pile helmet

cushion head, Brit. pile helmet

cushion head

A cap which covers and protects the head of a pile while it is being driven into the ground by a pile driver.

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pile cap

1. A slab or connecting beam which covers the heads of a group of piles, tying them together so that the structural load is distributed and they act as a single unit.

2. A metal cap which is placed, as temporary protection, over the head of a precast pile while it is being driven into the ground.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.