The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies has published a National Cooperative Highway Research Program synthesis report by Dan and Robert: NCHRP Synthesis 418–Developing Production Pile Driving Criteria From Test Pile Data. This synthesis provides a survey of the current practices used by transportation agencies to develop pile driving criteria, with special attention on the use of test pile data. The report covers issues related to developing driving criteria, the current practices used by the responding agencies, recommended useful practices that were identified, along with descriptions of the practical approach several agencies use to integrate a range of technologies to develop pile driving criteria under typical conditions. The information collected indicates that practices used by transportation agencies to develop pile driving criteria for production pile installation can be described as highly variable in terms of the level and sophistication of the testing performed.
Included in the report are:
- Responses from a survey sent to all 50 state departments of transportation plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (44 of the 52 agencies provided responses).
- Interviews performed by telephone or in-person of nine of the responding agencies selected based on the written survey responses.
- A comprehensive literature review on the range of practices included in test pile programs and their use in developing production pile driving criteria.
- Discussions of the survey results.
- Useful practices identified from the surveys.
- Identification of research needs for this topic.
To purchase the print version of this report or get a PDF, follow this link to TRB. Click the “View This PDF” to get the PDF.
Please note that if you order the printed version, Appendices B and C (copies of the completed survey forms and interview notes) are available via download only.
