An Industry Gets Restless: Terzaghi’s 1929 Paper on Dynamic Formulae and the Response

Goodrich's 1908 study on dynamic formulae was interesting but not as informative as one would like and not as impactful as he might have hoped. Wellington's Engineering News Formula continued to dominate the scene (in the U.S., at least) and other formulae were coming in and out of vogue here and elsewhere. Goodrich had restricted … Continue reading An Industry Gets Restless: Terzaghi’s 1929 Paper on Dynamic Formulae and the Response

Some Insight into the Origin of Vulcan’s Pile Hammer Valve System

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

The Kinematics and Kinetics of Vibratory Driver Eccentric Rotation

The basic mechanics of vibratory pile drivers, i.e., those which drive with vibration and without impact, are well documented. This is a more detailed look at their kinematics (and some of their kinetics) which will show, at the least, that these aren't just pulled out of the air but have some basis in the dynamics … Continue reading The Kinematics and Kinetics of Vibratory Driver Eccentric Rotation