Abstract
This technical report describes the data collected during pile driving efforts at the Cape Disappointment boat launch facility near Ilwaco, Washington during the month of December 2005. One 12-inch diameter standard steel pile and four 12-inch piles with 1.5-foot wide interlocking steel ‘wings’ on two sides were monitored at different water depths at the Cape Disappointment boat launch facility.
Piles were driven using different pile cap materials and monitored to look for differences (in sound pressure?). The pile cap materials tested were wood (plywood), Conbest, Micarta, and Nylon. Piles were driven with an air hammer. Table 1 summarizes the results for each pile monitored. The bubble curtain was tested with the bubbles off and then on during the pile driving events.
Micarta achieved the best sound level reductions, with the exception of wood, while retaining hammer efficiencies and minimizing safety hazards.
Ambient sound levels averaged approximately 148 dBpeak to 155 dBpeak with construction equipment. The maximum sound reduction achieved using a pile cap was 27 dB with the wood pile cap. The maximum sound reduction achieved with the bubble curtain was 17 dB.