High pile stresses occur during pile driving operations. A pile drivability analysis is typically used to determine the nominal geotechnical resistance a pile can be driven to without pile structural damage.

The Hammer Equation found in Item 404 is used to determine acceptance criteria (for final embedment and length). Where piles are driven to higher resistances or where high pile driving stress is a concern (i.e., short, end bearing piles), the wave equation analysis (through GRLWEAP) should be used for drivability and final driving acceptance. In cases where high pile driving stress is predicted and require monitoring, consider using pile driving analyzer (PDA) with wave analysis (through program such as CAPWAP).