Drilled Piling

Rotary percussive drilling is well-suited for foundation installation in difficult ground conditions, including soils with cobbles, boulders, and rock layers, and is capable of creating deep rock sockets.

Van Elle offers a wide range of rotary percussive drilling techniques designed to install piles in some of the most challenging ground conditions.

Various casing advancement systems provide optimal solutions for situations where there is challenging overlying stratum (such as boulders or hard rock) that the pile needs to be installed through. A selection of down-the-hole hammer systems are capable of forming deep rock sockets for heavy loadings.

Drilled Piling Capabilities 

Van Elle offers a range of drilled piling methods including:

  • Rotary percussive Drilling – up to 900mm diameter
  • Odex Rotary Percussive – up to 610mm diameter
  • Duplex Rotary Percussive – up to 610mm diameter
  • Elemex DTH permanent ring bit system – up to 660mm diameter
  • Superjaws ND – up to 610mm diameter

Key Rig Capabilities 

  • Rig loadings: 1–40 tonnes
  • Pile diameters vary depending on drilling technique- 178mm – 900mm

What are the advantages of Drilled Piling?

  • Larger diameter piles can be installed in restricted access and low headroom conditions
  • Fast and accurate pile installation in challenging ground
  • Ability to drill through unreinforced concrete obstructions
  • Wide range of pile diameters to suit varying structural loads
  • Piles can support compressive, uplift/tension, and lateral loads

Common Uses

  • Structural foundations for heavy loads within restricted access conditions
  • Installing piles through sand, gravels, boulders and rock
  • Ideal for forming rock sockets to support heavy loads

Rotary percussive drilled piles are installed using rotary percussive hammers and drill bits to reach a design depth in challenging ground conditions or restricted access sites. Casing advancement systems allow the simultaneous installation of casing, as the pile bore is advanced, where required by the ground conditions. Compressed air or water is used as both a circulation and a flushing medium to bring cuttings from the hammer face to the surface.

Where piles are to be founded in bedrock, these systems allow the construction of deep rock sockets. Once the sockets are formed, reinforcement is placed, and they are filled with concrete or grout to complete the pile.