The Loren Group has been the sole fabricator of Tapered Friction Piles (TFPs) for over two decades and is presently the leader in the nation, and arguably in the world of steel friction pilings. We are fully dedicated to exceeding the expectations of our customers and have recently restructured and expanded our business to include a sales and marketing team in addition to an engineering and education team.
The Knowledge of Our Team
The Loren Group carries a variety of diameters, gauges, and rates of taper that enable the designer to select a Tapered Friction Pile suitable for a wide variety of substrate conditions. Our team of veteran engineers knows that for fully-embedded foundation piles, the most commonly used diameters are 12-18 inches with design loads up to 200 tons and these are contingent on soil capacity. The larger diameters are well adapted for such applications as exposed bridge bents and marine piers. Gauge requirements of adjoining sections can be varied as necessary to meet design considerations, soil conditions, or hammer-pile energy relationships. The Loren Group brings a wealth of knowledge and versatility to the forefront of everything that we do.
We offer a unique combination of design, construction features, and site preparation. The configuration or the pile in the bearing strata and its interaction with the soil are of prime importance. We use simple and economical installation techniques and conventional equipment. Because piles are driven directly into the ground, no pre-drilling or dirt removal is necessary. This is especially helpful on job sites that have space issues.
Our tapered Friction Pile sizes can be configured to most effectively meet capacity requirements and soil conditions. We use a proven allowable pile loads formula, as determined by Engineering News Formula, to calculate hammer energy by blows per foot of penetration.
Case Studies
Case Studies have been conducted and several dynamic pile driving formulas have been developed as an aid in determining pile capacity. Such formulas serve a useful purpose, particularly on small projects, or where previous experience and static testing in a given area have confirmed their reliability. The modified Engineering News Formula, which takes into account the relationship between the relative weights of the pile and hammer, is commonly used. This formula has proven to be most reliable when uniformly tapered piles are embedded in a cohesionless bearing stratum. *The Loren Group does not endorse the use of any formula*
Foundation Engineers recognize the varying results with any formula, or static analysis approach, in the determination of pile capacity and/or length. The reliability of soil information, its variability within the site, the selection of appropriate soil values, pile shape, hammer efficiency, and the effect of pile driving forces on in situ soil conditions are among the variables which influence pile performance and require sound engineering judgment. On large projects involving high capacity piles, pre-design or pre-bid programs incorporating static load tests, or dynamic methods coordinated with static tests can provide rational driving criteria resulting in substantial cost savings.
Our commitment
The Loren Group brings years of engineering expertise to our customers through technical advice and assistance. Recommendations are available for the appropriate use of TFPs on your project after a review of soil borings. Assistance in wave equation input and static analyses is available to obtain more realistic estimated pile lengths and/or capacities with our uniform taper and deep foundation pilings.
