Pile Driving Equipment

Pile Driving Equipment

1. Piling Rigs. Piling Rigs consist of a set of leaders mounted on a standard crane base. The leaders consist of a stiff box or tubular member which carries and guides the hammer and the pile as it is driven into the ground. The leaders can be raked backwards and forwards by screw or hydraulic adjustment of the back stay and lower attachment to the base machine.

2. Piling Winches. Winches operating with pile frames mounted on barges or fixed stagings may be powered hydraulically or by steam, diesel pr petrol engines, or electric motor. Steam powered winches are commonly used where steam is also used for the piling hammer. Light winches may only have a single drum, but double and triple drum winches which can raise hammer and pile separately are more useful where speed of handling and driving is desirable. The winches may be fitted with reversing gears so that in addtion to their main purpose of lifting hammer and pile, they can also carry out the auxiliary function of the operating the raking, rotating and travelling gear.

3. Hanging Leaders. Hanging leaders are designed for suspension from the jib of a crane or excavator. A steel strut, capable of adjustment in lengths, forms a rigid attachment from the foot of the leaders to the bed-frame of the machine.

4. Hammer Leaders. In situation where it is desirable to dispense wholly with piling frames or hanging leader, hammer guides or rope-suspended leaders can be attached to the piles and the latter are guided by timber or steel frameworks.

5. Piling Hammers. The selection of suitable hammer for a piling project depends on a number of factors including the size and weight of the pile. The driving resistance which has to be overcome to achieve the design penetration, the available space and headroom on the site and the availability of the cranes and the noise restrictions which may be in force in the locality.

6. Helmet, driving cap, dolly and packing

A steel helmet is placed over the top of the concrete pile in order to hold the resilient dolly packing which are interposed between the hammer and the pile to prevent shattering of the latter at the head.

The dolly is placed in a square recess in the top of the helmet. It is square at the base and rounded at the top. Elm dollies are used for easy to moderate driving and for hard driving a hardwood. Plastic dollies car, withstand much heavier driving than timber dollies.

Packing is placed between the helmet and the top of the pile to cushion the blow between the two. Various types of material are used such as hessian and paper sacking, thin timber sheets, coconut matting, saw dusts in bags and wall  board.

Driving caps are used to protect the heads of steel bearing piles. They are especially shaped to receive the particular type of pile to be driven and are fitted with recess for a hardwood or plastic dolly and with steel wedges to keep the caps tight on the pile. A cheap from of cushioning consists of scrap wire rope in coils or in the form of short pieces of laid cross-wise in two layers.

Posted in: Piles