Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Some Observations on the Performance of the Signal Matching Technique in Assessment of Pile Integrity

  • Published:
Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The pulse-echo method is commonly used to assess pile integrity in a nondestructive way. One of the strategies for detecting relative variation in pile impedance is to analyze the wave reflections from the anomalies based on the 1-D stress wave theory. In current practice, however, several difficulties remain to be resolved in interpreting the wave patterns. Firstly, due to possible three-dimensional (3-D) behavior near the source and dispersion behavior far from the source, 1-D stress wave theory is not always applicable in analyzing the reflections from the anomalies. Secondly, reflections can be produced continuously along the shaft due to the pile-soil interaction, so that the reflection patterns are highly correlated to those from the pile body in complex layered soil profiles, and thus it is generally difficult to distinguish whether the reflections are produced by pile anomalies or by the changes in the soil profiles. In this paper, actual wave characteristics are analyzed based on numerical simulations and guided wave theory, the conditions for 1-D approximation are suggested, and the a method for uncoupling the soil resistance and the pile impedance effects is presented. The evaluation of pile integrity can be improved with help of the 1-D based signal matching technique. The technique is applied to experiments conducted on model piles, test piles for accreditation of pile inspectors, and routine in-situ piles. The results show that 1-D stress wave theory is approximately applicable in analyzing the reflections from deep anomalies under certain limited conditions, and the soil resistance and the pile impedance effects can be effectively uncoupled by relating the pile-soil interaction to the pile radius and the properties of the surrounding soils.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

A :

area of cross-section

a :

radius of the source

c :

phase velocity

c p :

compressive or dilatational wave velocity

c s :

shear wave velocity

\(\bar{c}\) :

average phase velocity

c 0 :

longitudinal wave velocity in a bar or bar velocity

D :

pile diameter

E :

Young’s modulus

F :

force

f :

frequency

k max  :

the maximum of the dimensionless wavenumber of a half-sinusoidal pulse

K s :

spring stiffness at the side of pile

K t :

spring stiffness at the tip of pile

L :

pile length

R :

pile radius

R s :

soil resistance

r :

radial distance from the center

T d :

contact time or time duration of the impact

V :

particle velocity

W p :

characteristic wavelength of the impact pulse

Z :

pile impedance

β(x):

integrity coefficient

β t :

the impedance ratio of the “virtual soil bar” to the pile tip

ρ :

density of pile

ρ s :

density of soil

\(\bar{\rho} \) :

average density of pile

ν s :

Poisson’s ratio of soil

μ s :

shear modulus of soil

η s :

damping ratio at the side of pile

η t :

damping ratio at the tip of pile

References

  1. Chai, H.Y.: Study on interaction between pile tip and soil under dynamic loading. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Wuhan, China, pp. 2093–2097 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Chai, H.Y., Phoon, K.K., Zhang, D.J.: Effects of the source on wave propagation in pile integrity testing. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 136(9), 1200–1208 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Chao, H.C.: An experimental model for non-destructive evaluation on pile foundations using guided wave approach. PhD thesis, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (2002)

  4. Chen, F., Wang, R.J.: Dimension effects on low strain integrity testing of piles. Chin. J. Geotechn. Eng. 20(5), 92–96 (1998) (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Chow, Y.K., Phoon, K.K., Chow, W.F., Wong, K.Y.: Low strain integrity testing of piles: three dimensional effects. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 129(11), 1057–1062 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Deeks, A.J., Randolph, M.F.: A simple model for inelastic footing response to transient loading. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 19(5), 307–329 (1995)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Graff, K.F.: Wave Motion in Elastic Solids. Ohio State University Press, Columbus (1975),

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Hanifah, A.A.: A theoretical evaluation of guided waves in deep foundations. PhD thesis, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (1999)

  9. Johnson, M., Rausche, F.: Low strain testing of piles utilizing two acceleration signals. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Application of Stress-wave Theory to Piles, Orlando, FL, p. 859–869 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lee, S.L., Chow, Y.K., Karunaratne, G.P., Wang, K.Y.: Rational wave equation model for pile driving analysis. J. Geotech. Eng. 114(3), 306–325 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Liao, S.T., Roesset, J.M.: Dynamic response of intact piles to impulse loads. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 21, 255–275 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Liao, S.T., Roesset, J.M.: Identification of defects in piles through dynamic testing. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 21, 277–291 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Likins, G.E., Rausche, F.: Recent advances and proper use of PDI low strain pile integrity testing. In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on the Application of Stress-wave Theory to Piles, São Paulo, Brazil, pp. 211–218 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Likins, G.E., Rausche, F., Miner, R., Hussein, M.H.: Verification of Deep Foundations by NDT Methods. In: ASCE Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Middendorp, P., Reiding, F.J.: Determination of discontinuities in piles by TNO integrity testing and signal matching technique. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 33–43 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Paquet, J.: A new method for testing integrity of piles by dynamic impulse: the impedance log. In: Colloque International Fondations Profondes, Presse de l’Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees, Paris, France, pp. 1–10 (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Pavlakovic, B.N.: Leaky guided ultrasonic waves in NDT. PhD thesis, Imperial College Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London (1998)

  18. Rausche, F.: Non-destructive evaluation of deep foundations. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, New York, NY (2004) (CD-ROM)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Rausche, F., Goble, G.G.: Determination of Pile Damage by Top Measurements. American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, pp. 500–506 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Rausche, F., Likins, G.E., Hussein, M.H.: Pile integrity by low and high strain impacts. In: Third International Conference on the Application of Stress-Wave Theory to Piles, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 44–55 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Rausche, F., Shen, R.K., Likins, G.E.: A comparison of pulse echo and transient response pile integrity test methods. In: Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Rausche, F., Likins, G.E., Shen, R.K.: Pile integrity testing and analysis. In: In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Hague, The Netherlands, pp. 613–617 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Rausche, F., Likins, G.E., Hussein, M.H.: Formalized procedure for quality assessment of cast-in-place shafts using sonic pulse echo methods. Transportation Research Record No. 1447, Design and Construction of Auger Cast Piles and Other Foundation Issues, Washington, D.C., pp. 30–38 (1994)

  24. Seidel, J.P., Tan, S.K.: Elimination of the Rayleigh wave effect on low strain integrity test results (Part 1: Experimental investigation). In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 179–185 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Seidel, J.P., Tan, S.K.: Elimination of the Rayleigh wave effect on low strain integrity test results (Part 2: Rayleigh wave elimination technique). In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 187–192 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Starke, W.F., Janes, M.C.: Accuracy and reliability of low strain integrity testing. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 19–32 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  27. White, B., Nagy, M., Allin, R.: Comparing cross-hole pulse logging and low-strain integrity testing results. In: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 471–476 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China

    Hua-You Chai, Chang-Fu Wei & Yun-Ming Yang

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Kok-Kwang Phoon

Authors
  1. Hua-You Chai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chang-Fu Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kok-Kwang Phoon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yun-Ming Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hua-You Chai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chai, HY., Wei, CF., Phoon, KK. et al. Some Observations on the Performance of the Signal Matching Technique in Assessment of Pile Integrity. J Nondestruct Eval 30, 246–258 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-011-0113-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-011-0113-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation