Selecting equipment based upon Pile Types
Plastic Piling
Due to the inherent flexibility of plastic piling, combined with the fact than many applications, such as cut-off walls, require substantial lengths to be driven, will often dictate that some sort of mandrel or cap is used to strengthen or rigidise the pile during installation.
Full length mandrels, once driven must be extracted for reuse, therefore it is highly likely that a vibrator will be used for plastic pile installation. The size of the vibrator is more determined by the number of piles driven in anyone go, and the weight of the mandrel. The heavier the mandrel the higher the amplitude of the vibrator.
APE also produce fabricated caps, that assist in the installation of multiple sheets. These fabricated caps, must also be used with a vibrator, as impact driving destroys the caps too quickly for this to be a viable method.
Plastic piles can be impact driven, but only in instances when the hammer can act directly upon the pile, without causing too much damage.
In terms of the products that APE supplies, the Europile can be impact driven, using the APE No.1 and No.2 air hammers.
Tests are currently being conducted to assess the suitability of the HT500 and HT1000 for the direct installation of plastic piles.
In terms of the Multilock profile, this is best vibro driven, primarily due to higher skin friction, as a direct result of the wider profile. Driving other plastic piles - Click here
Timber Piles
The timber posts, used as part of a combi-system, can be impact driven by either the Mini hammers or the HT1000. Note that when driving into cohesive soils, impact driving is highly effective, combined with the fact that the Multilock does not need to be installed as deep as the Europile. That stated the timber posts must be positioned ahead of the sheet being driven, this prevents plugging of the tubular section of the pile.
The dimensions of the timber piles will often determined what hammers or vibrators can be used. All over Excavator mounted vibrators can be used to drive timber posts, all use different fabricated caps. APE have caps available for a wide range of timber piles, arranged to drive singles or multipiles.
Once the diameter of the pile exceeds around 200mm it is best to consider the air hammers, or Powerblow.
The following table provides a guide for air hammers driving timber piles
Trench Sheeting
Trench sheets are cold formed steel sheets, typically available in overlapping and interlocking variants. The lighter sections are commonly found used on waterway applications, such as bank retention, common profiles being the M7 or L8. These sheets are more typically driven using the APE Mini Hammers or the EMV70 depending on quantity or noise restrictions.
Trench sheets, as the name would suggest are predominantly used in temporary trench or excavator support. As is the nature of temporary works, it is common for heavier sections to be used, which in turn are suitable for use with the larger vibrators, such as the EMV300 or MS4 and also the larger air hammers.
The temporary nature further supports the use of vibrators as these can drive and extract sheets without modification. Note, it may still be necessary to use an impact hammer to back drive to depth in more difficult soils.
For a more specific guide of which trench sheeting suits what hammer, please refer to the download section of the technical area.
Steel Sheet Piling
In instances where high bearing loads exist, or watertighteness is an issue, or even due to using whats available. APE can offer a range of hammers to suit standard sheet steel piling. For lengths less than 6 metres (depending on excavator reach), from our range of excavator mounted vibrators, the EMV300, ICE328B or MS4 would be suitable.
For longer lengths, or in more difficult ground conditions, or for use off a crane, APE larger AIr hammers, the BSP 500N, 600N and 700N are available.
At this stage APE do not run powerpack vibrators or large hydraulic hammers such as the HPH1200, 2400 etc, but these can be sourced if required.
Tubes
Depending on the reason for driving tubes, our range of excavator mounted vibrators are very useful, size limitations are similar to that stated for timber piles. That stated, care must be taken not to exceed the maximum pile weight of 800 Kgs. In cases of excess, the interia created and pull the clamp off. In all cases APE do not provide tube clamps, and the standard pile clamp is used, gripping from outside the tube, as opposed to straddling the tube with two clamps. Also APE's range of air hammers can be adapted to driving tubes, again sizes limited as that stated for timber piles.
In the application of Landfill site vent holes, where a sealed tube is repeatedly driven and extracted to produce the vent, then depending again on pile mass, the EMV300 or MS4 would be suitable. Due to the extraction requirement only vibrators are suitable.