Bearing Capacity Evaluation of Long, Large-Diameter, Open-Ended Piles

Recent changes in port construction in Japan include the use of deeply embedded large-diameter steel pipe piles. However, little change has been made to the procedure for estimating the bearing capacity of piles. An international comparison of bearing capacity estimation techniques and examination of the bearing capacity mechanism of open-ended piles were conducted. In this study, the plugging phenomenon was thoroughly investigated by means of field loading tests, large- and small-scale laboratory experiments with X-ray CT scanner, and numerical analysis