Patent ID: 8402837

Claim:
A system for field testing the bearing behavior of a test helical pile that has been driven into the ground with an upper end of the test helical pile remaining exposed, said system comprising: a plurality of anchor helical piles driven into the ground at angles around the test helical pile, with the upper ends of the anchor helical piles converging toward a region above the upper end of the test helical pile; a head assembly having: (a) attachments for engaging the upper ends of the anchor helical piles to form a support structure over the upper end of the test helical pile; and (b) a vertical passageway extending through the head assembly; a hollow-core hydraulic jack between the upper end of the test helical pile and the head assembly to exert a test load on the test helical pile, said jack having a vertical passageway aligned with the test helical pile and the vertical passageway of the head assembly; and a vertical member extending through the vertical passageways in the head assembly and jack to the upper end of the test helical pile for measuring movement of the test helical pile in response to the test load applied by the jack.