This week workers have been putting in sheet piling that separates the One Place site from the Astoria Tower site. They just stand the sheet piling in place and then use some sort of machine that vibrates it quickly into the ground. I'm very curious about how this machine works and what it's called.

Isn't it called a vibrating pile driver? Sounds obvious, but I'm pretty sure that's what it's actually called. Anyone know with 100% certainty?
Vibrating pile driver. Sound familiar Mr. Downtown?

"The solution is to grab hold of the pile head with a hydraulic clamp on the end of an excavator boom. This means you can horse the pile head around until it is exactly where you want it. You then need a vibrating pile driver between the boom head and the hydraulic clamp to provide linear vibrations which, in conjunction with the excavators crowd force will stuff the pile into almost any ground conditions. This is precisely what the vibrating pile driver does."


http://www.hammersteel.com/dawson/em_vibrator.html

In European English, at least, it's called a "vibratory pile driver."

http://www.arcelor.com/sheetpiling/index.cfm?fuseaction=Products.Installation

The above website suggests that the vibrations alone will temporarily liquefy the soil around the piling, meaning that virtually no force other than the weight of the vibrating head is required. That's certainly what I observed at the One Place site. I wondered if the machine was somehow tuned to the natural or resonant frequency suggested by the length of the pile, but apparently not.

I guess you don't have a wicked sense of wit. But you edited your post before I could so at least you're quick witted.

I wondered if the machine was somehow tuned to the natural or resonant frequency suggested by the length of the pile, but apparently not.
I apologize. Too much eggnog tonight. That's a deadly come-back. Kudos.

I created a new thread on the main page for the 2nd Ward race (Haithcock). Anyone interesred in the future of the South Loop should be interested in this contest.
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=11020702#post11020702