STRESS WAVE ANALYSIS OF WOOD PILES RELATED TO ULTIMATE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

WOOD FOUNDATION PILING COULD BE UTILIZED FOR CAPACITIES OF 2 TO 3 CURRENT DESIGN LOADS IF THE HIGH STRENGTH PILES COULDBE READILY IDENTIFIED BY A NON-DESTRUCTIVE TEST METHOD. WOODPILES WOULD BE APPRECIATED BY GEO-TECHNICAL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS AS AN ECONOMICAL AND RELIABLE DEEP FOUNDATION CAPABLE OF HIGHER DESIGN STRESSES IF THE LOW-STRENGTH PILES WERE REJECTED. A FEASIBILITY STUDY WILL DETERMINE THE DEGREEOF CORRELATION BETWEEN THE LONGITUDINAL STRESS WAVE PROPAGATION ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE UNTREATED PILES AND THE FAILURE STRESS IN COMPRESSION PARALLEL TO GAIN OF THE T TREATED WOOD PILE TIPS. THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING T TECHNIQUE WILL BE DEVELOPED, INCLUDING TESTING DEVICES.