Pile Driver

pile driver [′pīl ‚drīv·ər]

(mechanical engineering)

A hoist and movable steel frame equipped to handle piles and drive them into the ground.

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pile driver

A machine for delivering repeated blows to the top of a pile for driving it into the ground; consists of a frame which supports and guides a hammer weight, together with a mechanism for raising and dropping the hammer or for driving the hammer by air or steam. Also See sonic pile driver.

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Pile Driver 

a machine for supporting pile-driving equipment and for guiding piles being driven into the ground. Pile drivers may be of the tower type (non-self-propelled) or the crane type (self-propelled).

Tower pile drivers have a mast on which the pile-driving equipment is installed; it may be tilted at an angle during driving of the piles. The mast and truss are mounted on an overhead frame that can rotate through 360° relative to the lower frame (full-swiveling pile driver). The lower frame is mounted on wheels, which travel along a track. Tower pile drivers are 11–22 m high and have a lifting capacity of up to 9.5 tons. They may be used to drive piles both on land and under water (from a barge or pontoon).

Crane pile drivers are mounted on a derrick crane, excavator, tractor, or truck. In the case of a pile driver mounted on a crane or excavator, the upper part of the mast is connected to the boom head by a hinge, and the lower part is connected to the swiveling platform. The piles and pile-driving equipment are raised by winches on the crane or excavator. For pile drivers mounted on a caterpillar tractor or truck, the mast is fastened by a hinge to the vehicle frame, which also carries the hydraulic cylinders that tilt the mast to transport position and a winch driven by the engine of the base vehicle. Crane pile drivers are 13–35.5 m high and have a lifting capacity of up to 25 tons.

A. IU. BROMBERG