Izvorni znanstveni članak

https://doi.org/10.17559/TV-20251128003171

From Load Test Interpretation to Design: An Integrated Framework with Mobilization Sufficiency Index (MSI)

Şahin Çağlar Tuna ; Yaşar University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, 35100 İzmir, Türkiye *

* Dopisni autor.

Sažetak

Reliable design of barrette foundations requires interpretation methods that consistently link load test outcomes to settlement analysis, numerical modeling, and performance-based design. Conventional practice often separates global load-settlement (Q-s) curves from local strain-based t-z/q-z analyses, which may lead to inconsistent capacity and serviceability interpretations, particularly when plunging failure is not reached. Global extrapolation methods such as Chin-Kondner or Davisson may overestimate capacity under limited displacement ranges, while hyperbolic t-z/q-z models may underestimate resistance where relative slip is restricted by elastic shortening in long barrettes. This study develops a mobilization-aware interpretation framework that integrates global Q-s benchmarking with layer-wise hyperbolic calibration of strain-derived t-z and q-z curves. A diagnostic indicator, the Mobilization Sufficiency Index (MSI), is introduced to evaluate whether measured resistances credibly represent mobilized layer response or are affected by incomplete mobilization, displacement limitation, or construction-related degradation. MSI is not proposed as a design code or independent resistance model, but as a diagnostic tool that reconciles observed responses with index-based expectations and fitted asymptotic trends. The framework is demonstrated through three full-scale instrumented barrette load tests from the İzmir Basin. Results show that conventional global methods yielded a wide range of interpreted capacities, whereas the integrated approach provided more consistent, mobilization-aware load-transfer parameters for settlement assessment and design-oriented modelling. The study contributes a methodological procedure for transforming instrumented barrette load test data into mobilization-consistent design inputs, while recognizing that broader validation across different foundation types, soil profiles, and loading conditions is required.

Ključne riječi

barrette pile; foundation design; load-settlement; t-z/q-z; mobilization sufficiency index

Hrčak ID:

353091

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/353091

Datum izdavanja:

7.11.2026.

Posjeta: 0 *