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Test T-Block screwed into the sand of the beach in Rimini, with the hydraulic jack resting on its head.

How it works · Load test

The compression test

To find out how much a T-Block carries in a particular soil, you load it for real: a jack pushes it down, against a beam fixed on other T-Block screws, and dial gauges measure how far it settles. The photo of the test T-Block comes from the beach at Bagno 28 in Rimini.

When to use it

The values on the data sheets are design estimates. When the project needs a figure measured in that soil, or before a large job, the number of T-Block screws the test requires is tested directly on site.

  • Loose soils such as sand, where calculation is less certain
  • Significant structures: public decks, light buildings
  • When the designer or the inspecting engineer asks for a load test
  • Before a large job, on a few test T-Block screws

How the test is done

  1. Step 1: The test T-Block is installed

    The T-Block to be tested is screwed in just like those on the job: in Rimini, an AISI 304 stainless steel T-Block with a slotted round flange head, designed for sand.

  2. 3D render of the compression load test, with the ground cut away to show the helices. In the middle the test T-Block screwed into the ground, at the sides two anchor T-Blocks; the steel reaction beam is fixed on their heads with tie rods and plates. Between the beam and the head of the test T-Block sits the red hydraulic jack, connected to the pump. Behind, the yellow reference beam rests on two stakes set well away, and two dial gauges on it read how far the head settles. Letters A to F match the key.
    A T-Block under test · B anchor T-Blocks · C reaction beam · D jack · E reference beam on independent supports · F dial gauges

    Step 2: The anchor T-Blocks and the reaction beam

    On either side of the test T-Block, far enough away not to disturb it, two anchor T-Blocks are screwed in. A steel reaction beam is fixed on their heads and runs over the test T-Block. When the jack pushes, it is the anchor T-Blocks that hold the beam down.

  3. Step 3: The jack

    The hydraulic jack goes between the head of the test T-Block and the reaction beam, in line with the T-Block. Pushing against the beam, the jack loads the test T-Block downwards.

  4. Step 4: The reference beam

    A second steel beam is laid on two independent supports and levelled. It touches neither the test T-Block, the anchor T-Blocks nor the reaction beam: it is the fixed point everything is measured from.

  5. Step 5: The dial gauges

    Dial gauges are mounted on magnetic bases: they read how far the T-Block head settles relative to the reference beam.

  6. Step 6: Loading and readings

    The jack force is increased in steps, and at each step the load and the settlement are recorded. The result is the load-settlement curve of that T-Block in that soil. For the loads of individual models, start from the data sheets and the configurator.

    Model data sheetsThe configurator

The other methods

Every stage of a job

Got a project?

Tell us what you need to install and where: we will help you choose the model and the installation method. The configurator suggests the T-Block series and quantity, starting from the application and the soil.

Contact us Open the configurator