Pile assembly, gripping member for a vibratory hammer assembly and method for driving a pile assembly into the ground

Abstract

A pile assembly to be vibratorily driven into soil for a foundation includes a pile shaft, a pile tip, a mounting member and a pile sleeve. The pile tip is mountable to a bottom end of the pile shaft and has at least one pair of radial tip fins, the tip fins being arranged along a length of the pile tip. The mounting member being provided on a top end of the pile shaft and/or the pile sleeve. The pile sleeve being adapted to be arranged coaxially with the pile shaft, where the pile shaft extends through the pile sleeve, such that the pile sleeve and pile shaft are axially movable with respect to each other. The pile sleeve is adapted to be coupled with the pile shaft in an installed state of the pile assembly, where the pile assembly has been driven into the soil to a predetermined depth.

1 . A pile assembly to be vibratorily driven into soil for a foundation, the pile assembly comprising:
 a pile shaft,   a pile tip mountable to a bottom end of the pile shaft, the pile tip having at least one pair of radial tip fins, the tip fins being arranged along a length of the pile tip,   a mounting member provided on a top end of the pile shaft and/or the pile sleeve,   a pile sleeve adapted to be arranged coaxially with the pile shaft, wherein the pile shaft extends through the pile sleeve, such that the pile sleeve and pile shaft are axially movable with respect to each other, the pile sleeve being adapted to be coupled with the pile shaft in an installed state of the pile assembly, wherein the pile assembly has been driven into the soil to a predetermined depth, wherein the sleeve has at least a pair of radial sleeve fins, the sleeve fins being predominantly extending along a length of the sleeve,   wherein at least the pile shaft, the pile tip and the pile sleeve are independently exchangeable.   
     
     
         2 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve fin at the trailing edge thereof branches off into two edges, both edges extending in opposite, at least partially, circumferential directions so as to define a Y-shaped cross-section. 
     
     
         3 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve fins have a slanting leading edge extending under an angle α with respect to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve. 
     
     
         4 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve fins have a slanting trailing edge extending under an angle β with respect to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve. 
     
     
         5 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve fins are uniformly distributed along the circumference of the sleeve. 
     
     
         6 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve fins extend in diametrically opposite radial directions. 
     
     
         7 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the pile sleeve has multiple pairs, preferably two pairs, of radial sleeve fins, wherein the fins of each of the pairs extend in diametrically opposite radial directions. 
     
     
         8 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the tip fins have a slanting leading edge. 
     
     
         9 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the tip fins are uniformly distributed along the circumference of the tip. 
     
     
         10 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the tip fins extend in diametrically opposite radial directions. 
     
     
         11 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the pile tip has multiple pairs, preferably two pairs, of radial tip fins wherein the fins of each of the pairs extend in diametrically opposite radial directions. 
     
     
         12 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the assembly comprises at least one guiding element for centring the pile shaft within the sleeve. 
     
     
         13 . The pile assembly according to  claim 12 , wherein the guiding element comprises a ring mounted to an inner side of the sleeve. 
     
     
         14 . The pile assembly according to  claim 12 , wherein the guiding element is provided with a friction preventive measure. 
     
     
         15 . The pile assembly according to  claim 12 , wherein the guiding element comprises two axially spaced rings. 
     
     
         16 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the pile shaft is provided with a dedicated connection element adapted to be engaged by a vibratory device used for driving the pile assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the pile sleeve is provided with a dedicated connection element adapted to be engaged by a vibratory device used for driving the pile assembly. 
     
     
         18 . The pile assembly according to  claim 16 , wherein the pile sleeve is provided with a dedicated connection element adapted to be engaged by a vibratory device used for driving the pile assembly, and wherein in a driving state, wherein the pile shaft and the pile sleeve are both driven into soil by means of a vibratory device, the connection element of the pile shaft and the connection element of the sleeve form a mutual connection element engageable by the vibratory device. 
     
     
         19 . The pile assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the pile shaft and pile sleeve are axially movable with respect to each other in a pre-installation state wherein the pile shaft is arranged coaxially in the pile sleeve and positioned such that the tip member engages the ground surface,   the pile shaft and pile sleeve are axially movable with respect to each other in in a first driving state wherein the pile shaft is being driven into the soil by means of a vibratory device and the pile shaft is arranged coaxially in the pile sleeve,   the pile shaft and the pile sleeve are coupled in a second driving state, wherein the pile shaft and the pile sleeve are driven together into soil by means of a vibratory device, and   the pile shaft is fixed to the pile sleeve, such that they form a unit, in an installed state wherein the pile assembly has been driven into the soil to a predetermined depth.   
     
     
         20 . A gripping member for a vibratory hammer assembly for driving a pile assembly,
 wherein the pile assembly is to be vibratorily driven into soil for a foundation, the pile assembly comprising:   a pile shaft,   a pile tip mountable to a bottom end of the pile shaft, the pile tip having at least one pair of radial tip fins, the tip fins being arranged along a length of the pile tip,   a mounting member provided on a top end of the pile shaft and/or the pile sleeve,   a pile sleeve adapted to be arranged coaxially with the pile shaft, wherein the pile shaft extends through the pile sleeve, such that the pile sleeve and pile shaft are axially movable with respect to each other, the pile sleeve being adapted to be coupled with the pile shaft in an installed state of the pile assembly, wherein the pile assembly has been driven into the soil to a predetermined depth, wherein the sleeve has at least a pair of radial sleeve fins, the sleeve fins being predominantly extending along a length of the sleeve,   wherein at least the pile shaft, the pile tip and the pile sleeve are independently exchangeable, and   wherein the gripping member comprises a main body having dedicated pile shaft grippers and dedicated pile sleeve grippers.   
     
     
         21 . The gripping member according to  claim 20 , wherein the pile shaft grippers and/or the pile sleeve grippers are hooks that are pivotably arranged in or on said main body. 
     
     
         22 . A method for driving a pile assembly, wherein the pile assembly is to be vibratorily driven into soil for a foundation, the pile assembly comprising:
 a pile shaft,   a pile tip mountable to a bottom end of the pile shaft, the pile tip having at least one pair of radial tip fins, the tip fins being arranged along a length of the pile tip,   a mounting member provided on a top end of the pile shaft and/or the pile sleeve,   a pile sleeve adapted to be arranged coaxially with the pile shaft, wherein the pile shaft extends through the pile sleeve, such that the pile sleeve and pile shaft are axially movable with respect to each other, the pile sleeve being adapted to be coupled with the pile shaft in an installed state of the pile assembly, wherein the pile assembly has been driven into the soil to a predetermined depth, wherein the sleeve has at least a pair of radial sleeve fins, the sleeve fins being predominantly extending along a length of the sleeve,   wherein at least the pile shaft, the pile tip and the pile sleeve are independently exchangeable,   wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 arranging the pile shaft coaxially in the pile sleeve, 
 positioning the pile shaft such that the tip member engages the ground surface, 
 gripping the pile shaft with one or more grippers of a vibratory hammer assembly to drive the pile shaft into the soil in a first stroke, 
 gripping the sleeve with one or more grippers of the vibratory hammer assembly to drive the sleeve and the shaft together into the soil in a second stroke, and 
   fixing the pile shaft to the pile sleeve such that they form a unit.   
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 gripping the pile shaft with grippers of the vibratory hammer assembly to drive the pile shaft into the soil until the top end of the pile shaft is near to or aligned with a top end of the sleeve, and   gripping the sleeve with the vibratory hammer assembly in addition to the gripping of the pile shaft, so as to drive the pile shaft and the sleeve into the soil as a unit.   
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein gripping of the pile shaft is done using dedicated pile shaft grippers of the vibratory hammer assembly and/or wherein gripping of the pile sleeve is done using dedicated pile sleeve grippers of the vibratory hammer assembly. 
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 22 , the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a range for at least one of the pile shaft, pile tip and pile sleeve,   determining soil conditions at an installation site for the pile assembly,   selecting from at least one of the provided ranges the respective pile shaft, pile tip and/or pile sleeve that match the soil conditions, and   constructing the pile assembly with the selected pile shaft, pile tip and/or pile.