An experimental investigation of cyclically, axially loaded piles in sand

Bibliography: leaves 91-93.The research work involved the installation and cyclic load testing of large-scale pressure-grouted, instrumented piles in sand in the laboratory. The major objective of this experimental investigation was to establish the effects of the mean cyclic load level and amplitude on the pile behaviour during cyclic loading. Of particular interest was the study of the skin friction distributions along the pile shafts in order to understand the processes involved. Cyclic loading was limited to one-way loading in load-controlled mode. A literature review showed a lack of experimental data on the cyclic behaviour of large-scale pressure-grouted piles. The results of a number of small model tests in sand are discussed and the major trends of pile performances are highlighted to facilitate comparison of the observations made in this research. It was found that no definite testing procedure for cyclically-loaded piles is common to the various investigations. A research program and procedure of load applications was therefore developed to allow the isolation of the individual influences of the most significant cyclic parameters, the mean cyclic load level and the amplitude. In total 12 piles were installed using the same sand preparation and pile installation techniques. The tests only varied with regard to the applied loading procedur