Pile behaviour in sand through experiments

Following the need to study the characteristic responses of piles embedded in sand, a very simple laboratory method was employed through using model piles. The model piles were essentially, perspex pipes instrumented with sensihve strain gauges embedded in their inner surfaces. The load was applied by a manually operated hydraulic jack. The tests were run when the pi1es were already in position. The results of the experiments were quite typieal and demonstrated the soil-pile interachon phenomena. Of interest were the load-shallng characteristics of the pileshafts and the pile-bases and the contribution of the pile-caps.