Pile Dynamics in Geotechnical Practice

Six Case Histories

Bengt H. Fellenius
Urkkada Technology Ltd.
101 Polytek St. Unit 6
Ottawa, Ontario
K1J 8K8





ASCE
International Deep Foundation Congress
Down to Earth Technology
Orlando, Florida
February 14 - 16, 2002






Reference
Fellenius, B. H. and Altaee, A., 2001. Pile Dynamics in Geotechnical PracticeSix Case Histories.
American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, International Deep Foundation Congress, An International
Perspective on Theory, Design, Construction, and Performance, Geotechnical Special Publication
GSP No. 116, Edited by M.W. ONeill, and F.C. Townsend, Orlando, Florida, February 14 - 16, 2002,
Vol. 2, pp. 619 - 631.

Pile Dynamics in Geotechnical Practice Six Case Histories
Bengt H. Fellenius* and Ameir Altaee*
* Urkkada Technology Ltd., 101 Polytek St. Unit 6, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1J 8K8


Abstract
Six cases are presented showing the benefit of dynamic testing and analysis of driven piles,
comprising (1) a comparison between two types of piles and a correlation between
CAPWAP determined capacity and load-movement response to that determined in a static
loading test, (2) the benefit of time-dependent increase of pile capacity, (3) a study how a
soil plug can be shown to replace a pile shoe, (4 & 5) the effect on pile capacity from
removing soil inside the pile, (6) set-up and effect of excavation. Together the cases show
that the dynamic testing can be used to investigate problems in design and construction of
piles much beyond a simple capacity determination.

Introduction
Dynamic testing and analysis is the generic short-term for WEAP analysis, Pile Driving
Analyzer (PDA) measurements, and CAPWAP analysis of measured data. Since its
becoming available to the industry in the early 70s, dynamic testing and analysis has
become an indispensable tool for the foundation engineer charged with designing piles, pile
installation, and pile foundations, as well as verifying a design, and/or solving questions
arising during construction. The following six case histories illustrate how dynamic testing
and analysis was applied to resolve problems. In the first case, the PDA enabled existing
experience with one pile type to be compared to a new pile type. It also demonstrates that
dynamic and static testing methods agree well. The second case illustrates the specific
advantage of PDA testing over conventional static testing in that many PDA tests can be
performed quickly and economicallythe alternative of carrying out a dozen or more static
tests at the particular site would not have been feasible. In the third case, PDA was used to
bear out that elements in an original design could be removed resulting in significant
savings on the project. In the fourth and fifth cases, the PDA was used to pinpoint the
adverse consequence of a faulty construction procedure. And, finally, the sixth case
illustrates how a 30-day wait after EOID was rewarded with a set-up of capacity that almost
doubled the pile capacity available for design enabling the designer to use shorter piles for
the foundation. Ordinarily, the design would have had to be based on the much lower
capacity determined in a restrike the day after the initial driving.

Case 1. Dynamic and Static Testing at JFK International Terminal, Jamaica, NY
Static and dynamic tests were performed for two types of 450-mm diameter piles tapering
to 200-mm diameter over the lower 7.6 m. Two piles, Piles 1 and 2, were Monotube piles
and two piles, Piles 3 and 4, were Steel-Taper-Tube piles. The piles were driven as two
pairs of identical twins with a Juntan HHK-7 hammer to a depth of 18.0 m through a
thick deposit of fine to coarse, medium dense to dense glacial sand at the JFK International
Arrival Terminal, at the south shore of Long Island, New York. One purpose of the tests
was to compare the two types of piles in terms of response to the driving and capacity at the
Page 1
End-of-Initial-Driving (EOID). For one pile of each type, dynamic testing was also
performed at Beginning-of-Restrike (BOR) three weeks after the driving. Capacity was
determined both by dynamic testing (CAPWAP analysis) and static loading test.
Dynamic testing and CAPWAP analyses were performed at EOID for all four piles
and at BOR for Piles 1 and 3 after a set-up wait of 19 days and 35 days, respectively.
Piles 2 and 4 were not restruck, but were filled with concrete and subjected to static loading
tests two days after the restrike testing of their twins, Piles 1 and 3. Fig. 1.1 shows Wave
Traces and results of CAPWAP analysis from Pile 3 at EOID.


















Fig. 1.1 Pile 3. EOID Wave traces and CAPWAP determined
distribution of static resistance

For both Piles 2 and 4, and immediately prior to the start of each of the static
loading tests, the authors presented a prediction of the capacity and pile head movement to
be found in the tests. The predictions were based on the similarity between the two pairs of
test piles and the assumption that the relative increase of capacity from EOID to BOR due
to set-up found for Piles 1 and 3 would be the same for Piles 2 and 4. The prediction of
movement considered the stiffness change due to the concreting of Piles 2 and 4,
respectively. The increase of capacity of Piles 1 and 3 between EOID and BOR was 60 %
for both piles. Applying the same proportional increase to the EOID of Piles 2 and 4 gave
predicted capacities of 3,600 KN and 3,780 KN, respectively.
Tables 1.1 and 1.2 compile the results of the Dynamic Monitoring, CAPWAP
Analyses, and Predictions. The capacity predictions were within 4 % and 1 % of the results
found in the static loading tests (also included in the tables).
Because the Monotube has a 6.0 mm wall as opposed to the 9.5 mm wall of the
Steel Taper Tube, its maximum driving stress is significantly larger than that of the Steel
Taper Tube Pile. (The nominal steel yield values are 380 MPa and 310 MPa, respectively).
Because of its heavier cross section, the Steel-Taper-Tube required fewer blows to drive
Page 2
and the penetration resistance (PRES) at EOID was smaller than that observed for the
Monotube.

TABLE 1.1 MONOTUBE PILES 1 AND 2
Test PRES EMX FMX CSX R
ULT
Movement at R
ULT

(bl/25mm) (KJ) (KN) (KPa) (KN) (mm)
1-EOID 3 53 2,730 310 1,910
2-EOID 3 53 2,620 300 2,250
1- BOR 10 59 3,210 370 3,020
2-Predicted Capacity and Movement 3,600 18
2-Static Loading Test 3,730 21

TABLE 1.2 STEEL TAPER TUBE Piles 3 and 4
Test PRES EMX FMX CSX R
ULT
Movement at R
ULT

(bl/25mm) (KJ) (KN) (KPa) (KN) (mm)
3-EOID 2 63 2,740 204 2,530
4-EOID 2 72 2,920 220 2,360
3- BOR 6 80 4,240 320 4,010
4-Predicted Capacity and Movement 3,780 15
4-Static Loading Test 3,820 16
PRES = Penetration Resistance, EMX = Maximum Transferred Energy
FMX = Maximum Force CSX = Maximum Compressive Stress
R
ULT
= Capacity Determined in Dynamic Test or Static Test

Fig. 1.2 shows the load-movement curves of the two tests. Both tests were carried
to failure. The CAPWAP based capacities and movements predicted for the two test
piles are indicated in the diagram. The stiffness difference is mainly due to the thicker wall
of the Steel-Taper-Tube pile.


Fig. 1.2 Piles 2 and 4 Load-Movement Diagrams from the Static Loading Tests
with CAPWAP Predicted Capacities and Movements
Page 3
Case 2. Dynamic Pile Testing at Montreal River Bridge, Elk Lake, Ontario
Dynamic testing and analysis of pile foundations was performed for a four-span
replacement bridge across Montreal River at HWY 65, Elk Lake, Ontario. The bridge is
supported on two abutments and three piers, each having a single row of six piles.
The soil profile at the site consists of a heterogeneous material composed of sand,
silt, and clay above a thick deposit of compact to dense glacial till starting at a depth of
about 45 m. The groundwater table lies at the river surface level and the pore water
pressure distribution is hydrostatic.
The piles are 310HP110 piles with a yield of 300 MPa and a cross sectional area
of 141 cm
2
driven with a Delmag D30-32 single-acting diesel hammer. The required pile
capacity is 2,660 KN. The piles were driven into the till layer, reaching embedment depths
of 53 m through 62 m. One pile in the east abutment was redriven about one week after the
EOID to a depth of 70 m. The penetration resistance (PRES) at end-of-initial-driving
(EOID) was no more than about 1 blow/25 mm for the piles and about 2 blows/25 mm for
the 70-m pile at end of second drive (EOD2). Fig. 2.1 presents the pile driving diagrams
from all six piles in the east bridge abutment, and, for reference, also the N-values (shown
as bars) established in the soils investigation. The six piles drove quite similarly. It is also
clear that there is little correlation between the N-values and the PRES-values. At
beginning of restrike, BOR, the equivalent PRES values were about 9 blows/25 mm.


Piles 1 through 6, East Abutment

N
PRES
Fig. 2.1 Pile Driving Diagram and SPT N-Values

Page 4
The design had been based on the piles being toe bearing with the pile structural
strength rather than the bearing capacity governing the design. Evidently, the structural
strength does not govern.
As a bit of an understatement, the pile capacity now became an issue and it was
decided to verify the pile capacities by means of restriking with dynamic testing and
analysis. Test piles were selected from within both abutments and from all three piers. The
initial driving had taken place over some length of time, which means that the restrike tests
were carried out at different times after EOID.
CAPWAP analysis on the restrike blows was performed to determine the capacity
of each tested pile. Fig. 2.2 shows the pile capacities as a function of the number of days
after the initial driving. The solid symbols represent piles that were tested on two
separate occasions. As evident from the curves, the pile capacities increased by about 25 %
between one week and one month after EOID and about 50 % during the first month after
EOID. To confirm the set-up gain, three piles having low capacity when tested at restrike
about one week after EOID were again tested at a second site visit (these values are plotted
with solid symbols in Fig. 2.2). The capacity was shown to have been increased
considerably due to the set-up. Thus, as the testing proved that the long-term capacity of
the piles was adequate, the piles were accepted as driven.


0 10 20 30 40 50
0.000
1.000
2.000
3.000
4.000
Days after EOID
C
A
P
W
A
P


C
a
p
a
c
i
t
y


(
K
N
)
CAPWAP Capacity
Best-fit Line
Desired
Capacity

Fig. 2.2 CAPWAP Capacities vs. Set-up Days


Incidentally, had the set-up time not been considered, but the test results been
looked at per pile location, or if only a few piles had been tested, the results would have
been much less obvious, as suggested in Fig. 2.3.


Page 5
0 6
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
C
A
P
W
A
P


C
a
p
a
c
i
t
y


(
K
N
)
Desired
Capacity
Pier
1
Pier
2
Pier
3
East
Abut.
West
Abut.


Fig. 2.3 CAPWAP Capacities per Pile Location


Case 3. Plugging of Open-Toe Piles and Set-up of Capacity
Pipe piles are often driven open-toe, because open-toe piles are usually easier and faster to
drive than closed-toe piles as long as the pile does not plug. Indeed, when the pile does
plug, the pile termination criterion is rapidly met; refusal occurs. Often, partial plugging
occurs resulting in increased penetration resistance, but the pile may still be advanced until
reaching and forming a solid plug in the bearing layer. When that happens, there is very
little difference in driving characteristics between the plugged pile and a pile driven
closed-toe (although the mass of the soil plug may have some effect, usually causing a
small reduction of penetration resistance).
Concreting the piles after the driving may be necessary to increase axial structural
strength so that the design can make full use of the set-up. (Set-up is increased capacity
due to reconsolidation after the driving and other reasons). Also, concreting the pipe is
often necessary to enable the pile to resist horizontal loads. At the completion of driving,
open-toe piles usually need to be cleaned out as they will have filled up with soil to a
greater or lesser degree. Therefore, considering that cleaning out a pile is a cost factor, why
are piles not always driven closed-toe? Well, it is a trade-off. As mentioned, open-toe
piles are faster and easier, i. e., cheaper, to drive. Moreover, the pile shoe, or toe plate, is
also a cost factor. Cleaning out a pile could disturb the soil at the pile toe and has to be
done carefully, of course (as is shown in the fourth and fifth case histories).
As with everything else in deep foundation design and construction, Nature has a
say, too. The open-toe pile may plug early during the driving, and, apart from the fact that
this may appreciably slow down the work, what about the capacity of a plugged open-toe
pile as compared to a closed-toe pile?
The opportunity to make that comparison arose on a recent project near Edmonton,
Alberta. Two 24 m long, 273-mm diameter pipe piles were driven through a silt and clay
deposit to bearing in a clay till having water content of about 25 % and SPT N-indices of
about 30 bl/0.3 m. The piles were identical, but for one pile being driven open-toe and the
other closed-toe by means of a plate welded flush with the pile outside diameter. The
Page 6
open-toe pile was easier to drive until the last few feet before the end of driving. At
end-of-initial-driving (EOID), the open-toe pile had an about 14 m long soil plug.
Concreting the remaining (upper) 10 m length provided the desired stiffness to resist
horizontal loading.
The observed penetration resistances at EOID were the same for the two piles:
3 bl/25 mm. In restriking the next day (15 hours later), the PRES value had increased
to 8 bl/25 mm, again the same for both piles. The CAPWAP results are presented in
Table 3.1.
The Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) wave traces presented in Figs. 3.1 and 3.2 are
almost identical for the two piles at both EOID and restriking (BOR). CAPWAP analyses
showed that they also had the same total capacity, and shaft and toe resistances, as well as
the same quake and damping values. For both piles, the capacity of the piles almost
doubled between EOID and BOR due to set-up.
The similarity between the pile responses makes it obvious that open-toe or
closed-toe made no difference with regard to the pile capacity. Driving the piles open-toe
and discontinuing the use of the pile toe plate saved time and reduced costs.


Table 3.1 CAPWAP Results
CAPACITY QUAKE PRES
R
TOTAL
R
SHAFT
R
TOE
SHAFT TOE
KN KN KN mm mm Bl/25 mm
EOID
open 850 550 300 2.5 7.0 3
closed 950 500 450 2.5 7.0 3
RSTR
open 1,500 800 700 2.5 4.0 8
closed 1,550 850 700 2.5 5.0 8


















Fig. 3.1 BOR Open-Toe Pile Fig. 3.2 BOR Closed-Toe Pile
Page 7
Case 4. Removing Soil inside an Open-Toe Pile
The method of removing soil inside an open-toe pile is usually by means of an air lift, if
necessary combined with jetting and/or first loosening the plug using a chopping bit. An
air lift is created by pumpinginjectingwater and air into the pile immediately above
or into the surface of the plug, discharging the spoils up the inside of the pile (small
diameter piles) or in a separate discharge pipe (large diameter piles). The flow of the water
and air up the pile (or in the discharge pipe) pulls the spoils along. The process creates a
suction in or immediately above the surface of the plug in relation to the hydrostatic
conditions without the airlift. It is rarely recognized that a suction has also been created in
relation to the soil conditions at the toe of the pile.
Normally, the bearing layer at the pile toe consists of fine-grained glacial till,
mudstone, or other low-permeability soils which prevent the air-lift suction from interfering
with the soil at and outside the pile toe. This is because these soils can sustain a pore
pressure gradient. In such soils, therefore, even when the air lift is brought right down to
the toe of the pile, the bearing layer and pile toe resistance are not affected. However,
when the bearing layer consists of pervious soils that cannot sustain a pore pressure
gradient, an upward flow develops in the pile: water flows from the pile toe through the
soil column inside the pile. The process loosens the soils at and below the pile toe. In the
extreme, fines outside the pile toe will be sucked into the pile to be discharged by the air
lift, which all but destroys the toe capacity.
Open-toe steel pipe piles with a diameter of 1,067 mm (42 inches) were used for a
bridge rehabilitation project in Terrace, in northern British Columbia. The piles were
driven 10 m into a very dense silt, sand, and gravel deposit with N-indices in excess of
50 bl/0.3 m. In driving the piles, soil rose up inside the pile. The piles were tested in
restrike and dynamic testing was performed at beginning-of-restrike, BOR. The CAPWAP
determined capacity was 3,200 KN with shaft and toe resistances of 1,700 KN
and 1,500 KN, respectively. The small toe resistance value indicates that the soil had not
formed a plug, but was acting as a free column inside the pile. This means that a portion of
the shaft resistance came from the inside surface of the pipe. In preparation for concreting,
the soil column was removed. The removal of the soil column was by means of an air lift.
To determine if the removal of the column had had any significant effect on the shaft
resistance and to verify that the toe resistance had not become smaller, a second restrike test
was performed. The BOR CAPWAP capacity was now 2,300 KN, that is, 900 KN smaller
than before the airlift, with shaft and toe resistances of 1,000 KN and 1,300 KN,
respectively. Figs. 4.1 and 4.2 show the shaft resistance distributions determined in the
CAPWAP analyses of blows from the two BORs. A comparison between Figs. 4.3
and 4.4 shows that the shaft resistance along the lower portion of the pile is much smaller
than before the airlift, inferring that the soil has indeed been affected by flow of water and
soil from the soil and into the pile. The comparison results cannot conclusively show to
what extent the reduced capacity is due to the removal of the soil column and to what
extent it also is due to disturbance of the soil around and below the pile toe. However, the
method of removing the soil in the piles was changed to a bailing procedure and
maintaining a positive head of water inside the pile. The airlifted pile was then driven
deeper to restore capacity. No further dynamic testing was performed.

Page 8










Fig. 4.1 CAPWAP Results Fig. 4.2 CAPWAP Results
immediately before Air Lift immediately after Air Lift
R
ULT
= 3,200 KN R
ULT
= 2,300 KN


Case 5. Cleaning out the Jetting Tube
Dynamic measurements were performed on prestressed piles driven for the Port of Los
Angeles at Long Beach, California. The piles were 33.5 m long, 600 mm diameter
prestressed concrete piles with a 75 mm center hole going all the way through the pile (used
for jetting the pile before seating it by driving). The soils at the pile toe consisted of dense
fine sand.
Two weeks after a test pile intended for a static loading test had been jetted down
and then seated by driving without jetting for an additional about 3.7 m, a restrike test was
performed. The CAPWAP determined pile capacity at the end of restrike (EOR1)
was 5,670 KN at a penetration resistance (PRES) of 13 bl/25mm and energy ratio of 45 %.
After the restrike test, it was found that the lower portion of the center hole had become
filled with sand. To get access to the pile toe in order to install a toe telltale, the center hole
was cleaned using air lift. After a few minutes of cleaning, the center hole was plumbed:
now, there was actually more sand in the hole than before the air lift! A new restrike test
with dynamic monitoring was made and a CAPWAP analysis was performed on the first
blow of restrike. This showed that the capacity of the pile determined for the first blow
after air lift was no more than about 1,390 KN at a PRES of 6 bl/25mm and energy ratio
of 28 %. The loss of capacity, about 4,300 KN, is mostly loss of toe resistance, R
t
, which
went from 4,010 KN down to 710 KN. In addition, the air lift destroyed about 450 KN of
shaft resistance immediately above the pile toe. The analysis also shows that the shaft
resistance some distance above the pile toe was unaffected by the air lift, in fact, it
increased somewhat due to set-up.
The capacity improved somewhat by driving the pile about 3 m deeper. However,
the air lift had adversely affected the soil conditions deep below the pile toe and the original
capacity was not restored. At the end of the re-drive (EOD2), a CAPWAP analysis showed
the capacity to had only increased to 3,470 KN. The final penetration resistance
was 9 bl/in. The results of the CAPWAP analysis were confirmed by a static loading test.
The Davisson Offset Limit Load was 3,340 KN agreeing well with the EOD2 CAPWAP
result.
Although the airlift mishap severely affected the objective of the static test, which
was to verify the capacity of the construction piles, the test established that the dynamic
Page 9
testing and analysis was a reliable tool for the site. Therefore, the first restrike result
of 5,670 KN capacity was considered representative for the construction piles at the site.
No more static testing was carried out and all verification and proof testing performed for
the 2,000 construction piles driven subsequently for the project was based on dynamic
testing and analysis.
The results of CAPWAP analysis at the beginning of restrike (BOR2) after the air
lift and immediately before the static loading test (EOD2) are presented in Figs. 5.1
and 5.2, showing the distribution of shaft and total resistances.

150 KN/m
BOR2
EOD2
150 KN/m
R
t
= 710 KN
R
s
= 670 KN
R
ul t
= 1,390 KN
R
t
= 2,710 KN
R
s
= 760 KN
R
ul t
= 3,470 KN









Fig. 5.1 CAPWAP Results Fig. 5.2 CAPWAP Results
immediately after Air Lift Immediately before the Static Test

The case history illustrates that when pervious soils exist at the pile toe, using air lift
to clean out a soil column can adversely affect the pile bearing capacity.


Case 6. Set-up and Effect of Excavation on Capacity
Dynamic testing and analysis was performed for an apartment complex at False Creek,
North Shore, Vancouver, BC. The soil profile at the site consists of about 2 m of sand and
gravel fill placed on an about 10 m thick layer of silty sand, and sandy silt, followed, at a
depth of about 12 m, by dense till like silt and sand until bedrock (sandstone) at a depth
of 25 m. The groundwater table lies at a depth of 3.5 m. The pore water pressure is
probably somewhat artesian in the sandstone, which results in an upward pore pressure
gradient at the site.
The building was to be founded on two sizes of pipe pile, 325 mm with 12.5 mm
wall and 457 mm with 9 mm wall both driven by a 3,860 kg drop hammer using an about
1.5 m height-of-fall. The design called for a pile capacity of 1,800 KN and 2,300 KN,
respectively.
Six test piles (two of the 324-mm piles and four of the 457-mm) were driven to
depths of about 16.5 m across the site and dynamic testing was carried out at Initial
Driving, at Early Restrike (within 24 hours after End-of-Initial-Driving, EOID), and
at Beginning of Second Restrike blow (BOR2) 27 days after EOID. One 324-mm pile was
restruck also 71 days after EOID. Fig. 6.1 shows the penetration resistance at initial driving
for the piles.
Page 10
In restriking the piles after 27 days using a height-of-fall of 2.4 m, the penetration
resistance had increased to about 100 bl/0.3 m (equivalent PRES) due to set-up developing
since the EOID.


Fig. 6.1 Pile Driving Diagram of Six Test Piles

CAPWAP analysis of the dynamic test data indicated that the piles had been driven
to a capacity at EOID of approximately 900 KN with a variation of about 200 KN.
CAPWAP analysis on the first blow of the Early Restrike Records indicated a moderate
capacity increase of about 300 KN. The new values were clearly smaller than the desired
pile capacities.
Based on experience from previous projects in the Greater Vancouver area, it was
expected that the increase of capacity after EOID would require more than a day to
develop. Therefore, instead of lengthening the piles to obtain more capacity, the test piles
were left alone until restruck 27 days after EOID. CAPWAP analysis on the first blow of
the 27-day records (BOR3) indicated that the capacities had increased by an additional
set-up amount of about 1,200 KN. (Obtaining good records to analyze from the first
restrike blow is necessary, because the set-up deteriorates after only a few blows).
The 27-day capacity of the 457-mm pile was not proportional to the pile size, as it was only
one-third larger than that of the 324-mm pile. (It is probable that the set-up for the smaller
diameter pile took shorter time to complete). The 27-day capacities were about 1,800 KN
and 2,400 KN with most of the capacity obtained in the till. The corresponding shaft and
toe resistances were 1,200 KN and 1,500 KN, and 600 KN and 900 KN, respectively, for
the 324-mm and 457-mm piles. The single 71-day restrike indicated a small continued
set-up.
To clearly see the set-up trend at the site, the capacities of the six test piles were
normalized to the 27-day value. The results are plotted in Fig. 5.2 showing the normalized
capacity in percent of the 30 day capacity at EOID, BOR1, BOR2, and BOR3 (one pile).

Page 11


0 30 60 90 120 1
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
50
DAYS AFTER EOID
N
O
R
M
A
L
I
Z
E
D

C
A
P
A
C
I
T
Y


(
%
)
1 RECORD
6 RECORDS
2 x 6 RECORDS


Fig. 6.2 Normalized Capacities of Six Test Piles at EOID and BOR


The results indicate that after a month of set-up, the capacities of piles driven
similarly to the test piles will be equal or larger than the desired values. Static analysis
simulating one-month conditions indicated beta-coefficients of 0.3 through 0.6 above a
depth of 12 m and 0.8 to 1.0 in the till below 12 m combined with an N
t
-coefficient of
approximately 60 to 80.
The foundation conditions at the site were complicated because portions of the site
were to be excavated by as much as seven metre after the driving of the construction piles.
As a consequence of the excavation, the groundwater table will be lowered. Shaft and toe
resistances will therefore reduce proportionally to the changes of effective stress in the soil
(the toe resistance to a lesser degree) necessitating that the construction piles be driven
deeper into the till to achieve a higher initial-driving capacity that could provide an
allowance for the reduction due to the excavation.
A static loading test was performed on one pile 125 days after EOID after the
excavation had been completed. Before the excavation, CAPWAP analysis on a 70-day
restrike blow had shown a capacity of 1,550 KN. A static analysis of the capacity after
excavation indicated that the reduced effective overburden stress would have lowered the
capacity by about 250 KN (to 1,300 KN). In the static loading test, the pile failed in
plunging at 1,335 KN confirming the results of the CAPWAP and the static analyses. The
test results and the static analysis were then used to determine the final foundation depths
of the construction piles.


Page 12
Conclusions
The first case history illustrates how results of dynamic monitoring at end of initial driving
and at restrike were used to determine capacities for two types of tapered steel piles and
indicates the correlation to penetration resistance and driving stresses. The results of the
static loading tests confirmed the relevance of CAPWAP determined pile capacities.
The second case history demonstrates that, to make sense of the 16 different values
of pile capacity, the different lengths of set-up time had to be considered. The third case
indicates how results of dynamic testing and analysis served to resolve whether or not a
reliable soil plug had formed in the piles. The fourth and fifth cases demonstrate that
cleaning out a pipe by means of airlifting is hardly a simple and risk-free operation. The
final case indicates again the benefit of considering the time-dependent increase of capacity
when designing pile foundations. It also shows the merit of combining dynamic testing and
analysis with static analysis of resistance distribution.

Page 13