

Vibrex piles - i.e. driven piles, cast through a steel “casing” with a lost shoe - in groups, were used for the Yakum “Industrial Park” project in Israel. Analysis of field static and dynamic testing of the piles was carried out. The piles 50-60 cm in diameter and 14-20 m deep, near existing buildings, were driven through clayey soils penetrating into a dense sand layer. Prior to the construction, the influence of vibrations due to the pile driving was measured on the existing buildings and found to be within acceptable limits, thus establishing the allowable penetration energy during the construction. Load tests were carried out on adjacent piles installed sequentially to investigate the densifying effects caused by the driving procedure. Static pile loading tests results were analyzed and used as a basis for the foundation design and for correlation between dynamic and static data. It was found that Standard Penetration Test results, as well as dynamic pile-driving formulas, could be used with caution, for evaluating the pile bearing capacity. Correlation of these testing methods with the static pile loading contributed to reducing the pile length in the project. Pile Dynamic Analysis with Blow Count when driving and CAPWAP results proved to be compatible with the static loading results.