Evaluation of Pile Set-Up using iCAP Dynamic Restrike Software Analysis in the State of Alabama: Fid-Bau Portal

Evaluation of Pile Set-Up using iCAP Dynamic Restrike Software Analysis in the State of Alabama

Jones, Ronald / Steward, Eric J.

After piles are driven into the soil, significant variations of pile resistance typically occur with time. When a pile’s axial resistance increases with time after installation, the increased amount of axial resistance is referred to as set-up. Incorporating the amount of increased axial resistance into the overall design of driven pile foundation systems of structures can potentially reduce sizes of elements, ultimately reducing cost. For over 25 years, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has been collecting pile installation and restrike data during the impact of a pile-driving hammer with Pile Driving Analyzers (PDA) to estimate the axial resistance of driven piles at the end of the initial driving (EOID) process as well as at various time periods after EOID. ALDOT is interested in organizing and evaluating the dynamic testing data to aid in more-efficient and cost-effective pile foundation designs. This research examines time-dependent changes in total, shaft, and toe resistances for 27 axially loaded driven test piles (concrete and H-piles) in Alabama soils using dynamic testing. Researchers filtered through this PDA data, and further analyzed the usable PDA data with an automatic signal matching program (iCAP) to improve the resistance estimates. This data is being utilized to estimate trends of set-up in various locations throughout the state. An ArcMap of Alabama was created using GIS software to display and explore information, data, and results for each pile testing site. This paper provides a summary of the process to analyze pile load tests, organize the data in a GIS system, and then utilize the information to produce trends and draw conclusions on improving the overall testing and design procedures for the state of Alabama.