Design benefits of bidirectional load testing of （设计的双向负载测试的好处）.pdf

DESIGN BENEFITS OF BI-DIRECTIONAL LOAD TESTING OF BARRETTES. Melvin England Paul F. Cheesman Fugro LOADTEST Ltd, 14 Scotts Avenue, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex, United Kingdom Barrettes are normally used in the construction of structures with high foundation loadings, especially where there is a small construction footprint such as very high rise buildings. As construction within the world’s busiest cities becomes more difficult due to space restrictions, barrette foundations are being seen as a necessary and cost effective alternative to large diameter bored piles. However, the consequences of choosing the wrong design parameters could neutralise or even reverse any cost savings. The outcome of incorrect design parameters in terms of settlement and load bearing capacity could be even more dramatic. Until the introduction of bi-directional testing with the Osterberg cell, the static load testing of barrettes as a foundation element was generally restricted to loads below 40MN by traditional top-down loading methods or by the use of smaller scale loading of piles in the same material to derive capacity parameters used for the design. Today, evidence is being accumulated which casts some doubt on the accuracy and relevance of the values obtained from such reduced scale testing, Hayes (2008). More often, a conservative approach by designers is taken, using the soil tests results from site investigation and applying a high factor of safety. The penalty for using a conservative design approach is the increase in the cost of the foundation