A rod shear test apparatus was developed as part of a study on the influence of cyclic vertical loading on the behavior of piles in clay. The study was specifically concerned with the wave loading of long offshore piles during major storms. Therefore the cyclic frequencies considered are of the order of 0. 1 Hz, the total number of cycles is about 2000, and no attempt is made at simulating the pile point behavior in the modeling process. The rod shear test was used to study the influence of the mean load level and the cyclic load amplitude on the cumulation of pile displacement.
