For many years, Vulcan included Engineering News Formula charts and data in its literature. Vulcan dropped the EN formula out of its literature in the 1970's, for two reasons: the wave equation was in the ascendancy, and endorsement of the EN formula was an implied endorsement of the "bearing power" of the piles they drove, … Continue reading Vulcan Hammers and the Gates Formula
Below are three photos taken of a Vulcan #1 hammer in Mentor, Ohio. It's in fixed leaders with a moonbeam-style spotter. The hammer was made in Chicago, which means that it's probably older than sixty years. Thanks to Ken Foster for sharing these great photos.
Most of our fluid mechanics offerings are on our companion site, Chet Aero Marine. This topic, and the way we plan to treat it, is so intertwined with the history of Vulcan's product line that we're posting it here. Hopefully it will be useful in understanding both. It's a offshoot of Vulcan's valve loss study … Continue reading Compressible Flow Through Nozzles, and the Vulcan 06 Valve
On our Engineering at Vulcan page, we posted this general arrangement of the Vulcan #2 dated 1887. Little did we suspect that we'd need that drawing, but then these photos from Crofton Diving of Portsmouth, VA, arrived: The hammer in question is Vulcan S/N 116, originally sold to the Florida East Coat Railroad (not far … Continue reading The Best Way to Celebrate Your 120th Birthday is With a New Slide Bar Part
ZWAVE was Vulcan's foray into the wave equation program field. It was an outgrowth of research that dated back to the late 1970's on the magnitude of impact forces of its hammers on pile tops, so as to estimate both the loads on the equipment and the stresses on the piles. The first tangible result … Continue reading ZWAVE
By World War II, Vulcan's air/steam hammer line dominated its production and revenue stream. Of all of the attempts Vulcan made to diversify is pile hammer line after that time, probably the most successful was its line of vibratory pile hammers. Vibratory pile driving equipment represented a major departure for Vulcan, but it also represents … Continue reading Vulcan Vibratory Hammers and Vibratory Technology
The mid-1980's were lean years at Vulcan. The offshore market was still down, the aftermath of the collapse of oil prices earlier in the decade. Vulcan's own diesel program had to be stopped, plagued by design and manufacturing problems and an overvalued US Dollar. The vibratory hammer program was going reasonably well but the market … Continue reading Vulcan High-Frequency Vibratory Hammers
In 1984 Vulcan re-entered the vibratory hammer market with the introduction of the 1150 vibratory hammer. This hammer made its debut on a project in Bangor, Maine for Cianbro Construction. More suited for the American market and adequately powered, these machines were far more successful than the Vulcor hammers had been. The technology used was … Continue reading Vulcan’s Medium Frequency Vibratory Hammers
Vulcan's first venture into the vibratory market took place in the 1960's with the introduction of the Uraga electric vibratory hammer from Japan, which Vulcan marketed as the Vulcor Vibratory Hammer. Vibratory pile driving technology had been developed in the Soviet Union. One of the first countries to pick up the technology was Japan. With … Continue reading Uraga/Vulcor Vibratory Hammer
At one point or another in its history, Vulcan attempted to produce or market every type of pile driver made. Probably the persistently least successful type were the diesel hammers. Vulcan's failure to manufacture and/or market a widely accepted diesel hammer was a significant long-term problem for the company. Nevertheless diesel hammers are an important … Continue reading Vulcan Diesel Hammers
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