Design and Construction of Three Instrumented Test Piles to Examine Time Dependent Pile Capacity Gain
Paikowsky, SG
University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854

Hajduk, EL
WPC Engineering and Construction Services, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(Received 14 August 2003; accepted 17 May 2004)

Abstract
Three heavily instrumented test piles were designed, constructed, and installed at a bridge reconstruction site in Newbury, Massachusetts as part of a research initiative into time dependent pile capacity gain. Pile instrumentation consisted primarily of an alternating pattern of piezometers and strain gages, allowing for correlation between pile capacity gain and excess pore pressure dissipation along discrete pile segments. Additional instrumentation within the piles included accelerometers, telltales, and radial pressure cells, allowing monitoring of total pressure at the pile wall. Standard dynamic gages (strain gages and accelerometers) were also attached to the piles during dynamic testing. A total of 86 vibrating wire, 17 electrical resistance, 17 telltales, and 4 piezo-resistive gages were installed within the test piles to record strain, displacement, pressure, and acceleration.
This paper describes (i) the initial installation location of the test piles, (ii) the design and layout of the individual test piles, (iii) the selection and installation design of the individual instrumentation within the test piles, and (iv) assembly of the test piles. Sample measurements of the various instruments and a summary of the instrumentation performance are also presented.

Keywords:
capacity gain, dissipation, piezometers, pile, piles, pore water pressure, strain gages, total pressure cells

Paper ID: GTJ12191
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ12191

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Author Paikowsky, SG Affiliation University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854 Author Hajduk, EL Affiliation WPC Engineering and Construction Services, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 Author Paikowsky SG, Hajduk EL Title Design and Construction of Three Instrumented Test Piles to Examine Time Dependent Pile Capacity Gain Symposium , Committee on