Effects of Stinger on Precast Concrete Pile Driving for the Port of Long Beach Fireboat Station No. 15 Boat Bay Structure

A commonly used composite pile is a precast, prestressed concrete pile with an H-pile stinger, which consists of a lower section of steel H-pile embedded in an upper pile section of precast, prestressed concrete. During the construction of Fireboat Station No. 15 Project at the Port of Long Beach (POLB), driven concrete-steel composite piles were used to penetrate surficial obstructions at the toe of an existing rock dike, and concrete piles were used at the area further away from the dike. Driving behavior and performance of those two pile types were observed and compared at locations, where similar subsurface conditions presented. Dynamic pile tests, using Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA), were performed to evaluate soil resistance, pile driving stresses, and hammer performance. Case Pile Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP) analysis was performed to evaluate pile capacity and soil resistance distributions. Matching wave equation results to field observations and PDA measurements were performed with the specific parameters of the hammer, driving system, soil model, and pile types using Refined Wave Equation (GRLWEAP) Analysis. Based on the matching data, the pile driving behaviors for the two different toe conditions were simulated and compared with the field observation. This paper demonstrates the site conditions, construction methods, load test results, driving performance, and comparison with or without steel H-pile stingers in design and construction perspectives. It demonstrates that using H-pile stingers at the lower section of a precast concrete pile helps increase pile driving efficiency, reduce pile stresses during driving, maintains similar ultimate capacity, and results in cost savings.