Introduction

Driven piles are among the oldest foundation tools people have, and this chapter opens by tracing that history. It starts with Roman builders and their bridge piers, follows the practice through the centuries before industrial machinery, and then covers the nineteenth-century advances that changed the work. You will see how steel piles arrived, how rigs improved, and how the science of pile dynamics took shape. The chapter also tells the story of the hammers themselves, from early drop hammers to diesel hammers, vibratory hammers, and impact-vibration hammers.

The second half turns from history to practice. It gives an overview of pile foundation design and construction, explaining what each side of a project has to decide and in what order. You will read how a design is developed, what the construction side contributes, and how the driven pile design and construction process fits together from first idea to finished foundation.

A short section on communication closes the chapter, and it is worth reading even if you skip the history. Many pile problems begin as misunderstandings between the designer, the contractor, and the inspector, and the chapter explains how to prevent them. If you are new to driven piles, this is the best place to start. If you have years in the field, it is a useful way to see how the rest of the book is organized and where each topic is covered in depth.

In this chapter

• Historypage 1
  • Pile Driving in the Roman World
  • Other Pile Driving before the Nineteenth Century
  • Advances in the Nineteenth Century
  • Steel Piles
  • Advances in Rigs
  • Pile Dynamics
  • Diesel Hammers
  • Vibratory Hammers
  • Impact-Vibration Hammers
• Overview of Pile Foundation Design and Constructionpage 14
  • Design Of Pile Foundations
  • Construction Of Pile Foundations
  • Driven Pile Design-Construction Process
  • Communication