1 CARLOS FERNANDEZ TADEO & ASOCIADOS, S.L. Range of Services Pile and deep foundations testing Geotechnical testing equipment supplier Geotechnical software supplier Geotechnical consulting Web page: www.fernandeztadeo.com September 2009
2 PILE TESTING 1. Integrity testing of piles using sonic method with hand held hammer (echo), for whom PET equipments are used, developed by Piletest, achieving more than 25 years of experience. In sonic tests a hand hammer is used to generate a sonic wave in the pile head or trough discontinuities or defects existing in it. The wave is captured by an accelerometer and sent to a portable processor that instantly enables us to visualize the graphs on site and then print them. 2. Integrity testing of piles using ultrasonic cross-hole method on embedded tubes inside the pile concrete for which CHUM equipments are used, with state-of-the-art technology in the field of pile and wall element testing. It consists on making an ultrasound emitter and a receiver descend through two separate tubes in the interior of the body of the pile, recording the time taken to run the distance between them. In the case of flaw existence in the wave path such as soil inclusions, hollows, voids or others that make the run time longer, the variation of it and the depth in which it was recorded will be shown in the test graphic.
3 3. Static load testing of piles The static load tests allow you to know the real pile behaviour on site, submitted to loads generally superior to those of service. We have performed static load tests up to 15 MN in in situ piles, horizontal load tests, and load tests on micropiles. 4. Dynamic testing of piles The dynamic load test uses a hammer that falls and rams over the pile to mobilize its toe and skin resistance, and to record its behaviour through electronic instrumentation to later obtain by numeric calculation the pile s load capacity. We have performed a dynamic load test over a casted pile of diameter 1.25 m at Cartagena (Spain). By means of this test the ultimate capacity and the graph load-seating of the pile was obtained in static conditions.
4 We are the first independent advisers in Spain to perform dynamic test on driven piles with own equipment, using Capwap software to analyze the test results. 5. SPT energy measurements The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is probably the most performed on-site test in Spain to determine the parameters of resistance and deformation of non-cohesive soils, and some data of interest on other type of soils. Due to borehole machinery evolution, the ramming system is more accurate than the primitive that served as a base to establish the empirical calculation methods, often applying more energy. Therefore, modern test standards ask for a real hammer impact energy measure over the drill rod to apply a coefficient of adjustment to measured N and transform it in another proper value to be used in traditional calculation methods. To measure this real SPT energy, CFT & Asociados uses the same Pile Driving Analyzer as employed in dynamic driven pile tests. The results are immediate, since they don t require the use of any complex software at desk.
5 6. Ground Anchor load tests Ground anchors are widely used to contain soil pushing over diaphragm walls, bridge abutments, slope stabilization, and other similar structures. The design and calculation of soil anchors requires experience and knowledge in a very specific field, and its construction on site needs very competent and qualified workers, as much as a correct surveillance. A key element for success in ground anchor are load tests, mandatory according to different standards and technical codes that specify the requirements to follow in the project and construction of ground anchors. Each anchor must be submitted to an approval test, and at least three suitability tests shall be made in every work site, according to prescriptions on technical Spanish code Código Técnico de la Edificación, Documento Básico SE-C Cimentaciones, and to standard UNE-EN 1537 Ejecución de trabajos geotécnicos especiales. Cimentaciones. CFT & Asociados performs load tests on ground anchores on any site and at every load.
6 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER (See catalogue at www.fernandeztadeo.com/etienda ) 7. CFT & Asoc. exclusive supplier for Piletest equipment in Spain Piletest.com Ltd. is one of the first manufacturers in the world of pile and diaphragm wall integrity testing equipment, and the only totally specialized in it (www.piletest.com). The Piletest equipment is known for its versatility, power, ease of software use, low size and weight, and efficient technical assistance. - PET equipment for pile integrity tests, sonic method with hand hammer. - CHUM equipment for pile integrity tests, ultrasonic cross-hole method in embedded tubes. - SAM equipment for control of ground anchors real load.
7 8. Light Weigth Drop Tester equipment for dynamic plate load test CFT&Asoc, S.L. in partnership with Incotecnic lab-pre, S.L. is representative for exclusive distribution in Spain and Portugal of the light weight drop tester for dynamic plate load test HMP-LFG, from german manufacturer HMP. With this equipment you can obtain a practically instantaneous on-site compacted layers and non-cohesive sub-bases dynamic deformation modulus, without need to use trucks and other elements as reaction. Spanish standard UNE 103807-2:2008. Ensayo de carga vertical de suelos mediante placa dinámica. Parte 2: Placa rígida, diámetro 2r=300 mm, Método 2 was published in 2008, and many public and private laboratories are useing this dynamic plate load equipment. 9. Cylinders and hydraulic pumps for testing CFT & Asociados delivers equipment from Protec Dynamics, S.L., company specialized in design and manufacture of hydraulic equipment, specially cylinders and hydraulic compressors for bar and iron cable tightening in pre-stressed concrete structures, soil anchors, bridge braces and other applications in construction. Other equipment manufactured by Protec Dynamics is: iron cable spinner, equipment for elevation, descend or motion of huge loads, cement injectors, cylinders and hydraulic centrals for high pressure. CFT & Asociados uses hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic control pumps from Protec Dynamics in its load tests on piles and ground anchors.
8 GEOTECHNICAL SOFTWARE SUPPLY 10. gint software for geotechnical log reports CFT & Asociados is exclusive reseller in Spain and Portugal for gint, the geotechnical and geo-environmental world leader software for data management and report generation. gint delivers to the geotechnical community the most popular software for reporting borehole drills, piezometers, wells, fence diagrams and geotechnical profiles, as well as all sort of on-site test and laboratory test reports, and other completely professional reports. gint overcomes all his competitors with its powerful relatable database system, which gives the user a total control over the design of the database structure, the report format and the symbol libraries, offering unlimited possibilities. With over 20 years of successful history, the gint geotechnical and geo-environmental software has become a standard in his sector, having been selected by many public administrations, engineering bureaus and geotechnical advisers all over the world. More information at www.fernandeztadeo.com/gint.htm
9 11. Software for geotechnical field data acquisition with PDA CFT & Asociados is exclusive reseller in Spain and Portugal for U.S. geotechnical software company Dataforensics, leader in the geotechnical software market for PDA s. Dataforensics software delivered by CFT & Asociados: - PLog is the most advanced digital system currently available for logging soil investigation. With PLog you can easily enter field data in your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and later download it in gint in your desk computer. With PLog you can enter any core drilling data including: Soil and rock samples Soil and rock stratigraphy Water table conditions Envoronmental data Well and inclynometer installation details Core drilling notes And much more - PLog Enterprise is a database that works as unique storage for all data from different projects created with gint software. It s not just a simple database, but a source of information and resources for an organization that deals with growing amounts on time of geotechnical data, as a "KnowledgeBase". - RAPID CPT is a complement for gint software that gives you a static cone penetration and piezocone fast result interpretation. RAPID CPT imports logged data from a wide variety of static penetration and piezocone equipments. More information at www.fernandeztadeo.com/soft.htm
10 GEOTECHNICAL CONSULTING 12. Geotechnical surveillance and reporting Carlos Fernández Tadeo is a Civil Engineer with experience in geotechnics and construction quality control since 1975. CFT & Asoc. has a geologists team available, also expert in geotechnical works. The activities we perform are: Planning of geotechnical survey campaigns. Boreholes, soil sampling, dynamic and static penetration tests, and geophysical prospections. Coordination of laboratory testing. Geotechnical reports. 13. Geotechnical instrumentation: inclinometry Several clients have trusted us to perform geotechnical instrumentation at their site works. Inclinometer measurements in several boreholes have been used to control horizontal movements in a soil wall reinforced with metallic nets.