Pile Driving Monitoring (PDM³) serves as a technique employed to validate pile design assumptions, evaluate the axial load-bearing capacity of piles, and mitigate the potential for pile tip buckling. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in upholding the piles' integrity throughout the driving process, offering a reliable means to ensure secure pile installation without unwarranted interruptions. Since the development of the PDM³, a great many practical uses throughout the broader engineering field were founded. The ability to precisely monitor displacements during dynamic loading events has benefits many practitioners.

• Pile Capacity

The PDM³ implements an improved dynamic pile driving formula which can account for the delivered energy to EVERY PILE. In conjunction with a program of PDA testing of representative test piles, the PDM³ can be used to evaluate a capacity estimate for each and every pile installed. The PDM³ provides real-time pile capacity evaluation during driving or on a restrike. QC documentation is available within seconds.

• Marine Piling Monitoring

Monitoring pile set in marine conditions is difficult enough, but measurement of rebound which is important for pile capacity evaluation has never been possible. With the PDM³, measurement of set and rebound for marine piles is now possible from distances of up to 30m. The PDM³ can be positioned on a stable location - land, wharf, jack-up platform, or previously driven pile or pile bent. With the marine piling software module, the PDM³ can calculate set and rebound even on a floating barge!

• Vibratory Installation

Steel tubes and sheet piles are often vibrated into place rather than driven. Vibration can be faster and cheaper. But unlike driven piles, the installation process is not usually monitored. The PDM³ can continuously record vibration frequency, vibration amplitude, and penetration rate, infer installation capacity and assess vibrator performance. The PDM³ brings QA to vibratory installation, allows optimal selection of frequency and power to maximize penetration speed, and allows layer changes to be mapped.

• Ground Vibrations

The PDM³ includes onboard accelerometers to measure ground vibrations from piling or vibration activities at the same time as pile measurements are being made. The PDM³ can report peak ground accelerations (PGA) and peak particle velocity (PPV).

• SPT Monitoring

The PDM³ can be used to monitor SPT site investigation testing. The PDM³ records hammer energy, hammer impact velocity, SPT blow count, set vs penetration, SPT analysis, and energy correction. There is no need for gauges and cabling, and the results are stable and unaffected by the high accelerations of the steel-steel impact. This enables calibration of these notoriously inconsistent, yet critical, site investigation tools.

Static Load Test and Monitoring

The PDM³ can be used to monitor deflections during static load testing to an accuracy of +/- 0.1mm. The non-contact measurement methodology can eliminate the need for reference beams and time-consuming equipment setups.

• Structural and Rail Monitoring

The PDM³ can be used to monitor deflections of structures to an accuracy of +/- 0.1mm under dynamic loading conditions such as traffic or wind loading. With a measurement frequency of up to around 4000 Hz, rapid loading events can be monitored with high resolution and accuracy.

The PDM³ measurement technique lends itself to the assessment of in-service rail deflections, providing valuable performance data in the rail environment.

Visit the PDM³ Website for more information.