Application of Acoustic Emission for Diagnostic Pile Penetration by Consideration of Soil Particle Breakage

The possibility of passive monitoring on penetrating structural piles through acoustic signals is presented. The purpose of this study is first to provide deeper understanding on different situations against pile penetration into the soils through insights of acoustic emission technique. During pile installation, the soil under and surrounding the piles is overstressed, causing particle slippage and breakage. Due to the particle breakage the elastic acoustic wave propagates throughout the domain. Following the validation of the numerical simulation through a comparison of the available experimental evidences, a parametric study was performed to evaluate the acoustic signals during pile penetration accompanied by particle breakage and slippage. In this contribution, an extensive numerical simulation is conducted considering the influential parameters onto the signals propagated during pile driving. The studied parameters included pile materials, soil modulus of elasticity, and different obstacles or voids under pile tip. Moreover, the role of the dynamic soil-pile-interaction was assessed using acoustic signal interpretation. The results indicate that, all influential parameters have significant effects on the observed signals. The findings of this study provide valuable information regarding the effects of different underground circumstances for designers.