Driven Pile

DFI Driven Pile Committee (aka DFI DPC) is a group of professionals that support the use of driven pile foundations. This DFI professional committee is responsible for the Driven Pile Workshops, Educational Programing and Web Seminars throughout the world. These professionals have collaborated to produce the Inspector’s Guide to Driven Foundation Piling, Driven Foundation Piling Catalogs, and Driven Sheet Piling resources.   Currently, this group is producing a vibration study database to support the use and benefit of vibratory pile drivers in deep foundation work, an electronic library supporting cost savings in driven pile foundations and mid-sized diameter pipe plugging study.

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Committee Chair

Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA
[email protected]

“The driven pile industry needs advocates. Not because driven pile is a standard and not because driven pile is used on most structures exceeding 3-stories and not even because a driven pile is a tested pile.  This industry needs advocates that can remind & educate the project owners through designs that showcase the full suite of driven pile benefits.  Reduced costs and improved safety are just the beginning. 

It is my hope that our committee will continue to influence and refocus this ever-changing deep foundation industry by always ensuring our foundation work is driven, tested, and maintained.  And the best part, Pile Driving advocates are building our infrastructure for a better tomorrow…”

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DFI Vibratory Hammer Data Collection

The data collected through the vibratory hammer submission system will be shared among DFI committee members and partner organizations to compile and complete studies related to vibratory driving of piles for foundations and earth retention.

The initial study will focus on piles where most of the pile driving was done with a vibratory hammer before completing it with an impact hammer.

The driving records at the end of vibratory driving will then be compared with the records at the beginning of impact driving to validate signal matching methodologies to estimate the capacity of piles installed with a vibratory hammer without the need for final impact driving.

Follow-on studies may be conducted based on the results of the initial study.

Provide data

Cost Effective Pile Project Case History Library

Collection of case histories that illustrate how driven pile foundations can take advantage of cost-saving design and installation factors to contribute to a cost-effective design, including 

  • Soil/Pile set-up 
  • Testing 
  • Higher allowable loads 
  • Design stresses 
  • Pile type 
  • Driving criteria 
  • Pile material 
  • Matching allowable loads to column loads
Submit here

Promote and Support the Design, Construction and Equipment Supply for Marine Foundation Projects

DFI’s former Marine Foundations committee is now operating under the Driven Pile committee and is continuing these ongoing initiatives:

Safety in Driven Pile Subcommittee

This task force is producing a safety briefing six times per year to “tell stories on what you have seen.”

Crane Lift Charts Specific to Driven Pile Subcommittee

Examining formulas used for crane lifting and supplying a single-spot resource for manufacturer details to further the conversation about safe crane lifting of pile driving equipment.

Geotechnical in Pile Driving Subcommittee

Exploring driven pile specific considerations for collecting and designing with geotechnical characterization data, understanding soil borings, sizing and tooling the equipment for project-specific soil conditions, and reading and implementing the recommendations in geotechnical reports.

Social Media Subcommittee

Leveraging social media tools to highlight advancements and innovations in driven pile technology and achievements of the DPC and its members and companies.

Mid-sized Diameter Pipe Study

Studying the use, design, and performance of mid-size diameter pipe piles.

ASTM and State Specifications

Hosting an industry-wide conversation about driven pile related specifications, the industry’s relationship with ASTM, and state-specific provisions to advance mutually beneficial industry practices.

Fundamentals

FHWA Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations (2016) – addresses design aspects including subsurface exploration, laboratory testing, pile selection, aspects of geotechnical and structural limit states, technical specifications; and construction topics including static load tests, dynamic tests, rapid load tests, wave equation analyses, dynamic formulas and development of driving criteria, pile driving equipment, pile driving accessories, and monitoring of pile installation inspection.  Step by step procedures are included for most analyses and design examples.

Volume I
Volume II
Volume III

PDCA Glossary of Driven Pile Terms – industry preferred terms as defined by Pile Driving Contractors Association members.

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Deep Marine Foundations – A perspective on the design and construction of deep marine foundations.

Access here

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