Machine and method for determining the load capacity of foundation piles

Abstract

A machine to determine the load capacity of foundation piles, containing a guide derrick whose axis can be positioned in line with the foundation pile axis; a drop-weight suspended in said derrick to means which can raise this weight to various heights and hold it there; an anvil at the bottom of the derrick, which anvil can travel vertically in a bottom guide within the guide derrick; a pressure capsule between said anvil and the top of the foundation pile to be tested; a measuring device on the foundation pile, which operates in conjunction with a laser measuring device mounted at a distance; a computer connected to said pressure capsule on the one hand and to said measuring device on the other hand, and itself connected to a printer; and means which in combination with said drop-weight enable the impact of the drop-weight on the pile to be prolonged by absorbing said impact and transmitting it relatively slowly to the pile.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.