Structural Damping Concept for Interpretation of Statnamic Pile Load Test Results

A procedure that uses the structural damping concept for estimating the capacity of a pile based on the Statnamic pile load test results is proposed in this study. The interpreting procedure is similar to that of the commonly used UPM (Unloading Point Method), however, displacement related soil damping is used instead of the velocity dependent damping. Hence, soil resistance is determined directly from the measured load-displacement curve. Three case studies are presented in this paper to study the validity and applicability of the present method. Comparison of predicted results with available test or analytical data shows that the proposed method accurately models the tested pile behavior.