Experimental study of STATNAMIC load test by air-pressure based loading apparatus

In order to conduct Statnamic load tests in simple, uniform and controllable ground conditions, a small-scale Statnamic loading device was developed. The difference from the original Statnamic load test equipment was that it was driven by pre-compressed air instead of the gas from the explosion. Using this equipment, a series of Statnamic load tests as well as static load tests were carried out in the laboratory under homogenous ground conditions. A loading period of about 50 ms was observed from the experiments. The results from the tests of a single pile in sandy ground and the comparison between static and Statnamic loading cases are reported in this issue.