PileInspect

PileInspect is a three year research project (from 2013-12-01 to 2016-11-30), to develop new techniques for in situ inspections of deep foundation piles for damage. The project is sponsored by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) — Research for the benefit of the SME Associations.
Objective
The goal of the PileInspect project is to research techniques for integrity inspection of deep foundation piles, and to develop efficient methods for such inspections of both concrete (cast-in-place as well as pre-cast) and steel piles. To achieve this, the PileInspect system replaces the traditional instrumented hammer or pile driving hammer with a portable shaker. The use of the shaker allows repeatable, customizable, and predictable vibrations to be transmitted through the pile; the hope is for this methodology to result in a substantial improvement in measurement accuracy. Additionally, the project will use advanced signal processing to enhance the quality of the returned data and allow defects in the pile to be identified automatically.
Concept
The PileInspect system (see figure for component representation) comprises:
* a shaker, which introduces vibrations axially into the pile at a variety of frequencies, including modal and resonant frequencies;
* accelerometers, one mounted on the shaker and four mounted on the pile at precise points;
* a controller and signal processing unit;
* and a compact stand-alone power supply for the system.
When run against a questionable pile, the system will report "damaged" or "undamaged" based on the signal data received. In the event a "damaged" result is returned, the system includes and estimate of the severity.

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