Dynamic Pile Load

Testing
James A. Baigés, PE
September 3, 2015
 Pile Design Outline
Ø  Project Scope

Ø  Subsoil Exploration Program-

Ø  Site Geology, Aerial Photo interpretation –
stereo pairs
Ø  SPT, CPT, DMT, Test Pits
Ø  Lab – Consolidation Tests, Triaxial, DS,
classification tests
Ø  Soil Characterization – general subsoil
profile
 Pile Design Outline
Ø  Engineering Analyses

Ø  Deep Foundation – driven piles, drilled shafts, auger

cast piles
(Ensoft-APile, Driven, Coyle, etc.)

Ø  Design Pile Capacity

Ø Axial (compression, tension)
Ø Lateral loading (LPILE)
Ø Pile group interaction
Ø Wave Equation (GRLWEAP) – hammer
selection, driveability, driving stresses eval.,
production driving.
Load transfer in an axially loaded pile.
 Pile Testing Program

Ø  Objectives – to confirm design loads

Ø  Pile Load Test Types

Ø Static (compression and tension)
Ø Dynamic
Ø Others (Statnamic and O-cell – for drilled shafts )
 Comparison – Static vs Dynamic
DYNAMIC
STATIC
Advantages Advantageous
-more familiar Reduce costs – more testing
-failure criterion well known Fast – setup is simple
(Davisson)
Load distribution (SF, EB)
Disadvantages
Expensive Disadvantages
Reduced number of tests Some don’t acknowledge
Setup very time consuming method – lack of confidence
Req. to provide instrumentation to Req. experienced personnel
obtain load distribution along pile.
FS req. usually greater than 2
 Dynamic Foundation Testing

Attempts to determine pile capacity using dynamic

analysis date back to the 19th century.

At that time, a dynamic formula that considered the

energy of the pile driving hammer and the set of the pile
was developed to find bearing capacity.

Dynamic formulae are still used today, in spite of their

inaccuracies and of the fact that they cannot predict
stresses during driving.
 Wave Equation Analysis
•  In the 1950’s, E.A. Smith of the
Raymond Pile Driving Company
developed a numerical analysis
method to predict the capacity
versus blow count relationship and
investigate pile driving stresses.

•  The model mathematically

represents the hammer and all its
accessories (ram, cap, cap block),
as well as the pile, as a series of
lumped masses and springs in a
one-dimensional analysis.

•  The soil response for each pile

segment is modeled as
viscoelastic-plastic.
 High Strain Dynamic Testing

•  When a hammer or drop weight

strikes the top of a foundation, a
compressive stress wave travels
down its shaft at a speed c, which is
a function of the elastic modulus E
and mass density.

•  The impact induces a force F and a

particle velocity v at the top of the
foundation.

•  The force is computed by multiplying

the measured signals from a pair of
strain transducers attached near the
top of the pile by the pile area and
modules.
 High Strain Dynamic Testing
•  The velocity measurement is obtained by
integrating signals from a pair of accelerometers
also attached near the top of the pile. Strain
transducers and accelerometers are connected to
a Pile Driving Analyzer® (PDA), for signal
processing and results.

•  As long as the wave travels in one direction, force

and velocity are proportional:
F = Zv,
where:
Z = EA/c is the pile impedance
E is the pile material modulus of elasticity
A is the cross sectional area of the pile
c is the material wave speed at which the
wave front travels
 High Strain Dynamic Testing
•  Soil resistance forces along the shaft and at the toe cause
wave reflections that travel and are felt at the top of the
foundation.

•  The times at which these reflections arrive at the pile top are
related to their location along the shaft. The measured force
and velocity near the pile top thus provide necessary and
sufficient information to estimate soil resistance and its
distribution.

•  Total soil resistance computed by the PDA includes both

static and viscous components. The static resistance can be
obtained by subtracting the dynamic component from the
total soil resistance.

•  The dynamic component is computed as the product of the

pile velocity times a soil parameter called the Damping
Factor. The damping factor is an input to the PDA and is
related to soil grain size.
 High Strain Dynamic Testing

•  The energy delivered to the pile is directly computed as

the work done on the pile from the integral of force times
incremental displacement ( ∫Fdu ) which is easily
evaluated as force times velocity integrated over time
( ∫Fvdt ).

•  Maximum compression stresses at the pile top come

directly from the measurements. The measurements also
allow direct computation of the compression stress at the
pile toe and the tension stresses along the shaft.

•  Pile integrity can be evaluated by inspecting the

measurements for early tension returns (caused by pile
damage) prior to the reflection from the pile toe; lack of
such reflections assures a pile with no defects.
 High Strain Dynamic Testing
•  High Strain Dynamic Testing encompasses Dynamic Pile Monitoring
and Dynamic Load Testing. Both are covered by ASTM D4945.

•  Pile Driving Monitoring consists of using a PDA to perform real time

evaluation of Case Method capacity, energy transfer, driving
stresses and pile integrity for every blow.

•  Dynamic Load Testing involves another technique that evolved from

Smith’s approach of modeling the wave propagation theory of pile
driving, the Case Pile Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP®).

•  CAPWAP combines field measurements (obtained with the PDA)

and wave-equation type analytical procedures to predict soil
behavior including static-load capacity, soil resistance distribution,
pile soil load transfer characteristics, soil damping and quake
values, and pile load versus movement plots (e.g. a simulated static
load test). CAPWAP analysis is made on the PDA data after the test
is complete.
 High Strain Dynamic Testing
PDA Setup

Pile Testing at Isidoro Garcia

Stadium, Mayagüez, PR

Strain and Accelerometers on an

HP 14x73 Steel Pile
PDA
CAse Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP)
Field documentation
 Recent Trends
CME-55 Drill Rig for Rock Coring to
200 ft at Portugues Dam Site, Ponce

Offshore drilling for Pier 3

– San Juan
 Static Load Tests

Pier 3 , San Juan, PR

 Static Load Tests

Yabucoa Valley Crossing PR-53

Static Load Tests

Yabucoa Valley
Crossing PR-53
Static Load Test – PR-17 Interchange

Tension Pile Load Test

Compression Test – Reaction Wt = 430 Tons

 Statnamic Test
Caño Martin Peña, San Juan, PR
 Recent Trends in GCI Practice

Cone Penetration
Testing (CPT) – Vertek
Seismic Piezocone
 Pile Testing Yabucoa Valley Crossing PR-53
A Design-Built Project - 42-inch by 3/4 –inch Steel Pipe Piles – L=150 ft
 Pier 3, San Juan -2003
24” Prestressed Concrete Piles – L=80 ft
Pier 3 Improvements - 2014
Columbus Monument, Arecibo, P.R.
24” Steel Pile Piles
 Puerto Las Americas Pier 4 to 6
1,200 ft bulkhead, 85 ft Double HZ King Pile Sheet Wall, 140,000 ln ft
HP 14x73 Steel Piles L=160 ft.
 PDA testing on Drilled Shaft
PanAmerican Grain Silos, Guaynabo, PR
1m dia. – 65 ft using 15k drop hammer
Bridge over Quebrada Corazon PR-102, Mayagüez, PR

PDA testing with 40,000 lbs

drophammer on 60-inch
diameter and 1 inch thick pipe
piles driven to 150 ft depth
Mobilized Pile Capacity = 2,750
kips for a 10 ft drop.
Bahia Beach Resort, Río Grande
Soil Improvement – Deep Dynamic Compaction
 Compolitan Condominium, San Juan
Soldier Pile and Wood Lagging with Tie Backs Retention System
 Mayaguez 2010
Pile Foundation – HP14x73 Steel Piles approx 120,000 ln ft

Isidoro García
and Athletic
Stadiums

PR-102 Bridge over

Río Yagüez
Muchas Gracias
james.baiges@gmail.com