Field Testing & Instrumentation
Ensoft offers Field Testing, Instrumentation, and Remote Monitoring of Systems, through its consulting division - Lymon C. Reese and Associates (LCR&A). We are proud to carry on the traditions of Dr. Reese’s pioneering instrumented pile tests, and deliver expertise in advanced field services for geotechnical and structural engineering applications. Areas of practice include bridges, port facilities, wind-turbine foundations, offshore structures, shallow/deep foundations, and earth-retaining structures, among others.
Pile Load Testing
Our company has a long history of performing tests of piles (concrete or steel), under a variety of loading conditions (tension, compression, and lateral) following ASTM Standards. In most cases, piles are instrumented with strain gauges (steel), or strain bars (concrete), as well as displacement transducers and/or inclinometers, in order to determine load transfer criteria, and deflection/rotation. These tests can be provide valuable information for the client, which may help to optimize or confirm the design of production piles. Ensoft/LCR&A, currently owns and maintains equipment to test piles with loads ranging from <5,000-lbs (small piles) up to a maximum of 1,000 Tons, and has the expertise and design capability to handle the most complex testing scenarios and higher load applications if desired.
Remote Monitoring and Instrumentation
Ensoft/LCR&A has used it 30+ years of experience and practice with pile instrumentation and response measurements, and applied that to remote monitoring of structures and systems. These systems have been implemented by Ensoft/LCR&A specialist team of engineers and technicians for more than a decade and continue to provide real-time measurements of structures under static and dynamic loadings. Through proprietary internet based platforms, these complex systems are simplified for the clients, and thus allow the quick and easy access to data, in real time as needed. Primary applications have included wind turbine foundations, as well as port structures, floodwalls, and retaining structures, among others. Typical instrumentation, includes displacement transducers, tilt meters, accelerometers, velocity transducers, geophones, and/or strain gauges.
Non-destructive Testing
Ensoft/LCR&A also offers various non-destructive testing methods for quality assurance or forensic investigations. Those test offered by LCR&A include Crosshole-Sonic Log- ging (CSL), Pulse Echo Testing, and Pile Driving Analysis (PDA)
Specialized Calibration
Depending on project needs, Ensoft/LCR&A may push existing state-of-the-art instruments to their limits. When operating at their limits, Ensoft/LCR&A can engineer customized ways of calibration and testing to ensure the quality of instruments before deployment to the site.
The accompanying figure shows one of our custom designed setups to thoroughly test and clibrate high-precision tiltmeters beyond their original calibrations. With the setup shown, we have successfully been able to calibrate our tiltmeters with up to ±0.001 degrees in precision and ensuring their repeatability.
