Analysis of the bearing capacity of helical pile with hexagonal joints

Abstract

This study aims to improve shafts with hexagonal joints so that they will not require welding or bolts in static load tests. In order to evaluate the bearing capacity of helical piles, two sites were selected to conduct pile installation for the field test and the pile load test. For the pile load test, a static pile load test and a dynamic pile load test were carried out, and torque was measured during pile installation in a field test to compare and analyze the expected bearing capacity and thus assess the feasibility of the method for estimating the bearing capacity. The field pile load test revealed that the bearing capacity of the gravity grout pile was the same or greater than 600 kN in the static pile load test in accordance with the AC 358 code. The non-grout pile showed a bearing capacity that was the same or smaller than 600 kN, suggesting that gravity grouting is required. Moreover, the field pile load test was used to establish the bearing capacity equation considering the torque in the pile installation, and a small number of samples were used to establish the equation, which can be used as basic data.