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 yet another paper which cited my work, in this case the ZWAVE paper. Once again I'm not sure why they picked this one; it's probably because I explored a soil model based on that of Randolph and Simons (1986), which they also cited and discussed. I came back to models like this in … Continue reading Comments on “A novel soil reaction model for continuous impact pile driving”
It is my custom to link to and make comments on papers which cite my work. This paper is titled Construction of a mathematical model of dynamic loads in a jib self-propelled crane when pulling a sheet pile out of the ground. It comes from Ukraine, and it is the first study of its kind … Continue reading Comments on “Construction of a mathematical model of dynamic loads in a jib self-propelled crane when pulling a sheet pile out of the ground.”
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
Vulcan produced many products for the coastal and marine industry. When it started producing pile hammers in Chicago, the Loop was moving to other types of foundations. Vulcan--and the Warrington family--was focused on the waterfront, which literally took it all over the world. An example of that is something closer to home: the yard yacht … Continue reading Hauling the “Lighter” Up With a Davit, and An Example of Static Analysis
Much of the narrative around Vulcan centres on the development of the Warrington-Vulcan pile hammer design in the late 1880's (and the serial number records aren't the most informative about when exactly the final transition to that design was made.) But how did Vulcan come up with the valve design it made its standard? Some … Continue reading Some Insight into the Origin of Vulcan’s Pile Hammer Valve System
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