Reliability Updates of Driven Piles Using Proof Pile Load Test Results

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For the development of load and resistance factor design, reliability analysis is required to calibrate resistance factors in the framework of reliability theory. The distribution of measured-to-predicted pile resistance ratio was constructed based on only the results of load tests conducted to failure for the assessment of uncertainty regarding pile resistance and used in the conventional reliability analysis. In other words, successful pile load test (piles resisted twice their design loads without failure) results were discarded, and therefore, were not reflected in the reliability analysis. In this paper, a new systematic method based on Bayesian theory is used to update reliability index of driven steel pile piles by adding more pile load test results, even not conducted to failure, into the prior distribution of pile resistance ratio. Fifty seven static pile load tests performed to failure in Korea were compiled for the construction of prior distribution of pile resistance ratio. Reliability analyses were performed using the updated distribution of pile resistance ratio and the total load distribution using First-order Reliability Method (FORM). The challenge of this study is that the distribution updates of pile resistance ratio are possible using the load test results even not conducted to failure, and that Bayesian update are most effective when limited data are available for reliability analysis or resistance factors calibration.