Field behaviour of screw micropiles subjected to axial loading in cohesive soils
Field tests of full-scale screw micropiles with a diameter varying from 76 to 114 mm and a length varying from 1.6 to 3 m were undertaken to investigate the axial pile capacities, load-transfer mechanism, and end installation torques of the piles in cohesive soils. Forty tests were performed on piles subjected to axial compressive and tensile loads. Six tests were instrumented with strain gauges on the pile shaft. Results showed the piles reached the limit state before the displacement exceeded 10% of the shaft diameter. The majority of axial load was transferred to the threaded segment. The adhesion coefficient of the top smooth shaft at the limit state was less than 0.1. The failure mode along the cylindrical threaded shaft was cylindrical shearing along the edge of the threads; the threads increased the axial capacities of the segment. Axial capacities of the threaded tapered segment were 43% on average greater than that of a cylindrical segment with the equivalent volume. Compressive capacities of all test piles were estimated and the results agreed reasonably well with the measured capacities. A theoretical torque model was proposed to estimate the end installation torques based on the cone penetration test results; the theoretical results matched the measured end torques very well.