Improved Evaluation of Equivalent Top-Down Load-Displacement Curve from a Bottom-Up Pile Load Test

A modified procedure is presented in this study to evaluate the equivalent top-down load-displacement curve in a bottom-up pile load test considering elastic shortening. On the basis of the results of a parametric study on a bored pile in normally consolidated cohesive soils under undrained conditions, varying shear strength distribution and pile slenderness ratio, it was concluded that the pile shortening caused by the skin-friction component of the load in a top-down test can be related to the measured elastic shortening in a bottom-up test. A λ-factor is used to define this relationship, that is, the ratio of the top-down to bottom-up pile shortening. The factor λ=1.0 is used for the case of a pile in soil with uniform shear strength profile, λ=2.0 for linear profiles, 1.0