O-Cell^® Bi-directional Load Testing Advantages:

• Design: Excellent tool for value engineering foundation redesign for pile and barrettes for both compression and tension tests.
• High test load capacities: Test loads exceed 27 MN on a routine basis. O-Cell test capacities are available from 0.4 MN to greater than 220 MN under suitable conditions.
• Reduced work area: Required work area (overhead and laterally) is greatly reduced vs. any other static load testing system. Testing has been performed inside buildings, under overpasses, in narrow interstate/highway median strips and off-shore.
• Time: Testing is performed once concrete has reached suitable strength (which typically takes 7‑14 days from pile installation).
• Improved safety: No reaction system is required at ground level and the test energy is safely buried well below ground.
• Rock sockets: High test loads can be applied directly on deeply buried rock or soil formations without load shedding in overlaying soils, which eliminates the need for de-bonding techniques.
• Deep cut-off levels: O-Cell tests can be performed with the top of concrete far below ground, eliminating the need for pile extensions to ground level, pile head preparations or provision for zones of reduced shear.
• Piles with Plunged Columns: Where steel columns have been cast in the top of the pile, these often interfere with top-down testing techniques, and the O-Cell testing method is likely to be the only cost effective way of performing a full scale static load tests on these piles.
• Accuracy: Since there are no anchors, reaction piles or a reaction mass required, the influences, in terms of modified test pile performance, resulting from the construction and use of anchors, reaction piles or a reaction mass required in top-down static testing are eliminated.
• Economy: The O-Cell method becomes more economical as loads increase, unlike traditional top-down static tests.
• Shear / end bearing components: The O‑cell tests are designed to separate test piles into 2 or 3 pile sections; thus automatically measuring the reaction of each of the components.
• Automation / static creep effects: The O‑cell test is a static maintained load test and uses automatic data acquisition techniques and load maintenance for accurate, efficient data processing and creep measurements.
• Production / working Piles: Post-test grouting techniques allow for testing of production pile/shafts and barrettes.
• Performance: The subsequent pile performance of O-Cell tested production piles will be similar to the non-tested production piles due to the lower amount of generated residual stresses in the pile, as compared to applying full test loads “top-down”.
• Off-shore: The O-Cell test method particularly excels in off-shore testing environments due to its convenience and numerous advantages illustrated above. Tests have been performed with piles completely submerged under water.
• Foundation behaviour analysis: Numerous advanced analysis techniques can be used to enhance the accuracy of the interpretation of the pile behaviour, Cemset^®/Cemsolve^® & Timeset^®.
• Industry expertise: All genuine O-Cell tests come with planning, installation, testing, analysis and reporting services performed by the world’s leading experts in static load testing of deep foundations.