cell) and the 25 m length bored pile tested through
  s
  r the conventional top—bottom static load test.
  e Figure 8. O-cell bottom up static W4 measuring system.
  e
  n
   i
  g
  n
   E
   [
3 BOTTOM UP O-CELL STATIC LOAD
  y TESTS
   b
   d
  e 3.1 W4 O-cell test
   d
  a
  o
   l The W4 pile test was performed using two 330 mm
  n
  w O-cells, located 9.1 m above the pile toe. Two and
  o three levels of twin sister bar vibrating wire strain
   D
gauges, attached diametrically opposed on the
reinforced cage, were installed below and above the
base of the O-cell assembly ( Fig. 7).
The complete measurement system was divided
into two independent ones: the main system, twin
sister bar vibrating wire strain gauges, and the
reference measurement system, steel beams. The
measurement systems were fixed on the pile head Figure 9. O-cell bottom up static W4: Strain gauge load
as well as on the measure beams (Figs. 7 – 9). distribution.
The maximum sustained bottom up bi-di-
rectional load applied to the pile was 2.9MN
(3.7 MPa). At the maximum load, the displace- For a top load of 3.5MN (4.5 MPa), which cor-
ments above and below the O-cell, were 4.1 mm responded approximately to the pile working load,
and 42.8 mm, respectively. The gathered data the test data indicated a settlement of approxi-
enabled the estimation of the top load curve of the mately 6.2 mm. The shaft resistance ranged from 20
tested pile. to 70 KPa (sands with N SPT blows lesser than 38),

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 at the upward direction, and from 100 to 160 kPa 4 CONVENTIONAL STATIC TOP— 
at the downward direction (sands with N SPT blows BOTTOM LOAD TEST
bigger than 60).
The tested pile behavior was calculated for a 4.1 Conventional static top—bottom load test
combined shaft and end bearing load of approx- The test device comprised one working pile with 1 m
imately 5.9MN (7.5 MPa). For a top loading of of diameter and a reaction system with two reaction
3.5MN, the adjusted test data indicated that the piles, with also 1 m of diameter, connected to a steel
pile would settle approximately 6.2 mm, of which beam, bridging a span of 8 m. At the top of each
2.8 mm was the estimated  to be due to the addi- reaction pile four steel strands, sealed on the reaction
tional elastic compression (Figs. 2, 10 and 11). piles allowed the direct connection to the reaction
beams. The reaction system was designed to accom-
modate a load of about 4.8MN (Figs. 12 and 13).
3.2 W4 O-cell test remarks
Taking into account the previous four O-cell
The obtained results allowed for the confirma- tests, only the vertical head displacements of the
tion of both the suitability of the construction pile were monitored. The load was applied by a
method, as well as the assumptions for the design hydraulic jack and controlled by a load cell. The
shaft and end bearing resistance. It was possible to complete measurement system was divided in two
   5 verify that the values of the shaft resistance were independent ones: the main system and the refer-
   1 in accordance with the geological information ence measurement system. The measurement sys-
   0
   2 regarding the sandy materials, with bigger values, tems were fixed on the pile head as well as on the
  e
  n about 160 kPa, at the more compact sands. measure beams.
  u
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   6
   2
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   d
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   d
  a Figure 10. O-cell test: Mobilized downward shaft Figure 12. Conventional top—bottom static test layout.
  o
   l resistance.
  n
  w
  o
   D

Figure 13. Conventional top—bottom static reaction

Figure 11. O-cell test: Mobilized upward shaft resistance. structure.

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 A maximum load of approximately 4.8MN
(6.1 MPa) was achieved, corresponding to approx-
imately 1.5 times de working load. The main
results fulfilled the test requirements, confirming
also both the geological information and the O-cell
tests results.
For the service load and for the maximum load
of 4775 kN, the vertical displacement was about
6.1 and 12.6 mm, respectively, very similar to the
one obtained through the W4 O-cell test ( Fig. 14).
The test also confirmed that the creep was very
low for all the load stages, including the maximum
load at the 4th cycle. At this cycle the maximum
deformation was 0.47 mm in 7 hours, leading to a
rate of 0.067 mm/hour, much lesser than the creep
criteria of 0.25 mm/hour (Fig. 15). Figure 16. Comparison of results of the conventional
test and the O-cell static load test.
   5 4.2 Conventional load test remarks
   1
   0
   2 The obtained results allowed the confirmation
  e maximum deformation value of 6.1 mm and 12.6 mm
  n of the very good correlation between the conven-
  u for the service load (3.5MN) and the 1.5 times the
   J tional load test and the W4 O-cell test, mainly the
   6 service load, respectively (Figs. 14 – 16).
   2
   1
   5
  :
   9
   0 5 ANALYTIC FEM MODEL
   t
  a
   ] An analytic model was used to predict the pile
  a
   i
   l behavior. For this purpose an axisymmetric FEM
  a
  r
   t model was used (Plaxis V8), with hardening soil
  s
  u failure criteria. The soil parameters were calibrated
   A
  s trough a back analysis (Fig. 17) in order to match
  r
  e the load tests results.
  e
  n
   i The obtained displacement for the service load,
  g about 6 mm, is compatible with the good per-
  n
   E
   [ formance of the building structure under service
  y conditions.
   b
   d It should also be pointed out the good correla-
  e
   d tion between the FEM analytic model and both the
  a Figure 14. Conventional top—bottom static test:
  o
   l conventional top load test and the O-cell load test
  n load—head displacement. (Fig. 18).
  w
  o
   D

6 MAIN CONCLUSIONS

It was presented in this paper a case history where the

use O-cell load testing technology has been applied
successfully as a complement to the geological and
geotechnical information, allowing the prediction of
the piles bearing and shaft resistance, as well as the
verification of the piles construction procedures.
This situation was also validated by the execution
of one conventional static load test, as well as through
an analytical axisymmetric FEM back analysis
(Fig. 18), confirming the importance of the pile load
tests for the design and execution criteria of piles,
as already stated in some codes of practice, as for
Figure 15. Conventional top—bottom static test: Creep. instance the Eurocode nº7—Geotechnical Structures.

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 Figure 17. FEM model and main geotechnical Figure 19. Comparison between the conventional and the
parameters. O-cell static load tests: Main advantages and limitations.

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  r Figure 18. Displacement—load curves: Analytical
  e
  e model, conventional top load test and O-cell test. Figure 20. View of the initial excavation works.
  n
   i
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   E
   [ In this code the values of the partial safety factors on works, were concluded, allowing the beginning of
  y
   b the resistance side could be decreased in function of the excavation works (Fig. 20).
   d the overall number of full scale load tests, leading to
  e
   d an optimization of the piles design.
  a
  o
   l It should be stressed that the validation of the ACKNOWLEDGMENT
  n
  w pile design, enabled by the performed full scale
  o load tests, allowed the measurement and validation The authors thank to the owners of the described
   D
of the piles end bearing and shaft resistance, con- case history their permission for the presentation
firming the prediction of the building foundations of this paper.
good performance under service loads.
Finally it should be point out the versatility of the
O-cell load tests, with both economical and schedule REFERENCES
advantages, comparing with the conventional static
load tests (Fellenius (2001)). However, when neces- Fellenius, B.H. 2001. The O-cell—An Innovative Engi-
sary in more complex geological scenarios, as the neering Tool. Geotechnical News Magazine. Vol. 19.
one at the present case history, the O-cell load test Nº2. 32–33.
should be complemented and its results calibrated Pinto, A. & Pita, X. 2011. Deep Excavations in Luanda
City Centre. 15th African Regional Conference Confer-
by the execution of conventional top—bottom load
ence on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,
tests (Fig. 19), as well as through analytical FEM Session 5—Lateral Support and Retaining Structures:
back analysis, allowing the optimization of the piles 269–274. Maputo, Mozambique.
design and execution methods. Schmertmann, J.H. & Hayes, J.A. 1997. The Osterberg
In June 2012 all the foundations works, piles Cell and Bored Piled Testing. The Third Geotechnical
and jet grouting, as well as the diaphragm walls Engineering Conference, Cairo University, Egypt.

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