Evaluating Quality of Piles Constructed in Indonesia Through Five Year of Crosshole Sonic Logging Data

Abstract

Deep foundation is one of the structural components where ensuring pile integrity is essential to achieve the required strength. Unlike columns, beams, or other structures that can be visually inspected, pile foundations require specialized tools to assess their integrity. One of the tests that can be utilized is the Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL) test, a method that relies on wave propagation to evaluate the integrity of cast-in-place bored piles. The purpose of this paper is to analyze CSL dataset of piles constructed in Indonesia, identifying patterns and trends within large datasets. This study aims to demonstrate how database analysis can be used to evaluate the distribution of foundation quality in Indonesia and observe trends in foundation construction practices. The study is based on a CSL test dataset collected over a 5-year period (2020–2024) and includes data from 1,672 bored piles located in various regions across Indonesia, covering diverse soil conditions and construction methods. The study indicates that (1) About 30% of tested piles fall into Class B & C (piles with defects) (2) Nearly 70% of the anomalies are located at the bottom of the pile (3) Piles with a diameter greater than 1.6 m or a length greater than 75 m exhibit defects in more than 50% of cases (4) Most anomalies occur on Java Island, where 70% of the total piles are located, accounting for 82% of all piles with defects.