Port Authority of NY & NJ Approved!

Tapertube piles on the jobsite at JFK airport
The Port Authority of NY & NJ has approved the new Tapertube® Pile for use.  They have stated in a letter:
“We have reviewed the performance of the Tapertube piling driven for the JFK-LRS (light rail system) pile test program and the production and test piles driven for the British Airways project.  The piling performed exceptionally well during both pile driving and load testing and meets our requirements for tapered pile applications.  We will be including the Tapertube pile as an acceptable alternative on our future projects and will accept them for Tenant projects as well.”

Many engineers today are looking to drive piles harder in order to obtain higher loads.  Contractors who must drive piles harder want piles that can take higher driving stresses without failure, a pile that can take higher driving stress is cost efficient and can be installed faster without the fear of buckling under the hammer.

A driven pile is a tested pile.

If the pile reaches the required blow count and depth without failure you can be reasonably confident in its performance.  This is especially true with a tubular steel pile that has a closed end.  You can examine the inside of the pile for possible damage and assure yourself of the piles integrity.

The trend today with driving equipment is moving to hydraulic hammers.  These devices are, for the most part, much more efficient then steam, air or diesel hammers.  Hydraulic hammers are reported to be better than 90% efficient in delivering energy to the pile.  For this reason, the Tapertube pile is ideally suited to those hammers because the pile can be produced to take the required driving force.

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