A new method for estimating driven pile static skin friction with instrumentation at the top and bottom of the pile

A numerical technique is presented to estimate ultimate skin friction of a driven pile using instrumentation installed at the top and bottom of a pile. The scheme is based on an analytical solution of the 1D wave equation with static skin friction and damping along with a genetic algorithm for solution. Specifically, acceleration and strains measured at both the top and bottom of the pile are used to develop an observed Green's function, which is matched to an analytical Green's function, which is a function of secant stiffness and viscous damping. Requiring 1–3 s of analysis time per blow, the algorithm provides a real time assessment of average skin friction along the pile. The technique was applied to four driven piles having ultimate skin frictions varying from 700 to 2000 kN, with the predicted skin frictions generally consistent with measured static load test results.