Video of 2011 Pile Load Test Failure in Singapore

December 29, 2020 rockman Failures Comments Off on Video of 2011 Pile Load Test Failure in Singapore

A static load test was being performed on (presumably) a group of piles at a construction site on Gilstead Road in Singapore in 2011 when the massive pile of concrete blocks toppled over, blocking the adjacent two-lane road. The failure also caused a gas line leak, but fortunately, there were no reported injuries. It occurred at about 8:30 AM local time on a Sunday, and there wasn’t much traffic on the roads. I don’t have any other specifics on the geotechnical aspects of this, but the two videos embedded here are compelling to watch if nothing else. I think there was a tidbit I heard in the video or read when searching these out that the blocks were tilting for several days before the failure, but I’m not positive about that.

Thanks to Jim Withiam for pointing this out to me!

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