Thermal integrity testing of cast in situ piles: An alternative interpretation approach

Integrity testing of deep cast in situ concrete foundations is challenging due to the intrinsic nature of how these foundations are formed. Several integrity test methods have been developed and are well established, but each of these have strengths and weaknesses. A relatively recent integrity testing method is thermal integrity testing. The fundamental feature is the early age concrete release of heat during curing; anomalies such as voids, necking, bulging and/or soil intrusion inside the concrete body result in local temperature variations. Temperature sensors installed on the reinforcement cage collect detailed temperature data along the entire pile during concrete curing to allow empirical identification of these temperature variations. This article investigates a new approach to the interpretation of the temperature variations from thermal integrity testing of cast in situ concrete piles and presents a field case study of this approach. The approach uses the heat of hydration and heat transfer theory and employs numerical modelling using the finite element method. The finite element model can be customised for different concrete mixes and pile geometries. The predicted temperature profile from the numerical model is then compared, in a systematic manner, to the field test temperature data. Any temperature discrepancies indicate potential anomalies of the pile structure. The proposed new interpretation approach could potentially reduce construction costs and increase the anomaly detection accuracy compared to traditional interpretation methods. This work was performed in the framework of ITN-FINESSE, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action grant agreement n° 722509