This article describes an innovative type of mechanical splicer for extending the length of precast, prestressed concrete piles. The splicer was developed, tested, and manufactured in Israel. Recently, it has been used successfully to obtain 45 m (147 ft) long piles for the foundations of highway and railway bridges constructed at the Ayalon Project in the city of Tel Aviv. Details of the new splicing method are given, which are used for the fabrication of 500 mm (20 in.) octagonal precast, prestressed concrete piles. Experimental tests have demonstrated the excellent behavior of the splicer when subjected to tensile tests, and that the tensile failure occurred in the anchoring rods away from the pile heads. The splicer can be easily modified and applied to splicing square piles of various sizes.
