Abstract During installation of driven or jacked piles in sand, particle crushing occurs in a region below the base of these piles. Quantification of the degree and extent of particle crushing during driving or jacking in sand is necessary to improve current design methods. To study the effects of particle crushing on the capacity of piles jacked in uniform silica sand samples, a model pile was jacked and tested in a half-cylindrical calibration chamber with transparent observation windows in its front wall. Annular samples of crushed sand 3 mm in thickness were recovered after testing from several locations along the shaft and the base of the model piles and used to assess particle gradation changes and to calculate breakage parameters. Relationships between the load mobilized at the base of the model piles and three breakage parameters are proposed. Furthermore, the number of jacking strokes (ranging from 1 to 32 in this research) has a negligible effect on the degree of crushing produced during installation and on the measured stresses at the base of the model pile. Analyses of the digital images captured during pile jacking indicate that the silica sand particles in the path of the model pile crush mainly along irregularities and sharp edges. Different zones are identified below the model pile according to the degree of particle crushing. Digital images taken during static loading of the model pile allowed tracking of the displacement paths of individual sand particles during loading.