Effect of preconsolidation on pile bearing capacity in model tests

The effect of preconsolidation on pile bearing capacity was studied in model tests performed in the calibration chamber. The tests were conducted on overconsolidated dense fine quartz sand with OCR ratios up to 7. The soil mass was overconsolidated in conditions of no lateral volume changes. Two types of boundary conditions (BC2 and BC3) were applied during pile penetration. The influence of boundary conditions on pile base resistance and lateral friction was analysed.