Driven pile

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    Foundation is the base of any building without a strong foundation you can't able to build any structure( technically speaking Super Structure). Various types of foundations were available for construction among the Pile Foundation is one among them. The Drive Pile Foundation is especially favorable because of its cost-effectiveness than that of bored piles.

What are the Different types of Piling methods available?

1. Bored Piling
2. Driven Piling
3. Screw Piling
4. Mini Piling
5. Sheet Piling

Where and Why Driven Pile Foundation is Used?

    Pile Foundations were usually used in construction where the bearing capacity of the topsoil is not enough to take the load from the structure. So we need to dig deep to reach the hard strata which have the adequate amount of bearing capacity can take the loads of the construction. However, excavation to such a great extent is not financially viable since we need to backfill the soil. so instead of excavation piles were used to directly reach the hard strata. Among these, the Driven piles were the most cost-effective ones. Driven piles were the most sought-after choice for low-rise buildings and bridges.

    Driven piles were also known as precast piles because the piles that were readily made in industries were driven deep into the soil using a hammer or vibrating pile-driving equipment without doing any excavation. Driven piles were more suitable where excavation is not possible due to Groundwater seepage etc.,

What is the Difference between Bored and Driven Pile?

    In the case of a bored pile, we need to do the excavation, place the reinforcement into the bored hole, and then pour concrete of the required grade that may be designed to cast the pile. Which is time-consuming as well as not cost-effective when compared to the driven pile.

    In the case of a Driven pile, the pile is fabricated either on-site or in factories i.e. as per cast structure driven into the soil without excavation through hammer pile driver or vibrating pile driver.

What are the types of Driven piles?

    There are various types of driven piles such as that were used based on their requirement, Such as

1. Timber Driven piles
2. Pre-Cast Concrete Driven Piles
3. Sheet H Driven Piles
4. Steel Sheet Piles or Pipe Driven Piles 

Timber Driven Piles

    Timber-driven piles are piles that are usually made up of natural material like a tree that comes in various sizes, shapes, straightness, and strength. Timber piles were usually suitable to take loads maximum of up to 15 to 25 tons per pile. They can be strengthened further by providing fish plates at their sides. 

    Uses: Timber-driven piles have been used since time immemorial, but nowadays they are used for less load-bearing structures such as small buildings, docks, marines, and shoring.

Precast Concrete Driven Piles

    Precast concrete piles were produced somewhere like precast industries or cast in the project location itself. These piles were in the shape of a square, or octagonal, Precast piles can be used up to a depth of 30 meters. Precast piles can be easily connected to one another than any other type of driven piles which is of greatest advantage in times of need. Other Advantages of precast-driven piles were such as they can be of uniform quality and dimension and fast installation.

    Uses: This is the most widely used type of pile nowadays, because of its high load-bearing capacity, easily available on a mass scale and they are pretty much easy to install without disturbing the ground of the project site. They are very suitable for all kinds of buildings and bridges etc.,

Sheet H Driven Piles

    In this type, the H steel section was driven into the ground to support the sheets that will be inserted between two H Sections. The flange of the H sections acts as a support for the sheets that are inserted between the two H section piles. Hence the Sheet piles that were produced with the help of H-section-driven piles were known as the Sheet H sheet-driven piles.

    Uses: H sheet-driven piles were mainly used as a retaining wall to contain the soil by holding the lateral pressure and they are also used to prevent the penetration of water from the lateral soils. Hence they are very useful for the construction of the foundation of bridges and they are very helpful in the construction of foundations in deserted areas like the UAE etc.,

Driven Steel Sheet Piles

    These piles were literally made of long steel structural members that were designed in such a way as an interlocking mechanism. So when the piles were driven into the soil the interlocking mechanism itself prevented the sheets from moving. 

    Uses: Sheet Sheet-driven piles were greatly used for the construction of retaining walls or an enclosed area underground to arrest the soil or to prevent the percolation of water like the coffer dam's construction for the construction of Bridges.

How Piles were installed using the Driven Pile Method?

     In driven pile methods, there is no need for the excavation of the soil, initial excavation may need in some cases a foot or 2 feet to ease the drive process. The ready piles will be placed in their respective position and then the piles will be driven into the soil with the help of pile drivers such as percussion hammers Hydraulic drivers or rams(typically used for sheet piles) or diesel-powered Vibratory drivers.

Types of Pile Drivers Available in the Market

1. Diesel Hammer Pile Driver - A two-stroke diesel engine, where a weight is connected using steel ropes this hammer goes to and fro inside a cylinder. The pile that needs to be driven is placed below the cylinder containing the hammer/Piston. Diesel fuel is injected between the hammer and the pile within the cylinder. The hammer is initially lifted to the top as high as possible and they are left to fall. When the hammer falls the Diesel along with the air starts to compress which increases the temperature that is enough for the diesel to ignite. The ignited diesel explodes and sends the hammer in the same direction it comes in and the pile that is below deep into the soil. When the Piston moves up burned diesel and gases are exhausted through the vents and new air and diesel get from another vent. This process repeats until the pile is completely driven into the soil.
   
2. Hydraulic Hammer Pile Driver - This is the modern type of Pile driver that is used nowadays in place of a diesel pile driver. Hydraulic pile drivers are more efficient than diesel pile drivers, with less pollution. Hence they are widely adapted. They are mostly used for precast-driven piles. 
3. Hydraulic Press-in -  This type of pile was used for the places where vibration is a greater concern. Hydraulic rams were attached to the pile, these reams push the piles deep into the soil without vibration.
4. Vibratory pile Driver - These Pile drivers were greatly used for the recovery of Steel piles from the ground such as I beam etc., A vibrator was placed at the top of the pile, and counter-rotating eccentric weights were placed in the top to prevent horizontal vibration of the pile driver. Since horizontal vibration may deviate the pile direction. By this set up the vertical vibration sent in the pile deep into the soil. 

        By using any one of the Drivers above we can able to drive the pile deep into the soil until it reaches the hard strata.