What is Pile Testing?
If you are working on a site where foundation piling has been used, you might well be able to benefit from pile testing. This is something that can also be useful if you are assessing the condition of already existing piles for a particular building.
The aim of pile testing is to work out the condition of the piles in question and it is sometimes also known as a low strain dynamic test. The test involves applying a light impact to a pile, which produces a low strain on the pile – hence the name. This produces a wave that travels down the pile and the wave is monitored for any irregularities: it should travel at constant wave speed, but voids in the concrete or areas where parts of the piling might have worn away will produce what are known as wave reflections.
The pile testing, therefore, highlights whether there are any issues with the foundation piling that need to be sorted out. The process is normally carried out with a hand-held hammer and is most commonly used on piling that has not yet had a structure built on top of it, although pile testing can also determine the length of existing piles.