Thermal Integrity Profiling of a Bored Pile in Limestone

Recently developed Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP), which measures the cast-in-place shaft concrete temperature, is a reliable method for integrity and quality testing used in foundation engineering. The local temperature variations during early-age concrete curing can identify various shaft anomalies. This article presents a field case study of thermal integrity testing of a 900 mm diameter bored pile placed in the Saudi Arabian Limestone formation. The results show that the effective average radius is consistent with the pile diameter up to the depths of around 7.50 m. A temperature drop was observed from 7.50 m to 8.0 m depth due to the presence of an anomaly in the form of a sacrificial jack assembly. A heat loss was identified at this location as a result of this assembly behaving as a heat sink. Moreover, the thermal data revealed that there is no cage eccentricity and no loss of any concrete cover in the tested shaft. This study provides indispensable information to Geotechnologists about the concrete integrity and quality of the shaft soon after the concreting for further decisionmaking.