Assessing the pile base capacity from a Static Load Test on model piles

A static load test of a pile provides information about the pile bearing capacity. Nevertheless sometimes more precise information can be needed, e.g. what part of load applied to the pile is carried by its base and its shaft. Many kinds of bi-directional static tests offer the possibility of a separate investigation of the behaviour of pile base and shaft. In these tests, however, the shaft works in a different direction than in actual pile working conditions. In this paper, the authors focus on the results of a static load test on model piles, which make it possible to solely investigate the pile base capacity. The paper describes the construction of a test stand and the testing procedure, and presents the first results of the preformed tests.