US3946598A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ
Assignee: ROBIN M TOWNE AND ASSOC Inc
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Filing: 1974-07-11
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Granted: 1976-03-30
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Expires: 1994-07-11
Abstract
Abstract The dynamic parameters of soil in situ are determined by: impacting freely suspended piles and measuring the force applied to and the acceleration of the piles; analyzing the measured information to determine the transfer function (impedance) of the piles; driving the piles into the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined; impacting one of the piles driven into the soil; measuring the force applied to and the acceleration of the driven pile; measuring the acceleration produced by the driven pile at at least one remote pile; analyzing the measured information obtained with the piles located in the soil to determine the transfer functions of the soil plus the piles; and, subtracting the transfer functions of the piles from the transfer functions of the piles plus the soil to determine the transfer function of the soil. The transfer function when plotted depicts the dynamic parameters of the soil. The analysis is performed using Fourier techniques whereby the force and acceleration measurements are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain. In addition, acceleration measurements are converted from an acceleration form to a velocity form. The Fourier transformed force measurements are divided by the Fourier transformed velocity measurements to create transform functions prior to the subtraction step being performed. In addition, errors contained in the force measurements created by any mass located between the impacting mechanism and the impacted or force pile are eliminated prior to converting the force measurements from the time domain to the frequency domain. Further, the resultant transform information is analyzed to determine if it is valid (only created by the applied force) or invalid (created by the applied force plus some external, uncontrolled force).
Inventors
- 👤 Robin M. Towne
- 👤 Stanley G. Champ
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 13:31
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02D; E02D1/00; E02D1/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ comprising the steps of: 1. determining the transfer function of at least two piles, one of said piles defined as a force pile and the other of said piles defined as a remote pile; 2. embedding said force and remote piles into the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined; 3. determining the transfer function of the piles plus the soil by: a. determining the driving point transfer function at the force pile; and, b. determining the transfer point transfer function at the remote pile; and,
Claim 2
Independent Claim
98 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ comprising the steps of: 1. determining the transfer function of at least two piles, one of said piles defined as a force pile and the other of said piles defined as a remote pile; 2. embedding said force and remote piles into the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined; 3. determining the transfer function of the piles plus the soil by: a. determining the driving point transfer function at the force pile; and, b. determining the transfer point transfer function at the remote pile; and,
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
selectively subtracting the transfer function of the piles from the driving point transfer function and from the transfer point transfer function to determine the transfer function of the soil.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
selectively subtracting the transfer function of the piles from the driving point transfer function and from the transfer point transfer function to determine the transfer function of the soil.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
84 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of determining the transfer function of at least two piles comprises the substeps of: separately suspending the piles; impacting each suspended pile; measuring the impact force applied to each suspended pile; simultaneously measuring the acceleration of each suspended pile created by the impacting force; converting the simultaneously measured acceleration into velocity; and, dividing the measured force by the velocity converted from the simultaneously measured acceleration.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 2 wherein the force and acceleration, measured when the piles are separately suspended, are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain prior to the simultaneously measured acceleration being converted into velocity and divided into the measured force.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 3 wherein the piles are driven to equal depths in the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
97 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 3 wherein the step of determining the transfer function of the piles plus the soil comprises the substeps of: impacting the force pile; measuring the impact force applied to the force pile; measuring the acceleration of the force pile caused by the impact force; converting the acceleration of the force pile caused by the impact force into velocity; and, dividing the measured force by the velocity converted from the measured acceleration to determine the driving point transfer function at the force pile.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 5 wherein the force and acceleration, measured when the piles are located in the soil, are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain prior to the acceleration being converted into velocity and divided into the measured force.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
88 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 5 wherein the step of determining the transfer function of the piles plus the soil also comprises the substeps of: measuring the acceleration at the remote pile due to the acceleration of the force pile caused by the impact force; converting the acceleration measured at the remote pile into velocity; and, dividing the force measured at the force pile by the velocity to determine the transfer point transfer function at the remote pile.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 7 wherein the force and acceleration, measured when the piles are located in the soil, are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain prior to the acceleration being converted into velocity and divided into the measured force.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 8 including the step of subtracting erroneous information created by undesirable, predetermined masses, affixed to said remote and force piles, from the measured force.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
87 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of determining the transfer function of the pile plus the soil comprises the substeps of: impacting the force pile; measuring the impact force applied to the force pile; measuring the acceleration of the force pile caused by the impact force; converting the acceleration of the force pile into velocity; and, dividing the measured force by the velocity to determine the driving point transfer function at the force pile.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 10 wherein the force and acceleration, measured when the piles are located in the soil, are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain prior to the acceleration being converted into velocity and divided into the measured force.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
88 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 10 wherein the step of determining the transfer function of the piles plus the soil also comprises the substeps of: measuring the acceleration at the remote pile due to the acceleration of the force pile caused by the impact force; converting the acceleration measured at the remote pile into velocity; and, dividing the force measured at the force pile by the velocity to determine the transfer point transfer function at the remote pile.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 12 wherein the force and acceleration, measured when the piles are located in the soil, are converted from the time domain to the frequency domain prior to the acceleration being converted into velocity and divided into the measured force.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 13 including the step of subtracting erroneous information created by undesirable, predetermined masses, affixed to the force and remote piles, from the measured force.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 1 including the step of determining the coherence between power spectra of related measured force and acceleration to detect erroneous information created by uncontrolled forces present in said soil when the force pile is impacted by said impact force.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
138 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 15 including a plurality of remote piles and wherein said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means comprises: impacting means for impacting said force pile; force measuring means for measuring the impact force applied to said force pile and for generating a pile plus soil force signal related thereto; acceleration means located at said force pile for measuring the acceleration of said force pile caused by said impacting means and for generating a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal related thereto; and, acceleration means located at said remote piles for measuring the acceleration of said remote pile caused by said impacting means impacting said force pile and for generating transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals related thereto, one for each remote pile.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
220 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ comprising: pile transfer function sensing means for sensing the transfer function of a plurality of piles including a force pile and at least one remote pile, and for generating signals related thereto; pile plus soil transfer function sensing means for sensing force and acceleration information combinable to determine the driving point transfer function at the force pile and the transfer point transfer function at the at least one remote pile when said force pile and said at least one remote pile are located in the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined, and for generating signals related thereto; analyzing means for determining the transfer function of said soil by manipulating said signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means in a manner such that the signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means are subtracted from the signals generated by the pile plus soil transfer function sensing means in a predetermined manner; and, coupling means selectively connected to said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means for conveying the signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means to said analyzing means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
220 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ comprising: pile transfer function sensing means for sensing the transfer function of a plurality of piles including a force pile and at least one remote pile, and for generating signals related thereto; pile plus soil transfer function sensing means for sensing force and acceleration information combinable to determine the driving point transfer function at the force pile and the transfer point transfer function at the at least one remote pile when said force pile and said at least one remote pile are located in the soil whose dynamic parameters are to be determined, and for generating signals related thereto; analyzing means for determining the transfer function of said soil by manipulating said signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means in a manner such that the signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means are subtracted from the signals generated by the pile plus soil transfer function sensing means in a predetermined manner; and, coupling means selectively connected to said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means for conveying the signals generated by said pile transfer function sensing means and said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means to said analyzing means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
82 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil as claimed in claim 17 wherein said pile transfer function sensing means comprises: suspending means for separately suspending said piles; impacting means for impacting said piles when suspended; force sensing means for sensing the impact force applied to said suspended piles and for generating pile force signals related thereto; and, acceleration sensing means for sensing the acceleration of said suspended piles caused by said impacting means and for generating pile acceleration signals related thereto.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
133 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 18 wherein said pile plus soil transfer function sensing means comprises: impacting means for impacting said force pile; force measuring means for measuring the impact force applied to said force pile and for generating a pile plus soil force signal related thereto; and, first acceleration means located at said force pile for measuring the acceleration of said force pile caused by said impacting means and for generating a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal related thereto; and, second acceleration means located at said at least one remote pile for measuring the acceleration of said remote pile caused by said impacting means impacting said force pile and for generating a transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signal related thereto.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
165 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 19 wherein said analyzing means includes a Fourier analyzer adapted to: (1) receive said pile force and acceleration signals, said driving point pile plus soil force and acceleration signals and said transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals; (2) transform said signals from the time domain to the frequency domain; (3) convert said transformed pile acceleration signals and said transformed driving point and transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals into transformed pile velocity signals and transformed pile plus soil velocity signals, respectively; (4) selectively divide said transformed pile force signals by said transformed pile velocity signals and said transformed pile plus soil force signals by said transformed pile plus soil velocity signals to obtain pile transfer function signals and pile plus soil transfer function signals, respectively; and, (5) subtract associated pile transfer function signals from pile plus soil transfer function signals to obtain at least one soil transfer function signal.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
54 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 20 wherein said Fourier analyzer is also adapted to determine the coherence between said force and acceleration signals in order to detect which of said signals contain information created by forces unconnected with the force created by said impacting means.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 21 wherein said coupling means includes a multiple channel tape recorder.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 22 including a plotting means connected to said Fourier analyzer for plotting said at least one soil transfer function signal with respect to frequency.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil as claimed in claim 23 including a phase measuring means connected to said coupling means to receive related force and acceleration signals and determine the phase difference between said signals.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 24 including a second plotting means connected to said Fourier analyzer and to said phase measuring means for plotting the phase difference between related force and acceleration signals with respect to frequency.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
61 words
Apparatus for determining the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 25 including mass cancel means connected to said coupling means to receive related force and information signals and subtract from the received force signal information related to undesired, predetermined masses affixed to a related pile to create corrected force signals and apply them to said Fourier analyzer.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
138 words
Apparatus for generating signals related to the transfer function of piles plus soil, said piles being embedded into said soil and including a force pile and at least one remote pile, said apparatus comprising: impacting means for impacting said force pile; force measuring means for measuring the impact force applied to said force pile and for generating a pile plus soil force signal related thereto; first acceleration means for measuring the acceleration of said force pile caused by said impacting means and for generating a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal related thereto; and, second acceleration means for measuring, at said at least remote pile, the acceleration of said remote pile caused by said impacting means impacting said force pile and for generating transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals related thereto, one for each remote pile.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
138 words
Apparatus for generating signals related to the transfer function of piles plus soil, said piles being embedded into said soil and including a force pile and at least one remote pile, said apparatus comprising: impacting means for impacting said force pile; force measuring means for measuring the impact force applied to said force pile and for generating a pile plus soil force signal related thereto; first acceleration means for measuring the acceleration of said force pile caused by said impacting means and for generating a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal related thereto; and, second acceleration means for measuring, at said at least remote pile, the acceleration of said remote pile caused by said impacting means impacting said force pile and for generating transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals related thereto, one for each remote pile.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
223 words
Apparatus for analyzing: force and acceleration signals related to the transfer functions of piles; and, a pile plus soil force signal, a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal and at least one transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signal to determine the dynamic parameters of soil in situ, said apparatus comprising: a Fourier analyzer adapted to: (1) receive said pile force and acceleration signals, said driving point pile plus soil force and acceleration signals and said at least one transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals; (2) transform said signals from the time domain to the frequency domain; (3) convert said transformed pile acceleration signals and said transformed driving point and transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals into transformed pile velocity signals and transformed pile plus soil velocity signals, respectively; (4) selectively divide said transformed pile force signals by said transformed pile velocity signals and said transformed pile plus soil force signals by said transformed pile plus soil velocity signals to obtain pile transfer function signals and pile plus soil transfer function signals, respectively; and, (5) subtract associated pile transfer function signals from pile plus soil transfer function signals to obtain at least one soil transfer function signal; and, a plotting means connected to said Fourier analyzer for plotting said at least one soil transfer function signal with respect to frequency.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
223 words
Apparatus for analyzing: force and acceleration signals related to the transfer functions of piles; and, a pile plus soil force signal, a driving point pile plus soil acceleration signal and at least one transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signal to determine the dynamic parameters of soil in situ, said apparatus comprising: a Fourier analyzer adapted to: (1) receive said pile force and acceleration signals, said driving point pile plus soil force and acceleration signals and said at least one transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals; (2) transform said signals from the time domain to the frequency domain; (3) convert said transformed pile acceleration signals and said transformed driving point and transfer point pile plus soil acceleration signals into transformed pile velocity signals and transformed pile plus soil velocity signals, respectively; (4) selectively divide said transformed pile force signals by said transformed pile velocity signals and said transformed pile plus soil force signals by said transformed pile plus soil velocity signals to obtain pile transfer function signals and pile plus soil transfer function signals, respectively; and, (5) subtract associated pile transfer function signals from pile plus soil transfer function signals to obtain at least one soil transfer function signal; and, a plotting means connected to said Fourier analyzer for plotting said at least one soil transfer function signal with respect to frequency.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
60 words
Apparatus for analyzing force and acceleration signals to determine the dynamic parameters of soil in situ as claimed in claim 28, wherein said Fourier analyzer is also adapted to determine the coherence between various of said force and acceleration signals in order to detect signals containing information created by forces unconnected with the forces creating said force and acceleration signals.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 28 including a phase measuring means for receiving related force and acceleration signals and determining the phase difference between said signals.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 30 including a second plotting means connected to said Fourier analyzer and to said phase analyzing means for plotting the phase difference between related force and acceleration signals with respect to frequency.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
56 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 including mass cancel means for receiving related force and acceleration signals and subtracting from the received force signal information related to undesired, predetermined masses affixed to the piles associated with said force and acceleration signals to create corrected force signals and applying said corrected force signals to said Fourier analyzer.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-03-30 | 1979-09-29 | 1980-03-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-03-30 | 1983-09-29 | 1984-03-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-03-30 | 1987-09-29 | 1988-03-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |