Limitations of the Danish driving formula for short piles

Dynamic formulae are a widely used expedient for the control of driven piles to ensure load capacity. These formulae have considerable limitations when used in the prediction of the load capacity on their own, but are very useful in the control of a piling when combined with other tests. This technical note presents an evaluation of the Danish Formula for 54 precast concrete piles, comparing its results with High Strain Dynamic Tests (HSDTs), Static Load Tests (SLTs) and predictions by a semi-empirical static method (Aoki & Velloso, 1975). The data used in the comparison come from three works in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All piles were driven with free-fall hammers and in one particular work the piles were relatively short. The predictions of the Danish Formula were evaluated in relation to the pile length/diameter ratio. It was concluded that for short piles - with lengths less than 30 times the diameter - this formula indicates bearing capacities higher than the actual ones. A correction for a safe use of the Danish Formula for short piles is suggested.