Field Testing of SAFE Foundations

Résumé du livre

A SAFE (Secure Anchoring and Foundation Equipment Co.) foundation consists of a vertical galvanized steel pipe with 3-4 steel fins. These foundations offer particular advantages where speed of construction is important and the primary loading is the overturning moment. This paper describes full-scale load tests on five SAFE foundations and one pipe-only foundation. The tests involved installing the foundations in an engineered test fill whose as-constructed engineering characteristics were determined. Two sizes of foundations were tested, a smaller size used for street signs and lights and a larger size used for power transmission lines. The larger size was tested to geotechnical failure overturning moment. The test results demonstrated the degree of soundness of SAFE foundations, their ability to support substantial loads in a variety of loading conditions, and their predictability of performance.