Results of the “DPDT-Auger” Research Project on Screw Displacement Piles

Abstract

Abstract The main objective of the “DPDT-Auger” research project was to test the prototype DPDT auger for forming screw displacement piles in the ground (patented in Poland in 2020). An additional aim was to develop design methods and rules for the making of such piles. The augers and piles were first tested on a model scale, and then more extensively in the real scale on experimental field plots. The results found the overall functionality of the DPDT auger to be good, and in several aspects better than that of the SDP auger. The load-bearing capacities and Q-s characteristics of piles made with both augers were considered comparable. All the conducted tests and their derived dependencies together with the results of in situ subsoil tests allowed for the development of empirical calculation methods and prognostic procedures, useful for designing and producing piles with DPDT and SDP augers. FEM numerical simulation rules for the considered piles were also developed, verified and calibrated by the results of real pile tests. This article describes only the most important final results of the research project but not the detailed results of the numerous tests and analyses that were carried out. Also omitted are the results of model tests and numerical simulations, as well as the implementation and acceptance recommendations, as they have already been or will be the subject of separate publications.