Emeca-pile joint manual

Sisllys
1

General ....................................................................................................................... 2
1.1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2

1.2

Emeca Oy........................................................................................................................... 2

Pile joint ...................................................................................................................... 3

2.1

Purpose of use................................................................................................................... 3

2.2

Function principle.............................................................................................................. 4

Design and manufacturing ......................................................................................... 5

3.1

Standards .......................................................................................................................... 5

3.2

Manufacturing................................................................................................................... 5

3.3

Quality control .................................................................................................................. 6

3.4

Markings ............................................................................................................................ 6

Casting instructions .................................................................................................... 8

4.1

Casting ............................................................................................................................... 8

4.2

Casting guide for pile joint ................................................................................................ 9

4.3

Casting mold for pile head .............................................................................................. 10

4.4

Crack ring......................................................................................................................... 11

4.5

Demolding ....................................................................................................................... 11

Piling and jointing ..................................................................................................... 12

5.1

Driving plates................................................................................................................... 13

5.2

Emeca X-Press locking pin press ..................................................................................... 14

5.3

Measuring perpendicularity of the pile top and pile joint .............................................. 14

1 General
1.1 Introduction
Designing and production principles as well as casting and user instructions are
presented in this manual. In user instructions also includes general facts about pile
joints and other piling products. Pile joint features and capacities are described in the
documents made for different pile joint types.

1.2 Emeca Oy
Emeca Oy is a finnish family company that manufactures piling components. Company
is founded in 2001. Main products are pile joints and rock points for reinforced
concrete piles. Our product range also includes various piling components and tools for
both casting and for assembly.
The products are manufactured in a highly automated workshop in Kyli where the
companys entire professional staff works. Alongside production manufacturing we
participate often in design collaboration with customers. Besides standard products we
deliver products that are customer specific designed for various working conditions
and environments.

2 Pile joint

Picture 1. Pile joint

2.1 Purpose of use

Pile joints are needed when it is not possible to cast or transport reinforced concrete
piles of the length reguired. In practice reinforced concrete piles are often joined.
Reinforced concrete pile that exceeds 15m is almost always joined at working site.
With Emeca pile joint joining in the working site can be done quickly and with high
quality.

2.2 Function principle

Pile joint is designed so that it transmits all loads which are subjected to the pile from
pile section to the other without impairing the capacity of the pile. Function principle
of pile joint must also be simple and reliable.
All parts of the pile joint are welded together in pile joint factory. In pile factory pile
joint is put in the mold together with the pile reinforcement. Concrete anchors pile
joint to the reinforcing steel and forms a reliable connection. In the work site pile
sections are joined together by hammering locking pins to locks of the pile joint. This
provides simple and easily lockable joint which reliably transfers all normal forces and
moment forces from pile section to another.

Picture 2. pile joint connectors

3 Design and manufacturing

3.1 Standards
Emeca-pile joints are designed and manufactured in accordance with valid standards
and regulations.
Standards used in designing:
EN 1992-1-1:2004 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures
EN 1993-1-8:2005 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures
EN 12699:2000 Execution of special geotechnical work; Displacement piles
EN 12794:2005+A1:2007 Precast concrete products, Foundation piles

3.2 Manufacturing
Pile joints are manufactured in highly automated robotic cells managed by professional
trained personnel. Products are manufactured from high grade steel with material
certificate. Locking parts are machined in robotized production cells. Rebars are cut to
proper lengths with form steel cutter. Assembly is made by robotic welding in
automated production cells. Welding is carried out according to standard EN ISO
17660-1:2006 Welding, Welding of reinforcing steel, Part 1: Load-bearing welded
joints.

3.3 Quality control

Production of pile joints requires constinuous quality control. Material certificate is
required for the materials used in pile joints. Those certificates are filed in archive. The
material of the parts included in products delivered to customer can be tracked if
necessary with the batch numbering. The quality of the robot welded seam is visually
monitored and also by regular tensile tests. Besides own internal quality control
system Emeca has an ongoing quality control contract with VTT Expert Services Oy.

3.4 Markings
All manufactured pile joints have a label like in picture 3. Label indicates:
manufacturer, name and type of the product, product approval, batch number,
product code and manufacturing date.

Picture 3. Product label

A label like in picture 4 is attached to all pallets. The label shows manufacturer,
product name, product code, specifier, approval, quantity, weight, pallet ID, packing
date and operator.

Picture 4. Pallet labeling

4 Casting instructions
4.1 Casting
Pile joint is casted simultaneously with the pile in the same mold. In order to achvieve
result that meets the requirements, it is important to ensure that pile joint is straight
and flat against the pile end during casting. Rebars of the pile joint are pushed inside
piles reinforcement. Pile joint is tightened thoroughly to casting guide which ensures
correct positioning of the pile joint during casting. Casting guide is wedged in the mold
to ensure straightness of the casting guide.

Picture 5. Placement of the casting guide

4.2 Casting guide for pile joint

The easiest and most sensible way to ensure best result is to use Emeca casting guide.
Pile joint is attached to the casting guide which ensures a high-quality final result by
keeping the pile joint in correct position throughout the casting process. There are
various Emeca casting guides for different customer needs. Usually casting guides are
tailor made to fit customers production environment. Some pile joint casting guides
can also be used as casting guide for rock point and pile shoe.

Picture 6. Casting guide for pile joint

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4.3 Casting mold for pile head

Casting mold for pile head is used to ensure desired form of the pile head. Casting
mold for pile head provides bevels in sides of pile head and ensures that the pile top is
flat. The casting surface of the mold should be lubricated with form oil to prevent
concrete sticking to mold surface. If concrete remains in mold it must not be cleared
with hammering because there is a risk that mold surface will be damaged.

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4.4 Crack ring

Emeca produces also crack rings for pile heads. Crack ring is used to ensure that pile
top stands large loads during pile driving without breaking. By using crack ring you can
prevent pile top damages that could lead to rejecting the whole pile. Therefore crack
ring is a cheap insurance for successful piling work. Emeca recommends installing of
crack rings to every pile.

Picture 8. Crack ring for pile top

4.5 Demolding
Jointed pile is lifted from mold by help of lifting hooks integrated to the pile. Be careful
when the pile is lifted out of the mold so that pile end in casting guide is not bruised
and pile remains unharmed.

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5 Piling and jointing

Piling work will be carried out according to local piling instructions. Pile is driven to the
ground by using Emeca driving plate until about a meter of the top of the pile is left
above ground. Then remove pile joints protection plugs and clean the locking parts if
necessary. Then lift the upper pile in a vertical position, clean the pile joint and align it
with the bottom pile. Top pile can be driven lightly before locking pins are attached.
Mount all locking pins and use sledgehammer to hit them inside the pile. Be careful
not to damage the pile when hammering locking pins. Alternately locking pins can be
pressed in with a pressing tool manufactured by Emeca.

Picture 9. Driving plate must be used when driving jointed pile

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5.1 Driving plates

Emeca product range also includes driving plates. It is necessary to use Emeca driving
plate when driving pile with pile joint in top. Driving plates are available in two
different models. Driving plate made of nylon is light but cannot withstand large
number of impact blows. Alsi-driving plate is heavier but can withstand more impacts
and greater loads. Nylon is good choice when lower piles and mid-section piles can be
driven to ground easily and greater impact loads on pile occurs only during final
strikes. When piling in friction soil large impact forces are exposed to lower and midsection piles. When driving friction piles Alsi-plate is your choice as it withstands long
lasting loads and the warming it causes better than nylon plate.

Picture 10. Alsi and Nylon driving plates

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5.2 Emeca X-Press locking pin press

Emeca has developped a tool that is used to press locking pins inside a pile. When
using this tool you can forget the traditional hammering of locking pins that always has
a risk of damaging the pile and possibility for accidents. The tool is connected to piling
rigs boom with a wire and it gets power from the hydraulic system of the piling rig.

Picture 11. Locking pin press

5.3 Measuring perpendicularity of the pile top and pile joint

Perpendicularity of pile joint against pile axis is important for the durability and
function of the pile. Measuring of perpendicularity of jointed pile top is described in
Annex E of the standard EN 12794:2005+A1:2007.

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Taulukko 1. Kulmamittalaitteet

Pile
235x235
270x270
250x250
300x300
350x350
400x400

Length

225 mm

800 mm

240 mm

800 mm

340 mm

800 mm

Picture 12. Angular measurement device

Picture 13. Dial gauge and allowed measurement of the respective piles