A PERFORMANCE INVESTIGATION OF PILE DRIVING HAMMERS AND PILES

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PERFORMANCE OF DIESEL PILE DRIVING HAMMERS IN RELATION TO STEAM AND AIR TYPE HAMMERS AND TO IMPROVE THE METHODS FOR ESTIMATION OF PILE BEARING CAPACITY. THE STUDY CONSISTS OF AN EXTENSIVE FIELD INVESTIGATION IN WHICH A TOTAL OF EIGHTY- EIGHT PILES WERE DRIVEN AT THREE SITES. AT ALL THREE SITES, THE PILES WERE DRIVEN TO PRACTICAL REFUSAL IN UNDERLYING HIGHLY CONSOLIDATED SAND AND GRAVEL OR HARDPAN, BUT THE OVERLYING LAYERS REPRESENTED A VARIETY OF SOFT CLAYS, TILL CLAYS AND GRANULAR MATERIALS. A SELECTION OF PILE DRIVING HAMMERS WAS USED, INCLUDING SEVERAL LIGHT AND HEAVY DIESEL HAMMERS, AIR AND STEAM HAMMERS, AND A SPECIAL INTERNAL MANDREL HAMMER. PILES WERE MOSTLY OF THE STEEL H OR STEEL PIPE TYPE, ALTHOUGH A FEW PATENTED TYPE STEEL TUBES WERE ALSO INCLUDED. EXTENSIVE SOIL PROFILE DATA WAS COLLECTED PRIOR TO DRIVING OPERATIONS AT EACH SITE AND LABORATORY SHEAR TESTS ON UNDISTURBED SAMPLES WERE PERFORMED. DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE DRIVING OPERATIONS WERE MADE, INCLUDING DRIVING FORCE AS INDICATED BY A SPECIAL LOAD CELL, ACCELERATIONS AND DISPLACEMENTS OF THE TOP OF THE PILE. STATIC LOAD TESTS WERE CONDUCTED ON NINETEEN OF THE PILES. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA INCLUDED A CAREFUL COMPARISON OF THE DRIVING EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF HAMMERS AS REFLECTED BY BLOW COUNT FOR EQUAL PENETRATION, PENETRATION RATE, AND EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY TRANSMISSION TO THE PILE. THE COMMON PILE DRIVING FORMULAS WERE REEXAMINED TO DETERMINE THEIR RELIABILITY, WITH THE CONCLUSION THAT THEY DO NOT PERMIT ESTIMATION OF PILE CAPACITY WITH ANY DEGREE OF CERTAINTY. IT WAS ALSO CONCLUDED ON THE OTHER HAND THAT SOIL TEST DATA, CONSISTING OF STANDARD PENETRATION MEASUREMENTS AND LABORATORY SHEAR TESTS, PROVIDE A RELIABLE AND ACCURATE BASIS FOR ESTIMATING STATIC LOAD CAPACITY. /BPR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Hps-hpr-1/28/, STATE NO.3, SEP64
• Corporate Authors:

  Michigan Department of State Highways

  State Highways Building, PO Drawer K
  Lansing, MI  United States  48904
• Authors:
  • Kerkhoff, G O
  • Oehler, L T
  • Housel, W S
• Publication Date: 1964-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Data collection; Diesel engines; Estimating; Field studies; Hammers; Improvements; Laboratory tests; Pile driving; Shear tests; Soil penetration test; Soil profiles; Soil tests; Static loads; Static tests; Steam
• Uncontrolled Terms: Capacity; Mandrels
• Old TRIS Terms: Field investigations; Steam hammers
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219230
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: ITRD, TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 1 1994 12:00AM