We have developed an innovative new pile design that reduces noise from impact pile driving by > 20 dB. Depending on the specifics of your project, this may be below injury and harassment thresholds for sensitive fish and wildlife. Our new pile design promises significant environmental and economic benefits for marine construction projects across the globe.
Reinhall Piles™ were designed to be handled and driven using industry standard techniques and equipment. The outer pile dimensions of Reinhall Piles™ do not differ from standard piles. Though somewhat heavier than standard piles, Reinhall Piles™ are lighter than concrete piles and are not challenging to handle or deploy. In fact, the inner pipe properties can be designed to optimize drivability.
Most importantly, use of Reinhall Piles™ eliminates the need to use burdensome, time-consuming, and marginally effective bubble curtains, reducing prep and drive time by 30-45 minutes per pile.
Reinhall Piles™ provide significant reductions in PEAK, RMS, and SEL noise measurements. Depending on project characteristics, noise levels may be below injury and/or harassment thresholds for sensitive fish and wildlife. A host of benefits result from noise mitigation at these levels:
The elimination of burdensome and time-consuming bubble curtains means contractors can drive more piles each day. Smaller zones of harassment and harm also mean fewer potential work interruptions. These benefits along with streamlined permitting already provide the potential for faster project completion.
But there is one more benefit: Regulators often cap the number of strikes in order to reduce cumulative impact to sensitive wildlife. With less pile driving noise, contractors can produce more strikes before reaching that cap. More strikes per day means more piles driven, leading to greater efficiency within the in-water work window and faster overall project completion.
Recorded from hydrophone deployed at 10m during subscale testing of 8" steel piles in Seattle, Washington in 2013.
You are hearing 4 strikes of a standard pile followed by 4 strikes of a Reinhall Pile™. Notice the difference.