Twenty years ago, deep foundation work was forever transformed with the advent of the Osterberg Cell. Named after its inventor, Jorj O. Osterberg, this hydraulically driven bi-directional sacrificial load cell was the first practical and economical method to measure the full bearing capacity of a shaft.

Comprised of a piston and pressure chamber, the O-cell is mounted between two bearing plates and cast into concrete at the bottom of a shaft. It is pressurized internally, creating equal upward and downward loads that can independently determine side-shear and end-bearing capacity of bedrock and/or soil. Measurements are logged and plotted by computer. Multiple O-cells between plates can increase testing capacity and the O-cell can also be used on driven piles, auger cast piles and barrettes.