Figure 6-18. Steel saddle at north support

 Test Procedure

 A hydraulic actuator was used to apply the displacement to the piles. The applied

displacement was distributed to the two load points using a steel spreader beam. From the

spreader beam the displacement was transferred to the piles using two roller devices. The

rollers allowed the loading mechanism to rotate and follow the movement of the pile as

the load increased and steel plates distributed the load across the width of the piles. A

load cell was used to measure the applied force. The load points were located 16 ft from

each support which created a 3-ft region in the center of the span with pure flexure.

 The pile specimens were tested in 3 sets. Each set contained one control pile and

one grid pile. Set 1 included pile specimens SCC1 and SCG1, set 2 pile specimens SCC2

and SCG2 and set 3 pile specimens SCC3 and SCG3. The piles were loaded at a rate of