Load-displacement response of drilled shaft tip in soft rocks of sedimentary origin

A database of in situ drilled shaft and plate load tests in soft rock mass is developed. Analyses of the in situ load tests suggest that (i) the development of tip contact pressures is related to the rock mass shear strength, rock mass deformation modulus, and the vertical displacement of the drilled shaft tip, (ii) embedding the drilled shaft tip contributes to the development of punching shear failure mechanism in the underlying rock mass,...