The use of the pile integrity test (PIT) to detect anomaly such as reinforcement exposure in short caissons

Abstract

This paper aims to verify the effectiveness of the pile integrity test (PIT) for evaluating the presence of anomaly in short caisson foundation elements, more specifically reinforcement exposure due to an execution problem during concreting. The foundation elements tested belong to the expansion of the structure of an electricity substation in the municipality of Itá, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In general, the PIT is not commonly used for caissons, due to the surface irregularities occurring along the shaft in this type of foundation. The obtained results showed that the PIT can promote assertiveness and safety when assessing the integrity of these foundation elements, as later confirmed at the site by excavating the problematic elements and performing visual inspection. Thus, the results may validate the use of the PIT as a tool for optimizing the executive control of cast-in-place foundations, even though a Brazilian technical standard on the use of the low strain integrity test for this purpose is still lacking.