February 12, 2024 Rev. No.

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SOLAR MOUNTING STRUCTURE

PULL OUT TEST PROCEDURE

PREPARED BY
 Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. HEALTH AND SAFETY ......................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1. General Safety Precautions ............................................................................................................................... 3
3. DOCUMENTS AND TESTING EQUIPMENT ...................................................................................................... 3
3.1. Documents Required from the Client ............................................................................................................... 3
3.2. Testing Equipment ............................................................................................................................................ 4
3.2.1. Pile Ramming Machine:.................................................................................................................................. 4
3.2.2. Dynamometer .................................................................................................................................................. 4
3.2.3. Hydraulic Jack or Excavator ........................................................................................................................... 4
3.2.4. Digital or Analog Micrometer......................................................................................................................... 5
4. PILE LOAD TEST PROCEDURES............................................................................................................................. 6
4.1. The Number of Trial Piles ................................................................................................................................. 6
4.2. Tensile Pile Load Testing .................................................................................................................................. 7
4.3. Lateral Pile Load Testing ................................................................................................................................... 7
5. LOAD TEST REPORT ........................................................................................................................................... 10
APPENDIX A. TENSILE LOAD TEST DATA SHEET ............................................................................................... 11
APPENDIX B. LATERAL LOAD TEST DATA SHEET ............................................................................................. 12

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 1. INTRODUCTION

An adequate ground investigation and pile load tests are essential to obtain sufficient information which will lead to a
safe and economical structural design, and they are also required to avoid various difficulties during construction.

By conducting a pile load test, it is possible to:

 Determine the response of a representative pile and the surrounding ground to load, both in terms of
settlement and limit load
 Assess the suitability of the construction method.
 Verify that the ULS and SLS will be met by the proposed design.
 Reduce the uncertainty associated with using empirical properties in calculations.

The pile load test methods described in the following chapters ensure the determination of ultimate limit states of
tensile and lateral resistance failure of a single driven steel pile.

A qualified engineer should design and approve all pile load test apparatus, steel piles, and test procedures.

2. HEALTH AND SAFETY

2.1. General Safety Precautions

 This document is not prescriptive regarding safety and does not purport to address all the safety concerns that
may arise with its use.
 Contractors should become familiar with all applicable safety, health, and regulatory requirements before the
pile load tests start.
 Always adhere to the safety instructions provided in the user manuals of equipment and tools.
 Equipment and tools should always be well maintained and inspected before use.
 Heavy equipment and machinery should only be used by trained and/or licensed personnel where applicable.
 Always wear proper safety equipment (i.e., safety shoes, safety gloves, safety helmet, ear protection, or other)
required for the task at hand.
 Handle metal components safely with care as they often have sharp edges from manufacturing.
 Plan for safe practice during any installation activity concerning hazards from tripping, falling, lifting,
repetitive stress, and overhead or electrical hazards.

3. DOCUMENTS AND TESTING EQUIPMENT

3.1. Documents Required from the Client

According to the reports below, a site-specific methodology may be applied.

 Geotechnical Reports
 Hydrological Reports
 Topographical Reports
 Dynamic Wind Data
 Preliminary Layout/Design of the Plant

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 3.2. Testing Equipment

3.2.1. Pile Ramming Machine:

The pile ramming machine is the equipment that allows the profiles to be rammed into the ground.

Figure 3.1. The pile ramming machine

3.2.2. Dynamometer

A dynamometer is a type of tension-measuring device for straight-line lifting applications. Dynamometers are
ideal for measuring tension because they are lighter and more compact than crane scales, making them easier
to set up and use.

Figure 3.2. A dynamometer

3.2.3. Hydraulic Jack or Excavator

A hydraulic jack uses hydraulic power. The most common form is a car jack, floor jack, or garage jack, which
lifts vehicles so that maintenance can be performed. Jacks are usually rated for a maximum lifting capacity
(for example, 1.5 tons or 3 tons).

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3.2.4. Digital or Analog Micrometer

For measuring displacement with a sufficient measuring range of the maximum expected displacement with
an accuracy of 0.01 mm, with a magnetic tripod.

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 Figure 3.3. Hydraulic jack and excavator

4. PILE LOAD TEST PROCEDURES

4.1. The Number of Test Piles

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70 tensile and 70 lateral tests are recommended for the Project. Tests will be performed in the same pile. Tensile test
to be performed first and then lateral test to be executed for those ones which have not been failed (pulled out).

4.2. Tensile Pile Load Testing

The following procedures should be followed for tensile pile load testing:

 Devices for the determination of loads, stresses or strains, and displacements should be calibrated before the
test.

 The direction of the test load applied to compression or tensile piles should coincide with the longitudinal axis
of the pile.

 Pile load tests for the purpose of designing a tensile pile foundation should be carried out to failure (until 20
mm vertical displacement or until testing equipment reaches its capacity). Extrapolation of the load-
displacement graph for tension tests should not be used.

 A dynamometer connected to the head of the test pile should be attached to a hydraulic jack or an excavator as
illustrated in Figure 3.3. Then, the test pile should be pulled upward, and this tensile pull-out load should be
read from the dynamometer. The vertical displacements should be read and recorded from the micrometer for
each load step.

 The tensile pile load test should be performed concerning the number of loading steps, the target load and
duration of each step as described in 4.4 Load Steps for Cyclically Axial Tension and Horizontal Tests. Site
team which is executing the test shall fill the form “Appendix A. Tensile Load Test Data Sheet” accordingly.

4.3. Lateral Pile Load Testing

The following procedures should be followed for lateral pile load testing:

 Devices for the determination of loads, stresses or strains, and displacements should be calibrated before the
test.

 Load should be applied cyclically (loading & unloading) and plastic deformations should be recorded as final
horizontal displacement.

 Lateral pile load tests should be carried out to failure (until 20 mm horizontal displacement or until testing
equipment reaches its capacity)

 A dynamometer should be attached between the test pile and the excavator as illustrated in Figure 4.1. Then,
the test pile should be pulled towards the excavator and this horizontal pull-out load should be read from the
dynamometer. The horizontal displacements should be read and recorded from the micrometer for each load
step.

 The lateral load should be applied from 100 cm above the ground and the horizontal displacements should be
measured from 10 cm above the ground.

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 Figure 4.1. Lateral pile load testing

 The lateral pile load test should be performed concerning the number of loading steps, the target load and
duration of each step as described in 4.4 Load Steps for Cyclically Axial Tension and Horizontal Tests. Site
team which is executing the test shall fill the form “Appendix B. Lateral Load Test Data Sheet” accordingly.

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 4.4 Load Steps for Cyclically Axial Tension and Lateral Tests

Following table shall be followed during the load cycles and unloading steps of the testing.

Load Step Duration in sec. Axial Tension [kgf] Horizontal Tension [kgf] Arm of lever [m]

0F 1 0 0 1,00
0,25 F 10 250 100 1,00
0,50 F 10 500 200 1,00
Unloading 0 kgf 5 0 0 1,00
0,50 F 10 500 200 1,00
1,00 F 10 1000 400 1,00
1,20 F 10 1200 480 1,00
Unloading 0 kgf 5 0 0 1,00
1,20 F 10 1200 480 1,00
1,50 F 10 1500 600 1,00
Unloading 0 kgf 5 0 0 1,00
Table 1: Load Steps
After each load step deformation and load should be noted in the test protocol.

As soon as a plastic deformation of >20 mm remains after unloading, the test is considered complete at that point. Otherwise, if the plastic deformation remains after
unloading is still <20 mm, the next higher load step according to Table-1 is carried out. This process shall be continued until the plastic deformation exceeds 20 mm.

Last load step should be applicable to 150% of the design load. After the unloading, remaining displacement is noted.

The horizontal loading of the piles should be performed in the pile direction that is higher loaded due to the mounting structure. In general, this is North-South direction.
Using a different arm of lever towards Table 1 has to be noted in the test protocol.

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 5. LOAD TEST REPORT
A factual report shall be written for all load tests. Where appropriate, this load test report shall include the following
data:

• Date of pile installation/date of the test

• Project location and a description of the site
• The ground conditions with reference to ground investigations
• A description of the loading and measuring apparatus and the reaction system
• Calibration documents for the load cells, the jacks, and the gauges
• Pile driving time.
• Recommendation of drivability
• Pictures of each pile tested, including installed pile, any deformations, soil type at refusal, top of the pile after
driving, and additional pictures while testing. If possible, include a video of pile installation and testing.
• Identify and coordinate the location of the test pile.
• Identification of design load of the test pile
• Type and dimensions of the test piles
• Test piles’ embedded lengths
• Test results in numerical form
• Time-displacement plots for each applied load when a step loading procedure is used.
• The measured load-displacement behavior
• The reasons for any departures from the above requirements

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APPENDIX A. TENSILE LOAD TEST DATA SHEET

Date
Test No.
Predrilled (Yes/No)
TENSILE LOAD TEST
Ramming Date

Height of the Measuring

hm (m) Maximum
Point
Point of Load Application hr (m) Permissible 20 mm
Displacement
Length of Pile lp(m)
Depth of Embedment t (m)
N
Steel Profile’s Cross- Coordinate
W
section

Design Load (ULS)

Fvd (Kg) 1000

Target Load Hold Time Actual Load Deformation

(kg) (Sec) (kg) (mm)
0 0 sec
250 10 sec
500 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0
500 10 sec
1000 10 sec
1200 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0
1200 10 sec
1500 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0

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APPENDIX B. LATERAL LOAD TEST DATA SHEET

Date
Test No.
Predrilled (Yes/No)
LATERAL LOAD TEST
Ramming Date

Height of the Measuring

hm (m) Maximum
Point
Point of Load Application hr (m) Permissible 20 mm
Displacement
Length of Pile lp(m)
Depth of Embedment t (m)
N
Steel Profile’s Cross- Coordinate
W
section

Design Load (ULS)

Fvd (Kg) 400

Target Load Hold Time Actual Load Deformation

(kg) (Sec) (kg) (mm)
0 0 sec
150 10 sec
300 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0
300 10 sec
600 10 sec
720 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0
720 10 sec
900 10 sec
Unload to 0 5 sec 0

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