Thermal Integrity Profiler wins 2013 C. William Bermingham Award for Innovation

PHOENIX – The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) has announced the Thermal Integrity Profiler (TIP) as the winner of the 2013 C. William Bermingham Award for Innovation. The award was created in 2012 to recognize the innovative spirit of Bill Bermingham, DFI past president. It encourages and recognizes innovative contributions to deep foundation technology.

The innovative aspect of the TIP consists of the utilization of the heat generated by curing cement to evaluate the integrity of cast in place concrete foundations such as drilled shafts, bored piles, augered cast-in-place, continuous flight auger piles and drilled displacement piles. The technology may also be used to evaluate the shape of jet grouting columns and diaphragm or slurry walls, or other concrete structures. Regions that are colder than expected are indicative of necks or inclusions; regions that are warmer than usual indicate bulges. It is also possible to identify misalignments of the shaft reinforcing cage and estimate the concrete cover along the entire length of the shaft.

Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) initially developed the thermal integrity profiling technology. A joint effort undertaken by Foundation & Geotechnical Engineering, LLC (FGE) and Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI) incorporated that technology into the TIP.

Dr. Gray Mullins, from USF and FGE, will give a presentation during the Awards Banquet of DFI’s Annual Conference, taking place September 25-28 in Phoenix, AZ, and accept the award on behalf of the engineers of FGE and PDI who contributed to the development of the product.