Bearing capacity of a Flysch rock mass from the characterization of the laboratory physical properties and the Osterberg test

This article presents a research study, with both laboratory and field tests, of a deep foundation in a markedly anisotropic medium. Particularly it has focused on the evaluation of the behavior of a pile, one meter in diameter, embedded in a rocky environment with difficult conditions, in the Flysch of the Spanish city of San Sebastián. To carry out the research, the site of a bridge over the Urumea River was chosen, which was supported by pre-excavated reinforced concrete piles. 4 borings were carried out, by the rotation and washing method, with continuous sampling and combined with flexible dilatometer tests. In the field, an Osterberg load test (O-cell) was performed, while in the laboratory, determinations of natural moisture, natural unit weight, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), point load strength (PLS), compressive wave propagation velocity (Vc) and also triaxial and direct shear tests were carried out. The research results indicate the following: a) the empirical functions that correlate the UCS with the PLS are not always linear; b) for the studied Flysch it is possible to obtain empirical functions that correlate the UCS with the PLS and with the Vc; c) the bearing capacity of the studied Flysch is much greater than if it is evaluated by different load capacity theories; d) it is possible to propose an empirical function that allows evaluating the mobilized shear strength (tafm), as a function of the UCS and the displacement relative of the pile (deltar).