Comparison of Static and Dynamic Pile Load Tests at Thi Vai International Port in Viet Nam

Abstract

A berth structure, 600 m long and 60 m wide, for handing of loaded containers was completed in early 2013 as one of the facilities of Thi Vai International Port located on the bank of the Cai Mep river in Viet Nam. The berth is a quay structure supported by 885 driven spun concrete piles and 156 driven steel pipe piles. Four test piles, named TSC1, TSC2, TSP1 and TSP2, with different pile lengths and diameters were driven at the project site in 2011 prior to construction of working piles. Static load tests (SLTs) were conducted for the test piles to determine the design pile capacity. Dynamic load tests (DLTs) were also carried out for the TSC1 and TSP1 in order to obtain information for selecting the pile driving system used for the working piles and to examine the applicability of wave matching analysis (WMA) to derive the static load-displacement curves. A wave matching analysis program developed by the authors was employed in the WMAs. Good agreement between the derived and measured static responses was obtained for the TSC1 and TSP1. The identified soil parameters obtained from the final WMA of the TSC1 and TSP1 were used to predict the static responses of the TSC2 and TSP2. The predicted load-displacement curves were reasonable matches to the measured ones, indicating that the identified soil parameters of the test piles could be used for prediction of the static responses of other constructed piles. Moreover, pile driving termination criterion in this site was examined through the test piling.