Bi-drectional O-cell testing: to optimise foundation design safely and sustainably DFI Europe Nov/Dec 2022

2021 Fugro LOADTEST has completed foundation testing services for the Gordie Howe Internation bridge project, a new border crossing between Ontario and Michigan. Many details of the project on their dedicated website.

Dr Melvin England continues to spread the word about pile design optimisation and the benefits of bi-directional load testing. Interview by By Nia Kajastie in Ground Engineering

2020 - Derco Construction, Mexico’s No. 1 deep foundation contractor, selected Loadtest to test and confirm their large drilled shaft’s true load capacity

2020 - Michels manages foundation schedule and cost risks for I-74 Mississippi River Bridge with Osterberg Cell

2020 - Optimization solutions for Montreal's REM long line foundations provided by O-Cell testing

2020 Fugro performs Monaco’s first O-Cell pile tests for L’Anse du Portier eco-project (Project datasheet)

2020 Fugro performs extensive foundation design optimisation for the Lahkta Centre St Petersburg Tallest skyscraper in Russia and Europe at 462m high (Project datasheet) Status: Main construction and installation works are completed.

2018 short Video of the skyscraper

2019 Fugro performs load-testing on Germany’s longest rotary bored piles for Hamburg’s Elbtower. (Project datasheet)

Foundation piles for the Elbtower reach a record depth and load tested with O-Cell tests. Reported in Geodrilling International

2018-9 Bauer Spezialtiefbau Tests Onshore Piles for French Offshore Wind Project at Saint-Brieuc to gather data for the design of foundations using Fugro Loadtest and O-Cells for the larger piles.

2018 Bridge web reports on A bi-directional testing system is being used in the development of foundations for a new cablestayed bridge between Hungary and Slovakia (Project datasheet)

2016, NEW World record test load in a single barrette, mobilising 363MN. (Project datasheet)

Fugro Loadtest uses advance fibre-optic sensors during Dubai Creek's world record foundation testing.

2016, UK and European record test load in a CFA pile of 16MN.

2015, First O-Cell test in a 20m deep CFA test pile in the UK. (Project datasheet)

June-July 2014 Fugro Loadtest uses advance fibre-optic sensors during foundation testing in Raron, Switzerland.

DEC 2014 Fugro Loadtest Limited and other Fugro Geotechnical companies in the UK are amalgamated into Fugro Geoservices Limited.

2013, Loadtest again succeed in applying more than 300MN at the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. The rock socket was 12m (40 feet) deep and the diameter 2.28m (90"). A new World Record load was achieved 322MN. The rock was far from being fully mobilised so the actual pile capacity would have been significantly higher. Again illustrating the advantage of design optimisation from actual static load test results. (Project Datasheet)

2010 LOADTEST Announces 320.9  MN (72,100 kips) Static Load Test of Single Foundation Caisson

A New World Record static load test of a single foundation caisson on the I-70 (Interstate 70) project over the Mississippi River. The test using Loadtest’s patented Osterberg Cell^® method produced a loading of 321 MN (72,100 kips) on the 3.35 m (132-inch) diameter pile. It exceeded our previous World Record, established in 2005 in South Korea on the Incheon 2nd link project, by 42 MN (9,440 kips). The New Mississippi River Bridge connecting Missouri and Illinois will provide the first new link in over 40 years between the two states. Mr. Jack Hayes, P.E. D.I.C., President of Loadtest, remarked, “This is a phenomenal achievement for the foundation construction industry and is a tribute to the foresight of the Joint Venture Massman–Traylor–Alberici that a test of this magnitude was even attempted.”

The New Mississippi River Bridge project will re-route I-70 (Interstate 70) away from the existing crossing at the Poplar Street Bridge which presently carries three Interstate routes, I-70, I-55 and I-64. The new Mississippi River Bridge will be a 1,500 foot cable-stayed bridge with two traffic lanes in each direction, but will be constructed to allow for three lanes should traffic volumes warrant.

An increasing number of structural design firms are recognizing the reliability and value of using Fugro LOADTEST and its patented Osterberg Cell^® method to test to previously unimaginable ultimate loads. Applying these tremendous loads helps to reduce the factor of uncertainty faced by many engineers when designing such robust foundations. The ability to determine ultimate capacities of these foundation elements also allows engineers to use more sophisticated design and analytical techniques. (Project Datasheet)

From Liberia to Loadtest

Jack Hayes is published in Deep Foundations magazine. Read the full article.