The Tip Displacement of Drilled Shafts in Sands

The design load of large diameter drilled shafts is determined so that the settlements do not exceed the values associated with the ultimate and serviceability limit states. Based on the results of deep plate loading tests, performed in a calibration chamber on two different sands, a procedure is proposed for the evaluation of the relationship between the mobilized base capacity and the corresponding settlement of the pile tip of the drilled shaft. The procedure requires the knowledge of either the static cone penetration resistance or of the seismic shear wave velocity.