DETERMINING LENGTHS OF INSTALLED TIMBER PILES BY DISPERSIVE WAVE PROPAGATION

Timber piles are used as a primary means of support for many structures, such as bridges, throughout the continental United States and must periodically be inspected. Sometimes a pile's overall length is not known because pile records are incomplete or nonexistent; so, calculating the effects of scour on its embedment length can present a problem. A new nondestructive testing method is described that employs dispersive stress-wave propagation and special signal-processing techniques to find the lengths of installed timber piles. The method was studied and developed in the laboratory and then applied to installed piles in the field for which there were records. Some piles were pulled to verify the method directly. The computed pile lengths, compared with records or measurements after pulling, were within error bounds of approximately +/- 10%. The test method holds promise for calculating the depth and physical condition of deeply embedded piles as well as those embedded in shallow concrete footings, and it has been shown to be predictive for piles of varying physical conditions and ages.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1994/1447/1447-013.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=DETERMINING+LENGTHS+OF+INSTALLED+TIMBER+PILES+BY+DISPERSIVE+WAVE+PROPAGATION&author=J.+Holt&author=S.+Chen&author=R.+Douglas&publication_year=1994
• Availability:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1447, Design and Construction of Auger Cast Piles, and Other Foundation Issues. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Holt, J Darrin
  • Chen, Shunyi
  • Douglas, Robert A
• Publication Date: 1994

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 110-115
• Monograph Title: Design and construction of auger cast piles, and other foundation issues
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1447
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accuracy; Inspection; Length; Nondestructive tests; Support piles; Timber; Wave motion
• Uncontrolled Terms: Dispersion (Waves)
• Old TRIS Terms: Determination; Embedment (Pile); Timber piles
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00672563
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309060532
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 13 1995 12:00AM