Load Test

In-situ load testing is a powerful tool to assess the performance of structures with respect to
their ability to carry code-prescribed loads. The practice dates back to the late 1800s and has
been used to verify the load rating of structures, as well as the expected performance of
structures in retrofit, repair, and strengthening applications. These tests are especially powerful
in situations where structures or components may be deemed inadequate to carry the intended
loads and are slotted for potentially expensive retrofit or strengthening work. This is because
other conventional and even sophisticated analysis methods may be unable to adequately
assess reserve capacity due to the inherent inability to properly account for in-situ redundancy,
load sharing, and effects of alternate load paths.

Load testing had been developed to either create a “confidence in the ability of a structure to
perform” or “understand and define the mechanism of a specific structural behavior.” To this
end, load test practices have been designed to determine whether the structure can safely
support the proposed loading, and are not aimed at providing an indication of the ultimate
strength of the subject structure or its components, whose performance may be in question in
a wide variety of situations. Specifically, load tests can be used to evaluate structures exhibiting
signs of deterioration and distress whose severity and extent is not fully understood.
With the type of lifting equipment load testing method is changed .according to that we can
categorize as below,

1. Winches and hoist
2. Lifting trolley
3. Forklift
4. Cranes