Application Overview
Geodaq provided planning, instrumentation, testing, and reporting services for full-scale load testing of an existing shipyard pier deck in Seattle, Washington. The program used a GCM8 monitoring system, calibrated load cell, displacement transducers, and SS6 structural monitoring modules to measure applied force, deck deflection, and concrete stringer response. Results supported evaluation of live load capacity and load redistribution behavior near timber piles identified as being in poor condition.
Shipyard Pier Testing, Seattle, Washington
Full-Scale Testing of Timber Pile Supported Concrete Pier Deck and Stringers
Load Testing of Shipyard Pier Deck Structure
Pier Load Testing
Deflection measurement of concrete stringer and timber piles in response to applied force to concrete pier deck.
Structural inspections had identified several timber piles supporting the pier deck as being in poor condition, based primarily on visual observations. This created uncertainty when evaluating the load capacity of the existing pier and establishing a current safe load rating.
Geodaq performed a load testing program to measure force, deck deflection, and structural response at selected pier deck locations supported by timber piles with poor condition ratings. A controlled vertical load was applied directly over the selected pile locations while displacement and beam slope measurements were collected in real time.
Instrumentation included a GCM8 dynamic monitoring system, a calibrated load cell to measure applied force, five displacement transducers to measure pier deck deflection, and twenty SS6 modules to capture the deflection profile of the underlying concrete stringers.
The testing program provided force-displacement data needed to evaluate live load capacity and load redistribution behavior within the pier structure. Measurements helped document how vertical load applied above poor-condition timber piles was redistributed through the precast concrete deck and into adjacent concrete stringers spanning between supporting piles.
Key Services Include