First, we need to review what we've learned from our previous posts on diesel hammers. First, the posts themselves: Diesel Hammers: Rated Striking Energy, and Should Diesel Hammers Be Derated? Diesel Hammers: Delmag, Nilens and the Method of Analysis Diesel Hammers: The Russian Hammers and Hemi-Headed Pile Drivers Diesel Hammers: Pileco Now we can discuss what we have … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: Vulcan Series II Diesel Hammers
Above: Pileco D-8 diesel hammer on Vulcan Foundation Equipment's excavator mast, ready to drive below grade. Photo courtesy of Vulcan Foundation Equipment. Since we dealt with older European diesel hammers in the post Diesel Hammers: Delmag, Nilens and the Method of Analysis, let's turn to something more contemporary: Pileco diesel hammers, one of several organisations which … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: Pileco
At the start of this, it's probably worthwhile to repost the following: In the early 1970’s, when the Brezhnev era seemed most full of promise, an elderly Frenchman travelled from Moscow to Khabarovsk on the Trans-Siberian railway. After only a few hours at the eastern end of the line he boarded the train again for … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: The Russian Hammers and Hemi-Headed Pile Drivers
The classic Delmag diesel hammer, a D-30, early 1990's. In Diesel Hammers: Some Basic Thermodynamics, and the Mean Effective Pressure it was noted that the diesel hammers were developed in Germany between the World Wars. The Germans went to war the second time with diesel hammers in hand to aid their war effort. (The U.S. did … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: Delmag, Nilens and the Method of Analysis
Now we get into a topic that's potentially controversial: the energy rating of diesel hammers, or any impact hammer for that matter. Let's start with defining what we mean by rated energy. Efficiency and Rated Striking Energy Hibbeler (1989) defines mechanical efficiency as follows: $latex e = \frac{Energy\,Output}{Energy\,Input} $ (15) A quick look at Equation … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: Rated Striking Energy, and Should Diesel Hammers Be Derated?
With recent upheaval over tariffs and our long-term commercial relationship with China, one is led to wonder: is the era of the "Chimags" at an end? Or at least not what it used to be? And could another different diesel hammer be manufactured in the U.S. (yes, there are other manufacturers)? In this series we'll … Continue reading Diesel Hammers: Some Basic Thermodynamics, and the Mean Effective Pressure
This is an overview of the motion of the "standard" type of diesel fuel pump cam which is used to deliver fuel from the fuel tank to the combustion chamber of a single-acting, tubular type of diesel hammer. What are Kinematics? As defined in Seely and Ensign, "Kinematics deals with the relation between distance, time, … Continue reading The Kinematics of Diesel Fuel Pump Cams
The most common machines for driving piles are diesel hammers, the main advantages of which are: independence from external energy sources (autonomy), high productivity, simplicity and ease of operation, and low cost of manufacture. The classification and main parameters of diesel hammers are given in GOST 7888-80. All existing and currently used diesel hammers can … Continue reading Diesel Hammers
We've been posting some pretty technical stuff lately. While there is a good deal of that here, we're going to use this to illustrate two things: how projectile motion works and why you shouldn't put starter fluid in a diesel hammer. The Situation Let's consider the situation where the contractor brought the rig illustrated below … Continue reading Projectile Motion, or Why You Don’t Put Starter Fluid in a Diesel Hammer
It's interesting how many impact pile hammers are designed to "look like a Vulcan." Obviously there are those like Conmaco and Raymond that were "offshoots" of the successful Warrington-Vulcan and Super-Vulcan hammers. All of these hammers are or were air-steam operated hammers. Others have used the ram/column arrangement to develop hydraulic impact hammers, with varying … Continue reading A Diesel Hammer that “Looks Like a Vulcan?”
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