You see the numbers. I will say that my load cell is recently calibrated and the results are consistent over several tests so I wondered the same thing. I do not know how they got their numbers. Did they use direct read instrumentation? Is it possible they derated their test to establish a safe working load? Probably the big thing is the solid type. even though the soil we tested had been previously disturbed it was dry, compact and had good clay content (Phoenix area). I think soil with higher moisture content would see bigger movement but I don't have that kind of soil to test. it seems clear that the pickets are not the weak link. in fact, when it comes to the picket anchor plate, i think you could drive the pickets 90% in and get an even better result since back-tying one picket to the next does not seem to be important for full strength. the bottom line is to do the test in your area in your soil type. I think its a pretty easy test to set up. You can use a 10,000 lbf dynamometer set to peak hold if you don't have a load cell. Hope that helps Tom
Thanks for taking the time to make the videos! Nice job
No problem. I like testing and shooting video. It seems videos can be very helpful for my guys so we share.
Thanks, exactly the kind of info I was looking for!
Any special technique on getting the pickets back out of the ground?
Army core of engineers post number significantly lower for a 1:1:1 system. Any idea gy your number were significantly better?
You see the numbers. I will say that my load cell is recently calibrated and the results are consistent over several tests so I wondered the same thing. I do not know how they got their numbers. Did they use direct read instrumentation? Is it possible they derated their test to establish a safe working load?
Probably the big thing is the solid type. even though the soil we tested had been previously disturbed it was dry, compact and had good clay content (Phoenix area).
I think soil with higher moisture content would see bigger movement but I don't have that kind of soil to test. it seems clear that the pickets are not the weak link. in fact, when it comes to the picket anchor plate, i think you could drive the pickets 90% in and get an even better result since back-tying one picket to the next does not seem to be important for full strength.
the bottom line is to do the test in your area in your soil type. I think its a pretty easy test to set up. You can use a 10,000 lbf dynamometer set to peak hold if you don't have a load cell.
Hope that helps
Tom