IDENTIFICATION OF DEFECTS IN PILES THROUGH DYNAMIC TESTING

The objective of this work was to evaluate the theoretical capabilitie s of the non-destructive impact-response method in detecting the exist ence of a single defect in a pile, its location and its length. The cr oss-section of the pile is assumed to be circular and the defects are assumed to be axisymmetric in geometry, As mentioned in the companion paper, special codes utilizing one-dimensional (1-D) and three-dimensi onal (3-D) axisymmetric finite element models were developed to simula te the responses of defective piles to an impact load. Extensive param etric studies were then performed. In each study, the results from the direct use of time histories of displacements or velocities and the m echanical admittance (or mobility) function were compared in order to assess their capabilities. The effects of the length and the width of a defect were also investigated using these methods. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.