Sonar Caliper testing is performed for drilled shaft and rock socket excavations prior to placement of the shaft reinforcing steel and concrete. The purpose of the test is to access overall alignment of the excavation, alignment of the casing, compute anticipated concrete volume, assess the potential for side wall cavities in the rock socket and overall bottom of excavation cleanliness.

The implementation of Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) over the last several years by Federal and State Agencies has led to some challenges in pile design and specifying pile installation requirements as FTC has witnessed on numerous projects over the last few years. As a result, we have witnessed plan documents issued for construction that have had major issues such as incorrect geotechnical resistance factors for piling (this phi factor should be based upon the type of pile verification method to be used in accordance with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)).

FTC often provides exploratory drilling services for drilled shaft and driven piling projects through our partnership with highly qualified drilling firms as part the verification of construction phase installation requirements.

High strain dynamic pile testing is performed during pile installation to provide an assessment of pile capacity and integrity.  The test is performed by attaching strain gages and accelerometers to the top of the pile.

Signals from the gages are recorded by a Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA).  FTC utilizes a wireless communication system between the pile mounted gages and the PDA computer thereby eliminating the need for a main connecting cable.  The wireless system allows for faster, more efficient testing and minimizes the chance for any testing delay associated with cable handling.

It is also possible to efficiently perform PDA tests for several pile each day with one operator.  All pile types including concrete, steel pipe pile or steel H-pile, auger cast pile or even drilled shafts can be tested with the PDA equipment.

Provide your clients with accurate blow count data for use in geotechnical design.  By having a current SPT hammer calibration (performed on an annual basis) your firm can be better positioned to provide geotechnical investigation drilling on federally funded bridge, levee or other projects.

SPT hammer calibration is performed using a specially instrumented drill rod connected to accelerometers and a data processor (typically the same unit that is used for PDA data collection). FTC is able to perform SPT hammer calibration during normal production drilling and sampling without delaying your drill crews and avoiding the need to “drill just to calibrate”. 

Experience counts when providing important foundation testing services such as cross-hole sonic logging where qualitative judgement must often be applied.  Our staff have performed testing on well over 15,000 drilled shafts.  As a result, our highly experienced staff are able to guide our clients though the entire drilled shaft testing and acceptance process that we have seen utilized by various Departments of Transportation on hundreds of projects throughout the United States.