Long-term settlement of model rock-socketed piers

Abstract

Very little information is available concerning the long-term settlement behaviour of drilled pier foundations socketed into rock. This paper summarizes the results of laboratory investigations of the long-term settlement (creep) behaviour of model socketed pier foundations. The testing program included seven model piers constructed with different materials and different load-support conditions. The primary models were two small-diameter concrete piers constructed in soft shale. For all models tested the results indicated similarly shaped time–displacement curves, having two distinct regions. The initial portion of the curves represents a region of primary creep and the remaining portion represents a zone of secondary creep having a much lower rate of displacement. A comparison of short-term (1 day, which is a normal maximum duration of a full-scale load test) and long-term (200 days) settlements for the model piers showed an 84–245% increase in settlements. In addition, some information concerning load transfer with time in the model piers and available data from loading tests on large-scale socketed piers are included. Key words: socketed pier foundations, long-term settlement, creep model tests, soft rock.