D. J. Benedetto
Eustis Engineering L.L.C. Geologist D. J. Benedetto spoke at the 20th Annual Pile Driving Contractors Association International Conference and Expo on 19 May at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans. The title of DJ’s talk was “Optimizing and Verification of the Soil/Pile Relationship through Geotechnical Instrumentation.” Benedetto explained how the use of strain gage instrumentation and static load testing can create efficient driven piles.
Benedetto used a recent southeastern Louisiana project to show how vibrating wire strain gauges embedded within concrete piles allowed the project’s design engineer to see the stresses within the pile during a static load, and understand how the supporting soils interacted with the pile.
This was the first time Benedetto had been chosen for this prestigious opportunity. The presented project offered a rare insight into a particular issue with pile driving.
“Various load tests were performed on multiple instrumented concrete piles,” Benedetto said. “So, to observe the interactions between the soil and pile was very unique.”
Benedetto's presentation explored how the advancement of instrumentation has enhanced design engineers’ ability to design friction piles of variable length from a single, statically tested pile. He discussed the instrumentation data, results of the load test, and how utilizing instrumentation enhanced the overall project design.
This annual international conference and expo focuses on the advances in pile driving technology.