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Your First Stop for Piledriving Technology News

CD Perry is currently at work on a very interesting piledriving job across the Hudson River from Albany NY as a subcontractor to LG Constructors. Faced with many challenges during the bid phase, CD Perry approached APE and together we came up with a system that would allow for the successful driving of the piles while meeting an extremely strict noise ordinance.

The design called for driving 12×84 H-Piles between 60ft and 75ft long thru zero blowcount material into glacial till ultimately achieving a 200ton capacity. However local noise ordinances limited the maximum noise that could be generated at the protery line from the piledriving operation to 65 decibels, which is quieter than a normal conversation between 2 people. Taking into consideration that using an impact hammer on an h-pile when 75ft of it is above ground greatly amplifies the impact, in a textbook example of line source noise, the determination was made to vibrate the piles in thru the very soft upper layers of soil to the top of the till. Once in the ground, with less of a line source,the pile could be impacted and create less noise.

The plans called for a dynamic test pile program to assure capacity could be achieved, which was the perfect testing ground to see if this system would keep the noise below 65dB. The piles were vibrated in, then impacted to the required capacity without any problem. However the 65 decibel noise requirement at the property line was exceeded by 10 decibels. A way to shave 10 dB off of the noise being produced by the diesel hammer driving the h-beams needed to be found.

This was accomplished by building a noise shroud around the leads for the diesel hammer using fireproof noise cancelling blankets. CD Perry designed and fabricated a “cocoon” on the lower section of leads around the diesel hammer and pile, and a 2nd test pile program was undertaken. The 2nd test showed that the decibel levels at the property line were now below the maximum allowable and the project could move forward.

Currently CD Perry has 3 vibros; an APE Model 50, a J&M Model 216 and J&M Model 11-23, all riding in APE 8×26 leads, to vibrate in the h-piles. Then they use two APE D19-42 diesel hammers with the noise abatement system on each set of leads, as well as an APE 150T vibro to drive the sheeting that is part of the foundation contract.

Blakeslee Arpaia & Chapman was founded over 160 years ago and has evolved into a multi-faceted company that is often asked to tackle challenging projects that require unique solutions.

Recently they were asked to drive h-piles at a Connecticut refinery for a gas pipeline relocation. The only problem was that the pipeline was to be routed along the edge of the shoreline in an area where getting heavy equipment into was impossible. This meant that the piles would need to be driven from the water. However the water was shallow, even at high tide, and was too shallow to allow any work to be done at low tide.

Because the water level was only high enough for a barge at high tide, a barge with a large crane would have to be floated in and all of the work would have to be done while the tide was high. The barge would then need to be taken out to deeper water at low tide.

However, a crane, even a large one, has its limits when boomed out such a distance. This created a problem with coming up with a hammer and leads to drive the pile. Blakeslee Arpaia & Chapman approached APE with this dilema and the solution recommended was an APE D8 diesel hammer in 21″ leads. This combination gave them a driving system that was light enough to allow them to reach from a barge to drive the h-piles on shore with their Manitowoc 3950 crane.

Hammer after hammer is pouring into the Far East creating a wake felt throughout S.E. Asia. Jimmy Teoh and his company, Foundation Associates Engineering, have been taking over the foundation industry by storm. Here are photos taken recently at the Con-Expo show in Las Vegas. Pictured are Jimmy Teoh, his associate P.H., along with John Konwick, Paul Kuzik, Erik Erkelens, and Scott Gray of APE/J&M posing with 2 of the dozens of hammers purchased By F&A over the past year.

It sounds like another plot to a science fiction movie, but there is no Godzilla written into this script. There is only the evil Ohio River, large diameter pipe piles, and many many panel walls consisting of 5 flat sheetpiles that need to be vanquished by our hero, King Kong.

APE supplied 2 King Kongs to the Olmsted Dam project that Washington Group and Alberici are joint ventured on in Olmsted, Illinois on the Ohio River. This project is the last part of the Olmsted Lock and Dam replacement. Construction of the lock was completed in a previous project phase several years ago, and is visible in one of the attached pictures.

APE has supplied 2 complete King Kongs that have special designed multi clamp systems that will enable the hammer to drive wall segments that consist of five PS27.5 flat sheetpiles at the same time, as well as several caisson beam and clamp combinations.

Pushing and pulling is what Rohrscheib Caissons needed to do in two different locations this winter. Up to 8 ft. diameter caissons needed to be driven and extracted. Kevin Rohrscheib called APE/J&M N.E. looking for two big hammers for the job. Two J&M 66/80’s went to Michigan and to Ohio to take on the snow and take care of business.

Spearin Preston & Burrows needed to upgrade their aging fleet of pile driving equipment for work on the Hudson River. They purchased 2 APE D46 diesel hammers and an APE 200 Vibro for the work at Pier 62/63(Chelsea Piers) driving 24″ concrete piles and a pair of D30 diesels plus an APE 200 Vibro for Pier 86 (Intrepid Pier) driving 24″ pipe piles on the Hudson River. The pile schedule was agressive enough to need an additional 200 vibro rental for both jobs.

Special thanks to Andy Murad and everyone else at Spearin Preston & Burrows who viewed APE as the obvious choice for their very large pile driving equipment purchase.

Cianbro is a large self performing general contractor based in Pittsfield, Maine who this year decided to start replacing their aging fleet of competitor made vibratory hammers. After studying all of the options available from the different manufacturers, Cianbro decided that they would be best served to not go with the least expensive option but rather with the option that gave them the best possible value. They decided to purchase an APE Model 150T vibro with a Model 350 Power Unit as well as a Model 200 Vibro with a Model 475 Power Unit. Pictured is their Model 200 driving h-piles.

When Schiavone/Picone JV needed to drive flat sheet pile literally on a NYC sidewalk, they knew they needed a vibro capable of imparting minimal lateral vibrations to the surrounding structures. APE Northeast provided the APE 170VM Variable Moment Vibro for their Vent Plant Rehab project on 30th St. and 6th Ave. At 2200 inch/pounds, the 170VM was the right size machine for the job.

Along with the 170VM, the APE line of variable moment vibros includes the 120VM rated at 1600 inch/pounds, and the 250VM rated at 4500 inch/pounds. The 250VM is the most powerful variable moment vibro made.

Call APE for all of your pile driving equipment needs. We have the right hammers for any application to get the job done. For more information call Paul Kuzik at 201-400-8356.

When Nate Stone of M. Alfieri Co. Inc. was faced with driving 1,300 10×42 H-Piles for a parking garage, he called APE/J&M Northeast. A D19-42 diesel hammer with semi-fixed leads was recommended. The work was done in 3 phases. With the joint expertise of Local 1456 NY/NJ dockbuilders, Local 825 Operators, and APE the job was a huge success. We look forward to working with M. Alfieri when they drive the piles for the upcoming office tower.

Contact Paul Kuzik at 201-400-8356 for more information on this job. Count on APE/J&M for all your pile driving equipment needs.

The Russians once again go Variable Moment. After great success in their 1st delivery of APE’s high tech Model 170 VM a second was shipped to the frozen land of Russia. More order’s are in the works. The 170vm works very well driving through permafrost and still keeps start and stop vibrations to almost nothing.