Civil Engineering Photos

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen above is a steel H pile that will be used on a bridge project. The end of the pile is not strong enough to be directly driven into the ground so a protective tip, called a pile point, is welded on the end. Without the pile point the flanges could separate from the web and greatly affect the strength of the pile and make driving it further into the ground very difficult. In soft ground many times pile points are not needed, however, as a precaution some firms use them almost always when driving piles.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Pictured above is a drill rig used for constructing auger cast piles. On this machine a few features are very obvious that make it different than a traditional boom-lattice crane. First, the large green box on the back is an engine that powers the auger. The auger, encased in the frame hanging on the front of the crane, is then used to excavate the soil where the piles will be poured. Once the auger reaches the desired depth, concrete is pumped through the auger like a straw to fill the hole as it is pulled out. A resteel cage can then be lowered into the hole to add tensile strength to the auger cast pile.