Helical Pile Development
The technology of applying
helical piles in foundation structures date back to the 1800s. Lighthouses and
piers in harbors were the most common application ground for pile foundations.
They were extensively used between the 1850s through the 1890s on the east
coast of the United States in the development of lighthouses. More than 100
lighthouses were erected using helical piles in that era alone. The term
screw-pile lighthouse was then born based on the helical piles that were
screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms to support these lighthouses.
Alexander Mitchell
Although helical piles were known
to be used before the 1830s, Alexander Mitchell was the first engineer to
describe the application methodology of the system in his journal titled Civil Engineers and Architects Journal
in 1848. Alexander Mitchell was a prominent Irish engineer who from 1802 was
blind. He was credited the inventor of the screw-pile lighthouse which gave him
prominence in the helical pile industry. He went on to apply the technology in
various different fields which included the erection of structures on mud-banks
and shifting sands and further employed his success all over the world from
Portland breakwater to Bombay bridges. He was a native of Dublin, and received
his formal education at Belfast Academy. He was born on the 13th of
April 1780 and died on the 25th of June 1868.
