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About Us A brief history of PDI and GRL
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High strain dynamic test in the mid 1960s
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In 1964, a research project to develop new technologies of pile testing began at Case
Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. The Ohio Department of Transportation funded the
initial effort. The successful research resulted in an electronic device that would display, for each hammer blow, the bearing capacity of a pile
based on fundamental stress wave theory. Dynamic Load Testing or High Strain Dynamic Testing according to the Case Method, as the
methodology is now called, was seen as a viable supplement or alternative to conventional Static Load Tests.
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Frank Rausche testing a foundation with an early PDA.
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In 1972, the Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers published a
seminal paper by Frank Rausche: "Soil Predictions from Pile Dynamics".
Also in 1972, Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI) was created to transfer the new technology tools required to perform dynamic pile testing to the
deep foundations industry. This technology consisted of the Pile Driving Analyzer®, and its associated signal matching software today known
as CAPWAP® (based on Frank Rausche’s PhD dissertation).
In 1976, the researchers founded a consulting company, now called GRL Engineers, Inc. GRL’s mission has been to
provide dynamic pile testing services based on the Case Method for the deep foundation industry. Since 1976 the development, management and
operation of GRL and PDI has been under the guidance of researchers Dr. Frank Rausche and Garland Likins.
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Applied research continued to interest PDI and GRL. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the firms
developed a software program to predict the performance of piles during driving and in 1976 issued the final research report on Wave Equation
Analysis of Pile Driving – WEAP Program. That program formed the basis of the GRLWEAP program, which contributed significantly to the worldwide
spread of the Wave Equation approach to capacity prediction and to the use of dynamic pile testing methods.
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Garland Likins analyzing foundation testing data.
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Dynamic Foundation Testing
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To this day both PDI and GRL remain committed to advancing the art of testing and quality assurance for deep foundations through
research and innovation. Pile Dynamics, Inc continues to focus on the manufacture and improvement of foundation monitoring and testing equipment.
It has considerably grown and expanded its product line to include state-of-the-art products for testing all types of deep foundations, and has
introduced intuitive touch-screen, remote data acquisition, and wireless data transmission technologies to the deep foundations community
(Read more in About PDI). GRL Engineers, Inc., now with branch offices throughout the US, continues to provide
testing and consulting services to the foundation industry. (Read more in About GRL). The two sister companies
maintain their separate identities, missions, and commitment to serving their client base, while taking advantage of the synergies that exist
between them. Garland Likins and Frank Rausche remain at the helm of both companies.
Both companies maintain their corporate headquarters in Cleveland Ohio, USA.
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