Bestseller Village

Specification for Preliminary Load Testing of Piles

September 2018

Ramboll
240 Blackfriars Road
London SE1 8NW
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)20 7631 5291

www.ramboll.co.uk
Bestseller Village
Specification for Preliminary Load Testing of Piles

Revision History

Rev Date Purpose/Status Document Ref. Comments

01 21/08/18 First Issue Specification for Preliminary Load Issued for client comments
Testing of Piles
02 14/09/18 Revised after Specification for Preliminary Load Issued to tenderers
client comments Testing of Piles

Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved by:

Maddy Losito Mohsen Vaziri Søren Steen Møller

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Table of Contents
SECTION A - GENERAL ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Scope 3
Site Location ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Proposed Development and Foundation Loads ..................................................................................................... 3
Ground Conditions.................................................................................................................................................. 5
Trial Pile location .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Design of the trial pile ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Construction of the trial pile .................................................................................................................................... 6
Integrity test of the trial pile..................................................................................................................................... 7
STATIC LOAD TESTING OF PILE ........................................................................................................................ 9
1010 General ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
1020 Preliminary load testing ............................................................................................................................. 9
1030 Test type .................................................................................................................................................... 9
1040 Test design ................................................................................................................................................ 9
1050 Construction requirements for test pile...................................................................................................... 9
1060 Cut-off level ............................................................................................................................................. 10
1070 Supervision of the test ............................................................................................................................. 10
1080 Safety precautions ................................................................................................................................... 10
1090 Reaction systems for axial maintained load tests at the pile head.......................................................... 10
1100 Equipment for applying load .................................................................................................................... 10
1110 Instrumentation and monitoring ............................................................................................................... 10
1120 Test procedure and loading ..................................................................................................................... 11
1130 Factual results ......................................................................................................................................... 12
1140 Test interpretation.................................................................................................................................... 12
1150 Site security and removal of temporary works ........................................................................................ 13
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................................ 17

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SECTION A - GENERAL
Introduction
Rambøll was commissioned by Bestseller A/S to undertake the preliminary design for
a proposed development named Bestseller Tower & Village near Brande, Denmark.
The future village will encompass 30 buildings up to nine levels above ground with a
319 meter tall high-rise building in the centre. In addition to the tower and village, the
future development will include roads and landscaping, including artificial ponds
surrounding the village.
The site investigation for the high-rise building was undertaken in May 2018. The site
investigation Report is provided in Appendix A.

Scope
One trial pile is to be constructed and tested at Bestseller village site, using Osterberg
Cell (O-cell) system or similar. The tests will be performed as single level bi-directional
static load tests. The objective of the testing is to determine the behaviour of the piles
under axial compression load. This specification covers the construction of a trial pile
for Bestseller Tower and the load-test procedure in accordance with DS_EN
1536_2010+A1_2015[1] Execution of special geotechnical work – Bored piles.

The method of construction of the trial pile is outlined in this specification, however
considering the depth of the pile and the ground condition, the Contractor is invited to
present alternative construction proposal including barrettes, if it is believed that the
alternative construction method is more suited.t

Purpose of Testing
The purpose of the preliminary testing is to determine the behaviour of the piles under
axial compression loads and to validate the geotechnical design of the piles. Moreover,
the purpose of the preliminary testing is to prove that with the chosen method of
construction a viable piled foundations can be constructed in the ground conditions
encountered.

Site Location
The site is located immediately to the east of the city of Brande, Denmark, as
illustrated in the site location plan in Figure 1. The site address is near Kåremagervej,
7330 Brande, Denmark.

The site is currently a green field site. The site is easily accessible, and no critical
hazards have been identified.

Figure 2 illustrates the future development and the position of the Bestseller Tower in
relation to the other building forming the proposed Bestseller Village.

Proposed Development and Foundation Loads

It is proposed that the structure will be found on 1.8m diameter cast in situ piles. The
depth of foundation is expected to reach approximately 77-85m below cut off level.
The existing ground level on site is at approximately 51m DVR90 and the cut-off level
of the production piles is expected to be approximately 3-4m below ground level (48-
47 mDVR90). The general stratigraphy encountered beneath the site, based on

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anticipated ground conditions assessed using historical geological maps, previous

ground investigations and the exploratory holes undertaken during the ground
investigation is summarised in Table 1.
The encountered ground conditions are summarised in the site investigation Factual
reports, included in appendix A. Overall, the results from the ground water monitoring
indicate that the hydrology is divided into two units comprising of an upper aquifer
and a lower aquifer. The groundwater level for the upper aquifer was monitored in
ranging from 3.8 mbgl and 4.8 mbgl. The water levels in the lower aquifer were
monitored in two different locations and the water level ranged from 0.7 mbgl and 2.3
mbgl revealing that the lower aquifer has the highest piezometric level. The lower
aquifer is expected to be bound at level -13.1 m DVR90 by deposit of the Micaceous
Silt.

Due to the ground condition encountered, it is believed that the load capacity of the
piles is derived from the skin friction and the pile end bearing. The estimated
unfactored bearing capacity of the piles is approximately 57,000kN in skin friction and
it is limited to 25,500kN in end bearing. Therefore, the total unfactored bearing
capacity is anticipated to be approximately 83,000kN however if the limit to the base
resistance is not applied, the estimated base capacity will be considerably higher. For
this reason, the ultimate capacity may be higher than anticipated.

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Ground Conditions
The following table (Table 1) presents the anticipated geology beneath the site.
Level to Depth to
top of top of Thickness Soil
Formation Description Age
layer stratum (m) unit
DVR90 (mbgl)
Sl. clayey, sandy and
+51.1 - 0.5 TOPSOIL TS
organic
Fine to coarse, sorted
to poorly graded, sl.
+50.6 0.5 8.2 SAND Lg Lg
silty, sl. gravelly to
gravelly,
Micaceous, silty, sl.
+42.4 8.7 2.0 CLAY sandy to v. sandy, sl. Gc Gc-A
gravelly
Sl. gravelly, sand is
+40.4 10.7 1.5 SAND/SILT Gc Gc-B
fine to coarse
Sl. clayey to clayey,
fine to coarse sand,
+38.9 12.2 11.4 Silty SAND sl. silty to v. silty, Mi Mi-A
rare to frequent wood
and lignite fragments
Clayey, sl. sandy to v.
sandy, with
+27.5 23.6 9.6 SILT Mi Mi-B
occasional lignite
fragments
Sl. silty, sl. clayey,
+17.9 33.2 22.8 SAND Mi Mi-C
fine to coarse,
Sl. clayey to v.
clayey, sl. sandy to v.
sandy, fine to coarse
-4.9 56.0 14.7 SILT sand, gravelly, Mi Mi-D
occasional to frequent
wood and lignite
fragments
silty to v. silty, sandy
to v. sandy,
-19.6 70.7 8.4 Silty CLAY Mi Mi-E
occasional wood
fragments
sl. clayey, sl. gravelly,
-28.0 79.1* - Silty SAND sl. micaceous, fine to Mi Mi-F
coarse
* End of borehole
Table 1 Summary of the anticipated geological conditions

Trial Pile location

The trial pile will be located outside of the footprint of the Bestseller tower, but still
within the site boundaries. The approximate position of the trial piles is indicated in
Figure 3.

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The contractor is responsible for setting up site, storage, water, welfare facilities.
Client will supply water/power, but consumption is to be included in the tender.

Design of the trial pile

The contractor must design reinforcement and concrete mix etc.

Construction of the trial pile

The contractor must at all times ensure that aquifers are kept separated and no
seepage occurs from one aquifer to another. The aquifers found below 45 m b. g. l are
confined and have a pressure head in approximately level + 50 m DVR.
Given the nature of the ground conditions at Bestseller Village, it is understood that
temporary support will be required to full depth. The properties and use of support
fluid shall be such that the following requirements are achieved:
(a) continuous support of the excavation
(b) solid particles are kept in suspension (except in the case of water and some
polymers)
(c) the fluid can be easily displaced during concreting
(d) the fluid does not coat the reinforcement to such an extent that the bond between
the concrete and reinforcement is impaired
(e) the fluid shall not cause pollution of the ground and ground-water before, during
or after use.

Details of the type of support fluid, manufacturer’s instructions and certificates for the
constituents and mix proportions, including all additives and the measures which will
be adopted to avoid ground water contamination shall be submitted by the Contractor
in the tender return. If support fluid is used, the contractor must obtain approval from
local authorities.

If temporary casing is used as a mean of support, this shall be of a quality of material,

length and thickness adequate for the purpose of preventing water and unstable soil
from entering the pile excavations. If casing is used, the casing shall be installed so
that no groundwater is leaking from around its circumference, or for segmental
casings, from the joints into the pile bore. Temporary casings shall maintain the bore
to its full dimension and ensure that piles are completed to their specified cross-
sectional dimensions. The borehole must be filled with water/support fluid to a
sufficient level to keep the base of the bore stable.
The required cut-off level of the trial piles will be at approximately 2mbgl (49
mDVR90). The contractor shall ensure stability of the bore in the granular material
above e.g. by leaving a section of temporary casing in place.

Construction Tolerances
The minimum permitted tolerances are as follow:
• Plan position ± 75 mm
• Level ±25 mm
• Vertically 1 in 200
Reinforcement shall be maintained in its correct position during concreting of the pile,
to allow a vertical tolerance of + 150/ − 50 mm (i.e. a maximum of 150 mm high) on
the level of the reinforcement projecting above the final cut-off level. For the proposed

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test piles, the steel cages may be fabricated in a number of cage sections, the lengths
being agreed between the piling contractor and the load-test contractor. All reinforcing
cages will be fabricated with sufficient cage stiffeners or welded milled steel hoops at
regular spacing, lifting points and lifting beams as required for their preferred lifting
technique. The fabrication of the O-cell assembly will be carried out on site or in the
cage fabrication yard if available. The O-cell will be accurately welded into place
between the top and bottom bearing plates. The completed assembly will then be
welded to the reinforcement cage, perpendicular to the cage axis at the given location.
A cage with nominal reinforcement will be extended beyond the top of concrete, to
allow for instrumentation monitoring. This cage will be reinforced with additional
stiffeners as required to ensure it remains sufficiently rigid above the concrete cut off
level. Liaise with the load-test contractor will be required.

Cleanliness of Pile base

On completion of boring, loose, disturbed or softened soil shall be removed from the
bore using appropriate methods, which shall be designed to clean, while at the same
time minimise ground disturbance at the level of the pile base. Where used, support
fluid shall be maintained at such levels throughout and following the cleaning operation
that stability of the bore is preserved.
The contractor shall submit details to the contract administrator of all cleaning
equipment in advance of its use on site.
Extraction of casing
If temporary casing is used then it shall be extracted while the concrete within them
remains sufficiently workable to ensure the concrete is not lifted. During extraction
the motion of the casing shall be maintained in an axial direction relative to the pile.
Twisting or oscillating the casing from side to side to assist the extraction of the casing
(or overcome soil friction) may be permitted.
Concrete
Concrete shall comply with DS/EN 206:2013.
The concrete mix shall be composed to minimize segregation during placing, to flow
easily around the reinforcement, and when set, to provide a dense watertight material
as well as allow for workability considerations (mix, aggregate size and slump limits
must be chosen to allow flow around the O-cell assemblies and throughout the
reinforcement cage and instrumentation) and should contain sufficient retarding agent
to maintain workability for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours. The concrete will be placed up
to the designed cut off level
Compressive strength classes for hardened concrete are given in DS/EN 206:2013.
The minimum required concrete class for the proposed trial pile is C50/60. The
Contractor shall ensure that the concrete class is adequate for the purpose of the test
undertaken with O-cells.
The cement contents of concrete shall conform with DS/EN 206:2013, Table D.1.
The water/cement ratio shall comply with DS/EN 206:2013.

Integrity test of the trial pile

The contractor shall carry out integrity testing prior to the commencement of the pile-
load test. The method to be adopted shall be cross-hole sonic logging method.

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The contractor shall incorporate the integrity test execution details in their method
statement.

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SECTION B – PARTICULAR SPECIFICATION

STATIC LOAD TESTING OF PILE

1010 General
The design and full details of the proposed load application, measurement and reaction
system shall be satisfactory for the required test and shall be given by the Contractor
to the Engineer at least two weeks prior to the construction of any test pile.

The Contractor shall give the Engineer at least two weeks notice prior to the
commencement of the test. No load shall be applied to the test pile before the
commencement of the specified test procedure.

Pile specifications
Pile Diameter: 1800mm
Pile cut off level: +48 m DVR90
Pile toe depth: -27 m DVR90
Pile length: 75m
Future use: Non-working pile (will not form part of final foundation)

1020 Preliminary load testing

Number of test piles: 1
Specified working load: 41,000 kN
Anticipated Ultimate Load*: 83,000 kN to 85,000 kN
Lateral load: Not required.
The time interval between pile installation and commencement of load testing shall be
a minimum of 28 days. The concrete strength should exceed the applied stress in the
pile at maximum test load.

If the geotechnical failure is not reached under the anticipated ultimate load, the
applied load shall be increased to a maximum of 120% of the anticipated ultimate
load. Further load increments of 10 % shall be applied if the structural integrity of the
piles and the instruments can be maintained and geotechnical failure has not occurred
*including base resistance contribution
1030 Test type
The load test shall be carried out using bi-directional O-cells.

1040 Test design

1050 Construction requirements for test pile

The contractor shall submit a detailed description of the proposed construction
methodology of the trial pile in the tender return.

The pile shall be constructed from the testing location to the specified depth. The
required cut-off level of the trial piles will be at approximately 2mbgl (49m DVR90).
The contractor shall ensure stability of the bore above the concrete cut-off level, by
employing temporary casing and fill. The temporary casing shall extend to
approximately a minimum of 0.5m above ground level.

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A detailed record of the conditions experienced and progress during boring shall be
made and submitted to the Engineer within one week.

10 concrete test specimens shall be made from the concrete used. The load test shall
not be started until the strength of the specimens exceed the applied stress in the pile
at maximum test load. Testing shall comply with DS/EN 206:2013

1060 Cut-off level

The cut-off level of the piles will be at approximately 3mbgl (48mDVR90).

1070 Supervision of the test

The preparation, set up and testing shall be conducted under the supervision of a
competent professional conversant with the test equipment and procedure.

The Contractor’s tender return shall provide CV’s and detail the number, names and
experience details of the proposed staff.

1080 Safety precautions

The application of load shall be carried out according to the requirements of current
statutory regulations to protect against all foreseeable hazards. The tenderer must
acquaint himself with Danish occupational Safety and Security Regulations prior to
submission of the tender.

1090 Reaction systems for axial maintained load tests at the pile head
Not Applicable

1100 Equipment for applying load

For bi-directional testing method, O-cells shall be used. The equipment shall be
designed by a contractor with proven experience working with similar loads and ground
conditions. The Contractor shall demonstrate to the Engineer that the equipment can
satisfactorily and accurately measure the applied load.

All loading equipment shall be able to be increased or decreased smoothly to and held
constant at any specified value up to the maximum test load with an accuracy of ±
0.25%.

All loading equipment shall have a minimum capacity which exceed the ultimate load
by at least 40%.

1110 Instrumentation and monitoring

A schematic section of the trial pile, indicating the suggested instrumentation and the
position of the load cell is shown in Figure 4. The proposed instrumentation and the
position of the load cell shall be reviewed by the pile-test contractor and agreed with
the engineer.
The instrumentation and monitoring for the trial pile will be as follows:
1. Two traditional telltale and rod extensometers extending from the top of the
O-cell to the top of the pile. These will allow to measure the compression of the pile
above the O-Cell.

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2. Two traditional telltale and rod extensometers extending from the bottom of
the O-Cell to the pile toe. These will allow to measure the compression of the pile
below the O-Cell.
3. LVWTD’s in the O-Cell to measure the total expansion of the load cell
4. Ten levels of four strain gauges (SG) to monitor the force distribution along the
pile length. The four SG’s will be fixed to the opposite diametric point to each other.
1120 Test procedure and loading
The load and unloading shall be carried out in accordance with the following table.
Test Pile

Load Minimum holding time

*
10% Working Load 30min
20% Working Load 30min
30% Working Load 30min
40% Working Load 30min
50% Working Load 30min
60% Working Load 30min
70% Working Load 30min
80% Working Load 30min
90% Working Load 30min
100% Working Load 30min
75% Working Load 30min
50% Working Load 30min
25% Working Load 30min
0 30min
125% Working Load ** 30min
150% Working Load ** 30min
175% Working Load ** 30min
**
200% Working Load 30 min
210% Working Load ** 6hours
125% Working Load ** 30min
75% Working Load ** 30min
0 30min

*Working Load: 41,000 kN

**Ultimate Load: 83,000 kN to 85,000 kN

The O-cell test is generally performed in accordance with the ICE Specification for
Piling and Embedded Retaining walls (Thomas Telford, 2017) incorporating the
recommendations published in "Review of foundation testing methods and procedures", M.
England & W.G.K.Fleming, Geotechnical Eng. Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs. Geotech. Engng 1994,
107, August 132-142. In order to obtain as much information as possible the number of
loading steps is increased beyond the specification recommendations. The load-test
contractor shall ensure that the number of loading steps is adequate.

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For each stage, the load shall be maintained at the specified value for not less that the period
given above until one of the following settlement criteria are satisfied:
1. for pile head displacements of less than 10mm, each load increment shall be
maintained until the rate of settlement is reducing and is less than 0.3mm/hour.
2. for pile head displacements of between 10mm and 24mm, each load increment
shall be maintained until the rate of settlement is reducing and is less than 1%
pile head displacement/hour.
3. for pile head displacements greater than 24mm, each load increment shall be
maintained until the rate of settlement is reducing and is less than 0.24mm/hour.

For any stage when the load is constant, the time and settlement shall be recorded at least
the following rates:
• for the first 15 min – every 5 minutes
• for the first hour – every 15 minutes
• for the first four hours – every 30 minutes
• for the first day – every hour.
• Thereafter-every 12 hours

When the specified load cannot be maintained within the settlement criteria within two hours
longer than the specified minimum period an attempt shall be made to stabilise the load by:
• if the load can be stabilised, hold the load for 30 minutes then increase in
increments of 10% SWL, holding each for 30 minutes, until the load cannot be
stabilised.
• if the load fails to stabilise, the load shall be reduced to the last stable load, held
for 30 minutes, then increased in increments of 10% SWL, holding each for 30
minutes, until the load cannot be stabilised.

1130 Factual results

The following results shall be submitted to Ramboll:
1. A preliminary copy of test records shall be submitted within 24 hours showing
each stage of loading, the period for which the load was held, the load and the
maximum pile movement at the end of the stage.
2. A pile test report within 10 days showing:
a. General
site and Contractor details
b. Pile details
location, dimensions, materials details
c. Installation details
construction logs and casing details
d. Test procedure
method, equipment, calibration details
e. Test results
all load, settlement, time and temperature measurements

1140 Test interpretation

The contractor shall submit an interpretation of the test results to the Engineer within four
weeks of completing the test. The report must be in English. The report shall:

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• comment on the load settlement results

• separate the shaft and base capacities
• comment on the likely mobilisation of the assumed parameters
• relate the results to geology
• recommend design parameters.

1150 Site security and removal of temporary works

The Contractor shall be responsible for the security of the site for the duration of the test and
the maintained load period of 4 weeks. The contractor shall provide adequate segregation of
the piles within the site. The contractor is responsible for the removal of temporary works
and temporary casing left in the ground during and after the test.
Excess soil may be left on site. The soil must be transported about 200 m to a location pointed
out by the supervisor.

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Figure 1 – Location of Bestseller Village and Tower. Copyright © Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og
Effektivisering

Figure 2 – Bestseller tower and Village - Proposed plan layout and Site boundaries

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Specification for Preliminary Load Testing of Piles

Figure 3 – Approximate location of the trial pile

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Figure 4 – Suggested instrumentation and the position of the load cell

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APPENDIX A

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