The Shaft Area Profile Evaluator (SHAPE) from Pile Dynamics, Inc (PDI) offers quality control of shaft radius, volume and verticality. It is a cost-effective quality assurance testing device used for deep foundations - such as drilled shafts, bored piles, slurry walls and barrettes - to better characterise the three-dimensional profile of these and other excavated deep foundation elements. It provides a fast, economical representation of the foundation excavation and verticality prior to placing concrete in wet conditions.
SHAPE’s drilling stem advancement rate is approximately 1 ft/sec, giving simplicity in analysis with a clean signal and 3D profile views. It is a completely wireless device, requiring no electronic cabling from the surface to the device during operation, said PDI. This increases overall system reliability.
SHAPE automatically corrects for changes in wave speed with depth by measuring the wave speed at each measurement location along the length of the excavation, and adjusting the radius calculation based on the measured wave speed at any depth location.
In addition, SHAPE samples all eight sensors simultaneously at a high rate of speed, allowing it to be quickly deployed and construction to continue at a rapid rate. It can be operated on site or remotely with PDI’s SiteLink technology.
