Piling Industry Canada 2019 by DEL Communications Inc.

www.pilingindustrycanada.com

Issue 1 • 2019

A New Step in Toronto’s System PilingSubway Industry Canada

PIC Nucor Skyline’s HZ-M king pile wall a cost-effective solution at Port of Trois-Rivières

magazine

www.pilingindustrycanada.com Soilmec celebrates

50 years Sheet pile walls gives new life to Cape Croker Park

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In this issue PILING INDUSTRY NEWS ECA Canada taps Ray Kemppainen for Vice President 6

PIC

Piling Industry Institute Canada elects Deep Foundations Daniel MacLean as new trustee 8 John Bockstael elected Canadian Construction Association’s chair 10

magazine

ECA promotes Sciortino to northeast regional sales manager 10

A new step in Toronto’s subway system 12 Nucor Skyline’s HZ-M king pile wall a cost-effective solution at Port of Trois-Rivières 20 Soilmec celebrates 50 years 22

Equipment Profile

In the heart of the gravel pit 24

Sheet pile walls gives new life to Cape Croker Park wharf rehab project 25 Empirical assessment of base material for a drilled pipe pile 26 Budget 2019: Short on restoring investor confidence, strong on workforce development 32 Equipment Profile Family-run company is pleased with new Liebherr duty cycle crawler crane 34

Index to advertisers American Piledriving Equipment....................................11 Arntzen Corporation...................................................................8 Canadian Piledriving Equipment Inc..... OFC, 4 & 33 Equipment Corporation Of America................18 & 19 Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc....................................6 Hercules Machinery Corporation.......................................9 Interpipe Inc..................................................................................23 Keller Foundations, LLC........................................................ IFC

Liebherr -Werk Nenzing GmbH.....................................IBC Loadtest............................................................................................21 Nucor Skyline.......................................................................7 & 17 Platinum Grover International Inc.....................................5 Samuel Roll Form Group..........................................................3 Soilmec North America....................................................OBC Waterloo Barrier...........................................................................31

Published by DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3L 0G5 President & CEO: David Langstaff Managing Editor: Lyndon McLean lyndon@delcommunications.com Sales Manager: Dayna Oulion dayna@delcommunications.com Advertising Account Executives: Jennifer Hebert, Michelle Raike Production services provided by: S.G. Bennett Marketing Services www.sgbennett.com Art Director: Kathy Cable Layout: Dana Jensen Advertising Art: Dave Bamburak © Copyright 2019. DEL Communications Inc. All rights reserved.The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein and the reliability of the source, the publisherin no way guarantees nor warrants the information and is not responsible for errors, omissions or statements made by advertisers. Opinions and recommendations made by contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher, its directors, officers or employees. Publications mail agreement #40934510 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L 0G5 Email: david@delcommunications.com Printed in Canada – 06/2019

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Piling Industry News

ECA Canada taps Ray Kemppainen for Vice President Ray Kemppainen has been promoted to Vice President at ECA Canada Company, a leading distributor of specialty foundation equipment in Eastern Canada. He had previously served as Branch Manager since September 2009. Kemppainen’s history predates ECA Canada, which was formed on December 31, 1999 when Equipment Corporation of America acquired Specialty Construction Machines. Ray found work as an apprentice mechanic at SCM in August 1990. He was promoted to Service and Parts Manager after demonstrating competency working on diesel pile hammers, vibratory hammers, and compaction equipment. ECA Canada diversified SCM’s product line to include large and small diameter drilling equipment. Kemppainen returned and took on the role of Drilling Product Support Manager after a brief departure from ECA

Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc.

As Canada’s largest Marine Construction, Land Foundations and Dredging contractor, FRPD is a recognized leader that employs state of the art methods and equipment. FRPD’s versatile fleet is ready to complete all scope and size Marine Construction, Environmental Remediation, Dredging and Land Foundation projects. Established in 1911 as Fraser River Pile Driving Company and incorporated in 2008 as Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc., FRPD’s team of highly skilled professionals brings more than 100 years of experience and commitment to exceeding expectations. 1830 River Drive, New Westminster, B.C. V3M 2A8 Phone: 604-522-7971 (24/7) www.frpd.com info@frpd.com

6 PIC Magazine • June 2019

Canada from 2007 to 2009. He was promoted to Branch Manager for ECA Canada in September 2009. “Ray has been an asset to ECA Canada, and this promotion will position him to provide even greater value to our Canadian customers,” said Jeff Harmston, ECA’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We have the utmost confidence that he will strengthen and expand our foundation in this critical market.” Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Kemppainen completed the Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanic course from 1989 to 1990 at Centennial College. Outside of work, his interests include travel, drag racing, photography, and motorcycles. ECA has been a leading supplier of foundation construction equipment in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada for more than a century. We are the exclusive distributor for BAUER Drills, KLEMM Anchor and Micropile Drills, RTG Piling Rigs, BAUER MAT Slurry Handling Systems, Pileco Diesel Pile Hammers, HPSI Vibratory Pile Hammers, WORD International Drill Attachments, Dawson Construction Products, Grizzly Side Grip Vibros, ALLU Ground Improvement Equipment, Pile Master Air Hammers, and DIGGA Dangle Drills. ECA offers sales, rentals, service, and parts from nine facilities throughout the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canadian provinces. Visit ecanet.com for the latest information on our ever-improving specialty foundation equipment solutions. l

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Piling Industry News

Deep Foundations Institute elects Daniel MacLean as new trustee Keller Foundations Ltd., Canada’s leader in geotechnical solutions, recently announced the election of Business Development Manager Daniel R. MacLean, P. Eng. as a new Deep Foundations Institute’s (DFI) Trustee. DFI is an international association of contractors, engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, academics, and owners in the deep foundations industry. The multi-disciplinary membership creates a consensus voice and common vision for continual improvement in the planning, design, and construction of deep foundations and excavations. DFI has over 3,000 members worldwide. MacLean has more than 17 years of deep foundations experience primarily focused around micropiles and anchors. Following graduation from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario in 2000 with a mining engineering degree, he joined Geo-Foundations and moved to ConTech Systems Ltd., rising to President in 2014. In 2016, he joined Keller Foundations Ltd. in Canada as Business Development Manager. MacLean has long been active in the industry’s professional associations. He has been a member of DFI for almost 15 years and served a two-year term as co-chair of the DFI/ADSC Micropile Committee. He is also very involved in the International Society for Micropiles (ISM), where he has served as Technical Chairman for

the past two ISM Workshops in Krakow, Poland, and Vancouver, Canada. In April 2017, he was appointed ISM Chairman. In addition to his involvement with DFI and ISM, MacLean is active in the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC) and served as Research Chairman and National Board Member from 2012 to 2017. In both 2010 and 2013, he was the recipient of the ADSC President’s Award for his efforts within the association. MacLean is also a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS), the Canadian Dam Association (CDA), and the Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) where he was a member of the committee for the most recent edition of the Recommendations for Pre-stressed Rock and Soil Anchors. MacLean works in the Acton, Ontario office of Keller (Canada). He can be reached at 519-853-3216 or DMaclean@ kellerfoundations.ca.

Keller Foundations Ltd. is pleased to announce the election of Business Development Manager Daniel MacLean as a new Deep Foundations Institute’s (DFI) Trustee.

About Keller Foundations Ltd. Keller Foundations (kellerfoundations. ca), is Canada’s leader in geotechnical solutions. With local offices across Canada, each with direct access to the largest geotechnical knowledge base in the industry, Keller has the experience, innovation, and capability to cover all of Canada’s geotechnical construction needs. Solutions include foundation support, settle-

ment control, ground improvement, slope stabilization, underpinning, excavation shoring, earth retention, seismic/liquefaction mitigation, groundwater control, and environmental remediation. Keller Foundations Ltd. is part of the connected companies of Keller (keller. com), the world leader in geotechnical solutions. l

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Piling Industry News

John Bockstael elected Canadian Construction Association’s chair The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) recently appointed John Bockstael as 2019 chair of its board of directors at its annual general meeting in March. John takes over the position from Zey Emir, president of Revay and Associates Limited. Bockstael is president and chief executive officer of Bockstael Construction Limited, a fourth-generation company and one of Manitoba’s largest regional general contractors. He is a professional engineer, Gold Seal Certified, and holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Joining the CCA board in 2005, Bockstael has chaired the CCA General Contractors Council and Standard Practices Committee, joining the executive in 2010. He has also served 14 years on the board of the Winnipeg Construction Association, including two as president, and is the outgoing chair of Canadian Construction Innovations. In his address to the annual general meeting, Bockstael outlined his four priority areas as workforce attraction and retention, inno-

vation, governance renewal, and community engagement, as well as uniting and collaborating to proactively champion issues that matter. “Not only do we need to educate and inform our members about the benefits of innovation and technology,” he said, “we also need to help the industry re-train the workforce, attract and retain tech-savvy workers, and understand how things like building information modelling, pre-fabrication, and software applications may affect our businesses.”

About CCA The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is the national voice for the construction industry in Canada representing over 20,000 member firms in an integrated structure of some 63 local and provincial construction associations. Construction employs close to 1.5 million people and generates about $140 billion to the economy annually. cca-acc.com. l

ECA promotes Sciortino to Northeast Regional Sales Manager Equipment Corporation of America (ECA) recently promoted Anthony Sciortino to Northeast Regional Sales Manager. He will manage all the firm’s product lines in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Sciortino came to ECA in 2015 when the company acquired New England Construction Products, where he’d been serving as a mechanic and sales representative. Sciortino was named Sales Engineer in March 2015 and held that position up until recently. “Anthony is well-rounded with deep roots and in-depth knowledge of the New England market,” said Jeff Harmston, ECA’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We’re looking forward to giving him greater responsibility to develop this region.” Sciortino earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management at the University of Massachusetts. Although he enjoys golfing 10 PIC Magazine • June 2019

in summer and snowboarding in the Winter, most of his free time is spent with family. ECA has been a leading supplier of foundation construction equipment in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada for more than a century. We are the exclusive distributor for BAUER Drills, KLEMM Anchor and Micropile Drills, RTG Piling Rigs, BAUER MAT Slurry Handling Systems, Pileco Diesel Pile Hammers, HPSI Vibratory Pile Hammers, WORD International Drill Attachments, Dawson Construction Products, ALLU Ground Improvement Equipment, Pile Master Air Hammers, and DIGGA Dangle Drills. ECA offers sales, rentals, service, and parts from nine facilities throughout the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canadian Provinces. Visit ecanet. com for the latest information on our everimproving specialty foundation equipment solutions. l

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Eglinton Crosstown A new step in Toronto’s subway system By Franz-Werner Gerressen, BAUER Maschinen, and Lars Richter, Aecon Group, Canada

This article was originally published in DFI’s bi-monthly magazine, Deep Foundations, November/December 2018 issue. DFI is an international technical association of firms and individuals involved in the deep foundations and related industry. Deep Foundations is a member publication. To join DFI and receive the magazine, go to www.dfi.org for further information. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT (light rail transit) Line project, the cornerstone of the overall C$8.4 billion investment, was announced in 2007 as part of the Transit City plan, which included the development and implementation of six other light rail lines across Toronto. The Eglinton Crosstown project is a 19 kilometres (11.8 miles) long LRT line that will bring much-needed relief to the transit woes of the residents of Toronto. The impact of this highly anticipated project on commuters in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is expected to be dramatic and immediate once the first train leaves the station in 2021 (anticipated). In fact, Metrolinx is estimating that, within its first 10 years of service, the Crosstown line will be carrying 5,500 passengers per hour (peak times) and making 100 million passenger trips annually. As with many of today’s mega public transportation projects, the Crosstown LRT 12 PIC Magazine • June 2019

follows the Public-Private-Partnership (P3) model. Aecon is an equal partner in the C$5.3 billion Crosslinx Transit Solutions (Crosslinx) consortium (along with partners ACS Infrastructure Canada, Ellis Don, and SNC-Lavalin). Upon the Crosstown LRT's completion, Metrolinx, the region’s transit authority and project client/owner, will turn to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to operate the line. As one of the largest transit projects currently underway in North America, the Crosstown LRT involves a combination of 15 underground stations and 10 at-grade surface stops. Traversing the city in an east-west direction across the midtown artery of Eglinton Avenue, the line will run underground for more than 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), from Keele Street to Laird Avenue, then will continue for more than eight kilometres (five miles) on the surface to Kennedy Station.

Because of its enormous size, the overall construction project was divided into five different segments, with each segment valued between C$600 million and C$1.1 billion. Essentially, each segment operated as its own entity. Aecon Foundations was awarded four stations of Segment No. 2: Dufferin/ Fairbanks, Bathurst/Forest Hill, Chaplin, and Mt. Pleasant. For the underground stations, a considerable amount of specialty foundation works was needed, including secant pile walls, soldier piles and wooden lagging, ground anchors, utility support structures, micropiles for underpinning, working platforms, guidewalls, and struts/ steel bracing. The general scope and time constraints resulted in the following work being performed: • Total of 2,157 piles installed • 48,519 linear metres or Lm (159,183 linear feet or LF) of drilling • 2,760 Lm (9,055 LF) of wall installed • Pile lengths ranging from 10 to 42 metres (33 to 138 feet) • Up to eight drilling rigs operating at the same time • Up to six tie-back machines operating at the same time

Design Management and Project Concerns Because of the numerous stakeholders involved, design management was one of the most challenging parts for this project. Aecon Foundations subcontracted the needed design work to Pedelta Engineering. The utilities required a significant amount of attention and coordination, as it was not intended to relocate them per the design concept. Another challenge was working around and not causing disturbance to the tunnels already installed under a separate contract prior to the installation of the shoring work for the new segments. The available right of way didn’t allow enlarging the station. In sev-

eral areas, the piles for the shoring wall were as close as 12 centimetres (five inches) from the existing tunnel segments. The project requirement for the drilling of the secant piles around and adjacent to the existing tunnel segments was a verticality tolerance of less than 0.5 per cent. The level of accuracy could be achieved using the support provided by the equipment suppliers and the Jean Lutz system. During drilling, the verticality was measured at three different levels, at the minimum. If the required tolerance was achieved at a depth of 15 metres (49 feet), only then could drilling be continued.

Figure 1: Station layout Eglinton Crosstown project

Sequence of Work/ Staging Forest Hill Station The general layout of each station is very similar. With an entrance/egress near each end, the station box itself is around 120 metres (394 feet) long to accommodate four wagon trains. At the Forest Hill station, the arrangement of the station box is a little different â&#x2C6;&#x2019; both entrances/egresses are on one side of the box. The existing grade was about four per cent in this area, which required the contractor to stage traffic and utility work in addition to creating a safe condition for the drilling rigs on this steep slope. Along both sides of the 120-metre-long (394-foot) box, the contractor established essentially five different elevations for the construction work. In the very narrow areas, there was no space for a service crane. Therefore, the BG 39 rig needed to drill the holes, offload rebar cages from the trucks, support the cages during splicing and lowering into the hole, and support the tremie pipes during concrete placement. The length of the secant piles along the box alignment (long direction) ranged from 35 to 40 metres (115 to 131 feet). Due to the project constraints and circumstances, the production rate was slow, with only one pile being completed per workday.

Sequencing The client had to pay considerable rent for the use of the roads and for diverting traffic. For the four stations of Segment No. 2, the goal was to develop a workable solution to reduce the disruption of traffic along Eglington Avenue to a minimum. Therefore,

Figure 1b: Working in tight spaces

the top-down construction method seemed

outside walls for these stations. Ultimately,

to be the best approach. Unfortunately, we

a hybrid solution was developed and ap-

couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t convince the authorities to allow the

proved, which classified the secant pile walls

use of a true top-down approach where the

a temporary structure but the structural piles

secant pile walls would form the permanent

within the secant pile wall to serve a permaPiling Industry Canada â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019 13

nent function of carrying the roof slab of the station box. There were six essential sequencing steps for execution of this hybrid solution: 1) Install the secant pile walls and king piles with plunged H-beams. The H-beams were installed in the filler piles at a center-tocenter spacing of 2.2 to three metres (7.2 to 9.8 feet). Rebar cages for the structural piles were installed to a depth of seven metres (23 feet) below the ground level. 2) Perform the shallow excavation required to install the walers and struts. Install the necessary supports for hanging the utilities onto the steel structure. 3) Excavate to a depth of six metres (19.7 feet) below the ground level for the construction of the roof slab. 4) Construct and install the concrete roof slab (permanent structure). The roof slab is in its middle a three-metre-high (9.8foot) concrete beam. 5) Backfill on top of the roof slab and reinstall the road surface. 6) Shift traffic to allow the construction of other portions of the box structure following Steps 1 through 5. If the wall was already installed, the construction of the next section began at Step 2.

Secant Pile Wall Installation For the specialty foundation scope of work for the construction of the station boxes, the secant pile wall installation was the main focus. A secant pile wall may be defined as a series of vertical piles that are constructed in such a configuration that they intersect one another. The piles are constructed at centre-to-centre spacings that are smaller than the sum of the radii of the two adjacent piles. In this configuration, adjacent piles intersect and, therefore, interlock. This technique is applied to form reinforced concrete earth retaining structures in many different subsoil conditions to replace the more conventional sheetpile walls or diaphragm walls. Secant pile walls have a number of advantages, which became relevant for this particular project, including: • They can be constructed effectively in all soils. Their use becomes particularly attractive when soils are difficult to drill and where boreholes are difficult to support. 14 PIC Magazine • June 2019

Figure 1c: Typical plot of verification of drilling verticality

For example, in loose or poor-quality fills or where soils contain obstructions, such as boulders, or where the formations are very hard. • They are constructed by excavating alternate, primary piles first. These piles are allowed to gain strength before the intersecting secondary piles are drilled. This method of operating together with the use of temporary casing to support the boreholes significantly reduces the deformation of soils surrounding the wall, thereby reducing settlements and their adverse effects on nearby structures and services. • They can be constructed in built-up areas and on confined sites where retaining walls need to be constructed close

to adjacent structures. Construction is possible because of the use of a mechanically supported borehole to chisel or to drill through an obstruction with minimum risk of damage or disturbance to the structure nearby. Conversely, with sheetpiling or diaphragm walling, these conditions can present a much more difficult problem particularly where there is a risk of loss of drilling mud, a serious event inherent with the diaphragm wall method. • They are load-bearing structures and can be incorporated to form an integral part of the main structure. • They offer flexibility in the choice of pile diameter and with different combina-

tions of hard and soft piles to produce a wall apt for the purpose for which it was designed. • They can be constructed using rigid casings, which makes it easy to produce wellaligned columns. Mechanical borehole support allows the use of the most suitable drilling methods excavate the specific formations at the site. When constructing secant piles, three important criteria must be satisfied to guarantee the designed amount of intersection throughout the piles’ length: (1) alignment, (2) location and (3) verticality. To satisfy these criteria, it is good practice to build proper guidewalls along the alignment of the secant pile wall before commencing any pile excavation. The guidewalls serve four main purposes: 1. Guarantee the correct location of every pile, particularly the secondary intersecting piles, and thereby ensure the required amount of interlock. 2. Facilitate correct positioning of the drill rig, particularly the alignment and verticality of the mast. 3. Support the reinforcing cage or steel section and assist in its correct vertical location. 4. Provide support for the casing oscillator or extractor when used to extract the casing. A series of primary piles are constructed first using any of the conventional drilling methods, such as the Kelly bar driven auger or bucket. The allowable tolerance for the inclination or verticality of the casing is defined in the specifications. After the installation of the first section of casing, drilling with an auger or bucket is performed until the excavation inside the casing reaches 500 millimetres (1.6 feet) above the tip of the casing. Then, the excavation is stopped while the casing is advanced further. Whenever advancing the casing with the rotary drive alone becomes difficult, a casing oscillator may be used. Once the borehole has been drilled and properly cleaned out, reinforcement, if required by the design, is inserted and properly located. The borehole is then concreted using the accepted practice for cast-in-situ bored piles, preferably using the tremie method. Immediately after concreting, the tempo-

Figure 5: Illustration of secant pile walls for this project

rary casing, when used, is extracted using the drilling equipment, a casing oscillator or casing extractors. Care must be taken during this operation, to ensure that withdrawal or oscillation of the casing commences before the concrete starts to set. This is particularly important in deep boreholes, those of large diameter or when there is a delay in pouring successive batches of concrete due to breakdown of machinery. Generally, special attention must be given in all those instances where there is a risk that the first concrete poured will start to set before the concreting operation is completed. The secondary piles are drilled in between two adjacent primaries such that the secondary pile intersects the two primary piles and cuts into their shafts. For this operation to be successful, timing becomes of critical importance as the strength gain of the concrete of the primary piles, which is to be cut to form the interlock, is related to time, temperature and mix design. Ideally, before drilling the secondary piles, the strength of the (primary pile) concrete should be high enough to prevent it from slumping or cracking but should be low enough to offer minimum resistance to the action of the cutting crown. Drilling secondary piles proceeds with care, with special attention paid to maintaining verticality to ensure the minimum designed amount of intersection is obtained throughout the length of the shaft, particularly at depth.

Equipment Strategy The project was not rated as a production job due to the required pile lengths and constraints for the supply of concrete. As such, only one completed pile per 10-hour shift was anticipated and budgeted. The contractor’s initial approach was to use machines that were relatively small and more agile in the very constricted work areas. The antici-

Figure 6: Guidewall – completed portion (near) and under construction

pated class of machines to be used for this job was in the range of 28 to 36 ton-metres (249 to 320 Kilo-newtons per metre or 183,653 to 236,020 foot-pounds) of torque. Once the design was close to being finished, it became clear that the anticipated size of machines could only do a part of the required work. The ground conditions and the design loads from the roof slab required increasing the diameter and depth of the structural piles 1.2 metres (four feet) and 44 metres (144 feet), respectively. Correspondingly, the equipment strategy was changed and required an increase in rig size in the range of 36 to 44 ton-meter (320 to 391 kN-m or 236,020 to 288,681 ft-lb) of torque to accommodate the new demands of the project. Later in the project, oscillators were used to extract the casing during the concreting process, which increased the speed of pile construction. Using the combination of drill rig and oscillator, one additional pile was installed every other day. In general, jobsite requirements create an increasing demand for the development Piling Industry Canada • June 2019 15

Figure 7: General secant pile wall construction sequencing

of technical support systems. For example, systems like the “drilling” assistant should enable a more constant and quality ensured installation of the piles. As part of quality control, real-time installation control of the production process, data transfer and reporting systems have become more and more important. On this project, the system enabled the user/equipment owner to efficiently operate, maintain and administer individual machines, and could be expanded and integrated to the owner’s entire fleet. The assistant helped to securely monitor and precisely evaluate the various work processes. The assistant was an integrated system for controlling all operations and visualizing actual operating parameters in real-time on a large interactive touch-screen monitor. In addition to basic operational data, general machine operating parameters (e.g., engine data) were also acquired and monitored. The display of the machine operating state and error message(s) was a valuable aid for targeted and effective fault finding by service personnel onsite, but also by specialists based in the office, as data could be transferred realtime via an internet connection. In general, this type of connectivity does not only allow the control of equipment and installation process including relevant reporting. In addition, the connectivity also allowed comparing “virtual reality” and “reality” — hence planned and actual execution — enabling the project manager to control not only the schedule but also the use of the budget. In Newest Developments in Quality Control and Soil Mixing for Actual and Future demands, Gerressen discussed the development of assistance systems (DFI-PFSF Con16 PIC Magazine • June 2019

ference, 2017). These systems relieve the operator by automating repetitive operations. These systems are designed to help prevent faulty operation of the machine and, therefore, protect both the operator and machine. Automatic, fast control processes increase the drilling performance and reduce wear of equipment and tooling. Assistance systems, therefore, ensure a consistently high production quality.

Conclusion It is always preferable to work with the client to develop the most effective solution for the project. Unfortunately, this is rarely possible. Time constraints, willingness to revisit the initial design, and reservation against different approaches often make it difficult

Figure 8: BG 39 and casing oscillator

to convince or, even, discuss with the client changes to the initial solutions. For this particular project, the client took a broader approach and factored in the follow-on works, schedule savings and resulting cost savings in addition to the reduced amount of construction impact for the effected community.

About the authors Franz-Werner Gerressen is the director of method development for BAUER Maschinen GmbH. He has more than 25 years of experience in the specialty foundation industry. Lars Richter is part of the leadership structure at Aecon Group for deep foundations. He has about 20 years of experience and specializes in large infrastructure projects across Europe and North America. l

Figure 9: B-Tronic Kelly-visualization on the in-cab display monitor

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Nucor Skyline’s HZ-M king pile wall a cost-effective solution at Port of Trois-Rivières

By Janet M. Himstead, Nucor Skyline The Port of Trois-Rivières is a large multi-

suit and built three more docks in 1825 and

modal facility that combines sea, rail, and

acquired several more in 1840. As these were

road. The port serves both domestic and in-

private facilities, the municipal adminis-

ternational markets from its location on the

tration determined that a public dock was

north bank of the St. Lawrence River, where

needed for the ferries connecting the city

it meets the St. Maurice River, about halfway

to the Village of Sainte-Angele de Laval, on

between Québec City and Montréal.

the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. It

The port handles approximately 55,000

was 1858, and this was the first public initia-

trucks, 11,000 freight cars, and 240 ships

tive for the port. Throughout the years, the

per year, which makes it one of the largest

port has gone through many changes and

ports in Québec and Eastern Canada. A wide

has been overseen by several different agen-

range of products flows through the port in-

cies, including the Council of National Ports,

cluding general cargo, dry, and liquid bulks.

a federal agency that manages many of the

In 1824, Mathew Bell, owner of the Forges

other large Canadian ports.

du Saint-Maurice, built the first dock and

In 1999, the Trois-Rivières Port Authority

warehouse, establishing the Port of Trois-

(TRPA), took over management of the port.

Rivières. Shortly thereafter, John Molson,

Recently, the TRPA has undertaken a large

a powerful ship owner of the day, followed

project to overhaul some of the outdated

20 PIC Magazine • June 2019

wharfs and facilities at the port. The extension of Pier 10 at the port is one of the major construction projects. This extension will replace the aging and obsolete Pier 9, which was built in the 1930s. The extension of Pier 10, with a berthing length of 133 metres, will increase the outdoor storage space at the pier from 3,000 square metres to 12,000 square metres. The Port of Trois-Rivières is an important economic development tool for several regions of Québec and supports many regional companies in the shipping of their products and in supplying raw materials. The improvements made during this rehabilitation project will enable the port to better support the development of the regions it serves. In order to accelerate the process, the port decided to tender the project seeking designbuild solutions. The multimillion-dollar contract was awarded to Hamel Construction of Québec City. Hamel Construction was established in 1970 and has grown and diversified over the years by forming different partnerships for complex and large-scale projects. Hamel Construction worked with Nucor Skyline to design the right solution for the pier. Due to soft soils on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the engineering department at Nucor Skyline suggested a king pile wall that would be anchored with tie rods to a buried sheet pile wall. The HZ-M king pile wall was the most cost-effective system for this pier extension. The design allowed water depths of 12 meters and a final retained height of 17 metres from the top of the wall to the riverbed. Marine applications often utilize combined wall systems, consisting of king piles and pairs of intermediary piles, where they provide increased capacity compared to regular sheet pile walls. The Nucor Skyline HZ-M system is fully interlocking and is composed of heavy king H piles with sheet pile connectors attached to the flanges to permit the threading of intermediary sheet piles. The intermediary sheet piles transfer the soil and water pressures to the king piles, which carry most of the load. The king piles are the primary element in combined wall systems and are usually 25 per cent to 60 per cent longer than the intermediary piles. This allows for increased axial capacity of the sys-

Photos courtesy of Administration Portuaire de Trois-Rivières (Port of Trois-Rivières)

tem. In order to optimize the final design solution, Nucor Skyline suggested using a higher grade, S430GP steel (430 MPa), for this project. Nucor Skyline also provided cold formed sheet piling for the anchor wall and a tie-rod system composed of threaded bars with couplers to facilitate installed lengths of 35 metres. Each of the 80 king piles were tied above water level with an articulated system. The bars were spaced at 1.9 metres and connected directly to the king piles. With one tie rod per beam there was no need for a waler system on the main wall, only the anchor wall. Construction began in early June of 2017, with the contractor preparing the site by demolishing the aging Pier 9 and excavating as needed. The installation of the stone embankment along the river immediately followed the demolition and excavation at the site. In mid-July 2017, driving began for the combined wall system, with 11- to 15-metric-ton king piles driven 18 metres deep by a vibratory hammer. The king piles ranged in length from 28.65 to 33 metres. The intermediary sheet piles, ranging from 18 to 22 metres, were then driven eight meters through the soft soils of the riverbed. Ocean vessel delivery ensured the supply of long lengths in one piece directly to the Port of Trois-Rivières. The improvements from this rehabilitation project will enable the port to better support the development of the regions it serves. The new wharf section is now in full operation and provides year-round service via the seaway. For more information, please visit: www.nucorskyline.com. l

CALIBRATE WITH Genuine Bi-Directional Load Testing The genuine Osterberg Cell (O-Cell), only offered by Fugro, can significantly reduce construction costs when used as a foundation design calibration tool. Internationally recognized as the pioneer of bi-directional load testing, the O-Cell is the pre-eminent method for testing drilled shafts and piles. Clients benefit from our extensive experience performing over 5000 tests worldwide. Only O-Cell offers a proprietary friction-free, tilt-tolerant design. O-Cell is the documented quality solution for reliable foundation design calibration. FUGRO LOADTEST 800 368 1138 info@loadtest.com www.loadtest.com

Piling Industry Canada • June 2019 21

Soilmec celebrates 50 years with an eye on the future

Soilmec is celebrating its 50th year in the business of designing, manufacturing, and distributing machinery that can be used for any geotechnical application anywhere. Within these five decades of business, Soilmec has grown tremendously, operating out of 45 offices around the world with a solid network of distributors. The Northern American branch of Soilmec is based in Houston, Texas, with four distributors countrywide, two of which are Canadian: 22 PIC Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019

Western Equipment Solutions LLC (Rockies US & Western Canada) and Selix Equipment Sales LLC (Eastern Canada). Soilmec equipment is being used in more than 90 countries, on five continents, completing jobs done in a variety of climate conditions, soils, cultures, and social context. The company has come a long way from its origins in 1969, when Davide Trevisani celebrated his equipment factoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official

opening day in the village Pievesetina in the municipality of Cesena in Italy. Fifty years later, the original factory is still in operation, assembling piling rigs, cranes, and hydromills. Two more factories in Asolo and Parma, Italy produce drilling and grouting rigs, while in Brazil, India and China, facilities look after maintenance and refurbishment of the Soilmec Fleet. In 1965, the first rotary RT3 (Trevisani rotary head with three rollers) was de-

signed and built in the workshop at Pali in five years, a further-enhanced model permanent magnet technology in 2010. By Trevisani. Within 10 years after, two more achieved a record depth of 250 metres on 2015, the upgrading process was complete, pieces of equipment were developed: the the Soilmec test field, opening up the ultraand all new models were once again distinRTA, a truck-mounted drilling rig with a deep excavation market. guished in the original Soilmec blue. mast could be lowered during transportaDuring this fourth decade of operation, Today Soilmec manufactures 45 equiption, and the RH-2, a multi-purpose mast Soilmec engineers applied for another 37 ment models (and more than 700 different to construct the very first CFA piles. patents. All standard models were redeversions) for bored piles, diaphragm walls, The 1980s marked the beginning of a signed to utilize new materials, reduce soil consolidation, drilling, and grouting great evolution in Soilmec products with weight, and enhance performance. An– from four to 200 tons weight in workthe production of the BH-12, a hydrauother 42 patents were filed over the next ing conditions. Connectivity is the future lic grab guided by a kelly bar outside the 10 years, including Cased Displacement for this industry, and Soilmec is already on trench and rope-suspended and the SMPiles (CDP) and the Electric Hammer with track for what is to be expected. l 305, the first micropile rig that would become the benchmark in its field. The company achieved its first patent in 1983, covering the telescopic cab, the crane-lifting frame, and pivoting counterweight for the ONTARIO self-propelling drilling rig. Interpipe Inc. is a steel pipe distributor of new 3320 Miles Road, RR#3 During the 1990s, Soilmec and was involved used structural steel pipe. We have two Mount Hope, Ontario in large-scale projects that proved the value large stocking locations of Seamless, ERW, L0R 1WO of its equipment while continuing to develSpiralweld and DSAW pipe. op new technologies such as SR cased piles, Local: (905) 679-6999 ONTARIO Interpipe Inc. is a steel pipe distributor of new ONTARIO the four-bar linkage machine with Cardan 3320 Road, RR#3468-7473 TollMiles Free: (877) 3320 RR#3 and used structural steel pipe. We have two andin used structural of steel pipe.thicknesses We have 3”casings. OD –By48” OD a variety wall MountMiles Hope,Road, Ontario coupling and screwed joints for Mount Hope, Ontario Fax: large stocking locations of of Seamless, ERW, several stocking locations Seamless, L0R 1WO(905) 679-6544 L0R 1WO are stocked in Spiralweld both locations. 1999, Soilmec had filed another 13 patents. and DSAW pipe. ERW, Spiralweld and DSAW pipe. Local: (905) (905) 679-6999 679-6999 Local: From 2000 to 2015, Soilmec equipment Toll Free: Free: (877) (877) 468-7473 Toll 468-7473 3” OD – 48” OD in a variety of wall thicknesses 3" OD –min 48" OD in a seamless variety of wall thicknesses and technologies grew exceptionally the 80,000 Fax: (905) 679-6544 679-6544 PilingasPipe yield pipe for Fax: (905) QUEBEC are stocked in both locations. are stocked in all three locations. company consolidated markets, upgraded,

Micro Piling.

and completed its entire product range. Piling Piling Pipe Pipe 80,000 80,000 min min yield yield seamless seamless pipe pipe for for In 2005, Soilmec introduced what has Micro Piling. Micro Piling. Seamless and ERW pipe for Driven Piles, become known as “the electronic brain of Seamless and pipe for for Driven Driven Piles, Piles, ScrewMate Piles and Drill Piles. Seamless and ERW ERW pipe its drilling rigs”: the DMS (Drilling Screw Piles and Drill Piles. Screw Piles and Drill Piles. System). This electronic system delivers drilling equipment control, production suLarge Diameter pipe for Driven Caissons. Large Diameter pipe for for Pile Drivenor Pile or Large Diameter pipe Driven Piles or Caissons. Caissons. pervision and fleet management by using smart technology in the field. DMS collects, analyzes, and manages information from drilling equipment, gaining insight into ground engineering and the piling business. This hi-tech built-in instrumentation is designed to increase piling efficiency through improved operations control, automated drilling functions and jobaid tools and became standard on all LDP (Large Diameter Pile) equipment models. Today more than 800 Soilmec rigs around the world are fitted with their own “artificial intelligence” systems in constant communication with the operator in the cab. Two years later, in 2007, working with the TREVI Group and Soilmec key accounts, the first Tiger hydromill was presented to the construction industry. With-

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www.interpipe.com Piling Industry Canada • June 2019 23

In the heart of the gravel pit HS 8130 HD digs with impressive efficiency

Gran is deploying the Liebherr machine for gravel extraction.

Whether dredging or gravel extraction, the HS 8130 HD must endure high dynamic forces. That’s why German company Gran opted for a duty cycle crawler crane from Liebherr’s HS series. With a robust steel construction, the duty cycle crawler cranes are designed for such demanding assignments. In Stauffendorf, near Deggendorf in south-eastern Germany, the company Gran is deploying a brand-new HS 8130 HD in dragline operation. The machine is not only being used for gravel extraction but also for the development and recultivation of the gravel extraction site. The HS 8130 HD has a 23-metre boom and is fitted with a Hendrix dragline bucket 7½ HS with a capacity of 5.7 m3. At a digging depth of eight to 10 metres, the duty cycle crawler crane manages 450 m3 of material per hour. Depending on the duration of the shift, this results in a daily performance of 4,500 m3 or 9,000 tonnes. Thanks to the two high-performance winches with a line pull of 2 x 350 kN, a high level of material handling is possible with the duty cycle crawler crane. Gran has the HS 8130 HD in operation four days a week in single shift operation. The machine demonstrates its high efficiency in the EcoSilent Mode. With this function, a significant reduction in diesel consumption can be achieved without any impact on operative output. For Gran, this results in an impressive fuel consumption of only 40 litres per hour with an engine speed of 1,550 rpms. Furthermore, the Eco-Silent Mode reduces the noise emission of the duty cycle crawler crane.

Harmonious Concept: Higher Turnover, Lower Fuel Consumption The company Gran was founded in 2004 and the new HS 8130 HD is already the fourth machine from the HS series in its fleet. In view 24 PIC Magazine • June 2019

The job site of the brand-new HS 8130 HD: the gravel pit in Stauffendorf, near Deggendorf, Germany.

of past experience, Gran is even planning to extend its fleet with four further Liebherr duty cycle crawler cranes (two HS 8130 HD and two HS 8100 HD). Crucial factors for this decision are the robust steel construction, the economic and quiet diesel engine, and the high pull force of the winches, as well as the clear and well-arranged control panel in the operator's cab. “The complete design of the machine is very well thought out. We achieve excellent turnovers with an impressively low fuel consumption. That’s why the HS 8130 HD is the perfect machine for extracting gravel,” says the delighted owner, Andreas Gran. l

Sheet pile walls gives new life to Cape Croker Park wharf rehab project By Janet M. Himstead, Nucor Skyline

Cape Croker Park, located on the eastern shore of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, is owned and operated by the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. The park encompasses 520 acres and is a recreational facility that includes campsites, hiking trails, and a sheltered harbor with dockage for recreational vessels of all sizes. Located on the Georgian Bay side of the Bruce Peninsula, Cape Croker Park is open for travelers from the first weekend in May through to Thanksgiving (the second Monday in October). Upon securing funding from the Department of Indigenous Services Canada (DISC), the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation undertook a project to rehabilitate their wharf. Design work for the project was performed by Stantec Consulting Ltd.’s Ottawa office. The design consisted of two parallel sheet pile walls encapsulating an existing, L-shaped, concrete-capped timber crib wharf. The sheet piles were driven approximately one metre from the existing wharf perimeter. Double-channel walers and threaded tie rods completed the connection between the new sheet pile walls. Upon completion of the tie backs, graded clear stone was placed in the void between the new wall and the existing wharf, as well as up to the bottom elevation of the subsequent concrete. Dean Construction Co. Ltd. (Dean) of Windsor − one of the foremost deep foundation and marine construction companies in the Great Lakes Region − was awarded the contract to reconstruct the wharf. Dean secured the supply of the specified steel sheet piling from Nucor Skyline’s Brossard, Québec office, with whom Dean has a longstanding relationship.

Photos courtesy of Dean Construction Co., Ltd.

The wharf was built using approximately 400 NT of AZ 26-700 steel sheet piles in 40-foot lengths which was manufactured in Luxembourg by ArcelorMittal, a partner of Nucor Skyline. The AZ 26700 was subsequently coated with a polyamine epoxy on both sides to help prevent corrosion. The walls were driven using a combination of a Dawson hydraulic impact hammer and HPSI 300 and 500 vibratory hammers. Driving was primarily accomplished from spud barges. Other works on the site for the 2018 season included dredging, installation of a precast concrete panel boat ramp, and the installation of an eight-metre-wide scour apron consisting of 200- to 300-millimetre fractured stone around the sheet pile structure. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2019, when the new, cast-in-place concrete coping is poured on top of the sheet piles. The concrete deck is poured on top of the granular fill between the walls and the ancillary safety ladders, fenders, and electrical components are installed. To learn more about sheet piles and their use in maritime projects, please visit www.nucorskyline.com. l Piling Industry Canada • June 2019 25

Empirical assessment of base material for a drilled pipe pile By Rozbeh B. Moghaddam, Ph.D., M.B.A., P.E., GRL Engineers

This article was originally published in DFI’s bi-monthly magazine, Deep Foundations, March/April 2019 issue. DFI is an international technical association of firms and individuals involved in the deep foundations and related industry. Deep Foundations is a member publication. To join DFI and receive the magazine, go to www.dfi.org for further information. Drilled pipe piles are considered one of the common types of deep foundation used in Norway to support bridge structures. The stan-

rial at the tip of drilled piles and to evaluate the rock-foundation contact surface.

dard installation practice for these foundation elements is the use

Project Description

of down-the-hole hammers (DTH). Norway’s complex geology and difficult subsoil conditions have resulted in a highly variable layering of soil and rock, which, in turn, makes for differences between actual subsurface conditions and those expected from geotechnical exploratory borings. This situation is strongly noted with sloping rock layers. Special testing procedures are required to assess the base mate26 PIC Magazine • June 2019

The project is related to the foundation system of a vehicular bridge crossing the Seutelva River, located in Fredrikstad, Norway. According to the project information, the proposed bridge will be supported by 25 1,016-millimetre-diameter (40-inch) open-ended pipe piles advanced to the competent rock layer. Each bridge bent consists of five open-ended pipe piles, which will be filled with

concrete after reaching the final base elevation. These piles were installed using a DTH hammer system, which uses the rotary-percussion drilling method with a button bit with its outer diameter being the same as the inner diameter of the pipe pile. The drilling process is completed by using a first pile section with the button driving ring and a button-bit hammer fitted through the pile using a drill string.

Subsurface Conditions According to the available geotechnical information, the subsurface condition for the project site was described as very soft plastic clay extending from the mudline to a depth of 30 metres (98.4 feet) followed by six metres (20 feet) of moraine silt located above the bedrock. The rock formation encountered was sloped, which resulted in a variable thickness moraine silt layer ranging between six metres (20 feet) and 11 metres (36 feet). In general, the reported rock slope increased in steepness from southeast to northwest with several sudden drops and abrupt slope changes.

Drilled Pipe-Piles Base Elevation

Fig 1 - Aerial view of the project site

The foundation system for the project was designed for end-bearing resistance only, where all of the nominal loads were supported by the base material blow the foundations. The following criterion were followed to determine the final base elevation: (1) minimum drilling advance rate of 40 minutes/metre (12.2 minutes/foot) corresponding to a limit base resistance of approximately 150 MPa (22 ksi) and (2) visual inspection using a down-hole camera to ensure contact between the rock layer and the base of the foundation element. Once the elevation was defined using the drilling rate data, the base of the drilled pile was cleaned using an airlift system, and then a down-hole camera was lowered to inspect the bottom of the pipe to ensure full contact with the rock layer. For two of the piles located on Bent 2 (piles P02-04 and P02-05), the conditions at the bottom of the pile did not facilitate capturing a clear photo or video to confirm the contact between the base of the foundations and the rock surface. In those locations, a third criterion was established based on rock strength properties, where a material with a

Fig 2 - (left) Button driving ring at tip of pipe pile and (right) bottom of a DTH to fit inside pipe pile Piling Industry Canada â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019 27

Fig 3 - View from down-hole camera showing the gap between button-bit at bottom of the pipe pile and top of rock layer

Fig 4 - Location of piles P02-04 and P02-05 at Bent 2

resistance to penetration of 30 MPa (4.35 ksi) with a deformation less than eight millimetres (0.32 inches) was classified as a competent rock to receive the foundation and to support the loads. To satisfy this additional criterion, the force and displacement data at the base of the foundation was required to be obtained to evaluate empirically the material located at the base of the pile. If the force and displacements corresponded to agreed upon values (e.g., minimum rock strength of 30 MPa [4.35 ksi] for a maximum displacement of eight millimetres [0.32 inches]), then the material was considered competent and the final base elevation was confirmed. Force and displacement plots were determined at the base of the pile using a testing device known as the shaft quantitative inspection device (SQUID).

tiate test runs at the base of the foundation. Once the device contacts the base material, an axial force is applied using the crowd (downward thrust) from the drill rig. The resistance to penetration is measured by the penetrometers, while the displacements are measured by the retractable plates.

Testing Device and Procedure A SQUID has an octagonal shape with a maximum diagonal length of 647 millimetres (25.5 inches) and a height of 635 millimetres (25 inches). Three penetrometers and three retractable displacement plates are attached to the device, which are used to measure strain and displacements simultaneously. The penetrometers are designed to have conical or flat tips with an average crosssectional area of 10 square centimetres (1.55 square inches). For this specific project, conical tips were used with the device. The device was attached to the drill string using an American Petroleum Institute (API) adapter located between the swivel plate and the drill string and was then lowered into the drill pipe to ini28 PIC Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019

Drilled Pile P02-04 A total of 10 runs were performed at the base of the pile P02-04 to obtain the data to determine the force-displacement relationship. Each of the applied forces was then divided by the crosssectional area of the penetrometer to obtain the applied stresses. Stress-displacements plots for pile P02-04 were plotted individually to visualize the force-displacement behavior and to evaluate the criterion established for the material at the base of the foundation. The results obtained for pile P02-04 indicated that each of the three penetrometers follow a similar trend. However, the non-uniform (i.e., not overlapping) plots behavior indicated that the base of the foundation was not completely flat. Furthermore, according to the plotted results, the average stress and displacement for the material at the base of the foundation were determined to be 35 MPa (5.1 ksi) and seven millimetres (0.28 inches), respectively. These values were within the established resistance and displacement thresholds for the competent material at the base of the foundation. It is important to note that FD1 plot slightly exceeds the displacement threshold limit of eight millimetres (0.32 inches) with

Fig 5 - Attachment of the device to the end of a drill string

Fig 6 - Penetrometer resistance vs. displacement behavior at pile P02-04

Piling Industry Canada â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019 29

a stress value of about 24 MPa (3.5 ksi) and a maximum stress of 34 MPa (five ksi). However, the other two plots (FD2 and FD3) are within the established threshold values. Another important observation is the similarity in the shape of the relationships from the start of the test up to approximately 10 MPa (1.45 ksi) where a steady increasing slope is observed. Beyond this point, the relationships transition to a more constant and gentler slope with increasing stress, which may indicate an abrupt change in material property possibly indicating going from softer rock to more competent rock. However, a visual inspection using a down-hole camera, as discussed above, did not reveal softer material accumulated near the base of the foundation. Therefore, the existence of a softer rock versus a more competent rock is more likely to be the case at this location.

Drilled Pile P02-05 Similar to those performed at pile P02-04, a total of 13 runs were performed at the base of pile P02-05 to obtain the data to determine the force-displacement relationships. The graphs of the stress-displacement relationships were analyzed to evaluate the behavior of the material encountered at the base of the foundation.

Fig 7 - Penetrometer resistance vs. displacement behavior at pile P02-05

30 PIC Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019

The foundation system for the project was designed for end-bearing resistance only, where all of the nominal loads were to be supported by the foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base. The results indicated that each of the three penetrometers follow a similar trend, especially toward the end of the test. Similar to the tests at pile P02-04, a nonuniform material at the base of the foundation was detected, which was evident from the plots as the individual graphs were not overlapping. Considering the maximum stress measured by each penetrometer and the corresponding displacements, the average stress and displacement for the material encountered at the base of the foundation were determined to be about 38 MPa (5.5 ksi) and 7.2 millimetres (0.28 inches), respectively. It is important to note that trend of FD2 is different compared to FD1 and FD3. The relationship for FD2 indicates a linear behavior

with a constant slope up to a stress value of approximately 20 MPa (2.9 ksi) when the abrupt change of slope occurs. From this point forward, the relationship flattens to an almost zero slope with increasing stress along with a very small change in displacement. The relationships for FD1 and FD3, on the other hand, follow a similar shape to each other and can be divided into three segments: (1) a steep slope from a stress of 0 to about 1.7 MPa (0.25 ksi), then (2) a small slope between 1.7 MPa (0.25 ksi) and 29 MPa (4.2 ksi), and then (3) a near zero slope after 29 MPa (4.2 ksi). The first portion of these plots could correspond to a very soft material accumulated at the base of the foundation, which is then followed by a material with higher strength (e.g., weak or weathered rock). The third segment is where the abrupt change occurs similar to FD2 and the graphical relationship (similar to pile P02-04) indicates the existence of competent material or rock that satisfies the established criteria.

plied stress and measured deformations. To obtain such data, the SQUID, along with its associated testing procedure, was utilized to perform penetration tests at two pile locations, P02-04 and P0205. Results from the testing indicated an average displacement of seven millimetres (0.28 inches) and 7.2 millimetres (0.28 inches) corresponding to a stress of about 35 MPa (5.1 ksi) and 38 MPa (5.5 ksi) for Piles P02-04 and P02-05, respectively. The resistance to penetration determined from SQUID testing is not a correlation to other strength properties defined for soil, weak rock or rock. However, in circumstances where access to the pile base is limited and a sampling process significantly impacts the construction schedule, results such as those obtained from this testing device could be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed by a qualified geotechnical engineer to further determine the suitability of the tested material.

Conclusions

Rozbeh B. Moghaddam, P.E., Ph.D., M.B.A., is a senior engineer at GRL Engineers. His academic research and more than 15 years of professional experience have included a significant focus on geotechnical design of deep foundations, retaining structures, excavations, and underground structures. He is a member of DFI, ASCE (with active participation in the Geo-Institute’s technical committees), and the Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineers (SMIG). l

The foundation system for the project was designed for endbearing resistance only, where all of the nominal loads were to be supported by the foundation’s base. However, due to difficult subsurface conditions and sloping rock, each drilled pile was terminated at a different base elevation. One of the assessment criteria for the material at the base of the foundation was to obtain the material strength and perform the assessment based on the ap-

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Short on restoring investor confidence, strong on workforce development The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is disappointed that the federal government has not taken more concrete actions to restore investor confidence in Canada. “CCA had wished to see a fiscal remedy for the ongoing steel and aluminum tariffs, some relief for our heavy construction sector that is facing new challenges with carbon pricing, and a strong commitment to improving the flow of infrastructure funding,” says Mary Van Buren, CCA president. However, CCA would like to recognize the government for its continued leadership on and commitment to prompt payment legislation. The industry looks forward to working with the government in our continued partnership and a successful rollout of this initiative. Addressing the workforce shortage issue is another key priority for the construction industry. The CCA appreciates the federal government’s recognition of the importance of 32 PIC Magazine • June 2019

a skilled, diverse, and tech-savvy workforce in Canada and supports the commitment of $46 million over four years for Skills Canada Funding, the promotional campaign to attract young Canadians to the skilled trades and the increased funding for co-op placements. “By creating workplace opportunities for students in construction during their studies, we hope to inspire the next generation who will build our future sustainable communities,” Van Buren continues. The CCA also looks forward to participating in the announced Apprenticeship Strategy to ensure that the existing programs adequately address barriers to entry and other related workforce initiatives. ‘’The CCA continues to applaud the efforts of the government on the Investing in Canada plan, particularly the $2.2 billion top-up to support municipal and local priorities,” says Van Buren. “We believe these

proposed measures will indeed help ‘Build a better Canada’ and look forward to working with the government on their timely adoption.” Construction is a cornerstone of the Canadian economy, employing 1.5 million Canadians and generating 7.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The construction industry is integral to building strong and resilient Canadian communities, connecting our citizens and businesses.

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Handover of keys at Bauma 2019: Family-run company is pleased with new Liebherr duty cycle crawler crane

With Abando, Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH carried out the first handover of keys at Bauma.

Shortly after Bauma 2019 opened its doors, the first customer already received a new machine. On the opening day of Bauma, LiebherrWerk Nenzing GmbH handed over the key for a brand-new HS 8070 to the Spanish family-run company Cimentaciones Abando. The duty cycle crawler crane in the 70 34 PIC Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ June 2019

tonnes category covers most site work for the company and impresses primarily due to its speed, economy, and flexibility. Cimentaciones Abando uses the machine mainly for diaphragm wall works with mechanical grabs. In 1991, Javier Abando, as one of the first Liebherr customers in Spain, purchased an HS 841. Owing to the quality of the ma-

chines and the reliable customer services, the trust in the portfolio of the HS range has remained to this day. With the new HS 8070, Cimentaciones Abando now has its 10th Liebherr duty cycle crawler crane in its fleet. Today, the Spanish family-run company is represented in the second generation by Anne and Julen Abando. l