Piling Industry Canada Magazine Issue 1, 2013

www.pilingindustrycanada.com

Issue 1 | 2013

PIC Piling Industry Canada

magazine

Publications mail agreement #40934510

www.pilingindustrycanada.com

Photo Courtesy of Soilmec North America

Our support systems extend far below the surface The only company that offers you all four types of support systems:

> Concrete Pile

> Steel Pipe

> H Pile

> Sheet Pile

We carry ASTM A252, A139, A53 B AWWA C200, API & CSA Specifications

Supporting the construction industry since 1953 Calgary

Delta

Edmonton

USA

9100 Venture Avenue S.E.

#6-8500 River Road

6515 - 34th Street

3888 - Sound Way

Calgary, AB T3S 0A2

Delta, BC V4G 1B5

Edmonton, AB T2B 2V8

Bellingham, WA 98227-9754

Phone: 403.236.1788

Phone: 604.946.2655

Phone: 780.465.0671

Phone: 866.400.7473

Fax: 403.236.2478

Fax: 604.946.2630

Fax: 780.465.2367

Fax: 866.419.4005

1.866.441.PIPE

1.866.400.PIPE

Can You Find The Four Differences Between These Two Pipe Piling Products?

Answers: On-Time Rolling Schedule, Inventory, Quality, Customer Secure Portal.

Since 1972, when Independence Tube first opened its doors, its reputation for being customer focused has never wavered. While our entry into the Pipe Piling Market may be relatively new, Independence Tube has fast become a dedicated supplier and partner. Here are just a few of the reasons why Independence Tube’s pipe piling is no ordinary product.

CH ICAGO, I L

On-Time Rolling Schedule. With an on-time rolling schedule second to none in the industry, customers can manage inventory more closely, knowing that material will be ready when promised. Our on-time delivery record has been maintained for over forty years.

Inventory. Independence Tube stocks A252 Pipe Piling from 6.625"OD through 16"OD in 30', 40', 50' and 60' lengths for immediate delivery. In addition to our 4 week rolling cycles, Independence Tube either has the stock to get your project started or a rolling is just weeks away.

MARSEILLES, IL

DE CAT U R , AL

Quality. Customer feedback has led to a Dynamic Quality System that exceeds industry standards.

Our Inspection, measurement and testing procedures not only complement our manufacturing systems and processes, but they virtually ensure consistency, shorter delivery lead times and containment of costs.

Customer Secure Portal. This allows customers 24/7 secure, real-time access to all their account information including: browse and search stock inventory, order from floor stock or rolling, submit and view inquires, release shipments, view price sheets, view open orders and Bills of lading, print test reports and invoices, search order history, and view rolling schedules.

All pipe piling may look alike, but there’s a world of difference when you choose Independence Tube

1-800-376-6000 • www.independencetube.com Celebrating Forty Years of Quality Tube Products

Table of Contents Published by

Piling Industry News.................................................................................................................................. 6 Feeling the Pressure Measuring the output from an electrical resistance (ER) type load cell with accuracy through new technology............................................................ 10

Changing the Pile Vibration Game High speed Variable Moment Vibros......................................................................................... 14

Make Room Tight quarters require special drilling solutions.................................................... 18

Piling Industry Canada Free Directory Listing Form............................................... 21 Digging Deep Liebherr rotary drilling rigs LB 24 in deep foundation work for a new office building in Calgary.................................................................................................. 22

DEL

Communications Inc.

Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3L 0G5 President & CEO: David Langstaff Publisher: Jason Stefanik Managing Editor: Carly Peters carlypeters@mts.net 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

Second Chance for Randle Reef

Layout & Design: Dana Jensen

Clean up starts in Hamilton Harbour with pile tests............................................... 28

Advertising Art: Caitlyn Haier

A Glass-Half-Full Kind of Company Independence Tube Corp. expands offerings after devastation of natural disaster.................................................................................................................................... 34

Singapore’s Vision O’Cell™ Technology advances tight schedules in challenging subsurface conditions...................................................................................................................... 36

Foundation Fix Wolf Creek Dam project seeks to stop leaks far below the surface............... 42

Breaking New Ground Mansueto Library offers shining example of architectural and SoilmecNA_PIC_TOC_Jun2013_FINAL.pdf 1 4/3/13 10:35 AM structural ingenuity........................................................................................................................ 46

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© Copyright 2013, 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 05/2013

YOU CAN

BUILD ON US!

The choice is yours.

Northstar provides piling services including design, supply, and fabricating across Western Canada with track and truck mounted piling units for both driven and helical piles. Northstar also offers pile installation with it’s unique patented Exca-Drivers (excavator Mounted Pile Driver). With these units Northstar is capable of driving piles up to 18m in length, switching attachments to install helical piles, or operating as an excavator all in under 30 minutes! This can de done all while navigating the most difficult of terrain.

SERVING WESTERN CANADA FROM FORT ST. JOHN • GRANDE PRAIRIE • CALGARY • REGINA

Piling Industry News Canada LB 44 rotary drilling rig completes Liebherr’s range of products for deep foundation applications The LB 44 rotary drilling rig presented at the Bauma 2013 is the latest development in Liebherr’s range of “deep foundation” products and expands the LB series at the upper end of the scale. Based on its many years of experience and extensive know-how, Liebherr is reacting to the need for larger, more powerful machines of this type by presenting the LB 44.

The LB 44 rotary drilling rig weighs approximately 160 tonnes and has been designed for drilling diameters of up to three metres and drilling depths of maximum 92 metres. The rig is driven by a V8 diesel engine offering 505 kW (677 hp) and complying with the exhaust certification stage 3B. Possible applications of the LB 44 include Kelly drilling, drilling with double rotary head, continuous flight auger, and full displacement tool. The powerful rope crowd system with approximately an 56 tonne pull force allows utilisation of the entire length of the leader. This provides the operator with maximum performance and reliability even with the most difficult soils and extreme operational conditions.

High Mobility At, and Between Job Sites Distinguishing advantages of the new rotary drilling rig are its easy transportation and the short period of time between set-up and operation. As the leader can be folded back for transportation with all hydraulic hoses connected, no disassembly is required when moving between two job sites. Subsequently, the LB 44 can be set up rapidly using the quick assembly system - this process barely requires more time than for smaller machines.

If required the LB 44 can be disassembled into single parts weighing a maximum of 40 tonnes. Thus, the rotary drilling rig can be transported throughout the world without any problems.

For the basic design of the rig Liebherr remains true to its proven principles. This includes a large operating area thanks to parallel kinematics.

Another aspect relates to the direct mounting of all winches on the leader. On the one hand, this allows for a direct view from the operator’s cab to the main winch and, on the other hand, ensures that the ropes do not move during leader adjustment. Moreover, the undercarriage provides more stability thanks to long crawlers but still provides nearly the same small swing radius as the smaller rigs of the same product line.

Innovative Rotary Drive of BAT Series The innovative BAT rotary drive of the new LB 44 offers a torque of 510 kNm. The main advantages of the hydraulic drive manufactured by Liebherr are automated torque adjustment, continuous speed optimization, and four electronically adjustable speed ranges. Further advantages of this rotary drive are its simple structure, its low maintenance requirements and, above all, its exceptional efficiency.

Like all Liebherr piling and drilling rigs the LB 44 is also fitted with the proven Litronic control system and thus offers a multitude of programme options for the various drilling methods, as well as for clearly displayed information on service requirements and the condition of the machine.

The use of many components manufactured by Liebherr guarantees the customer a product of highest quality. This is completed by the rig’s robust design in order to provide a long service life of the new LB 44 rotary drilling rig.

Soilmec Appoints Champion Equipment Sales as Sole Agent for Canada Soilmec North America has appointed Champion Equipment Sales, LLC (CES), as the sole agent to provide sales and customer service across all regions of Canada. CES has been successfully providing sales, after-sales technical support, and training for Soilmec rigs and equipment in the western regions of Canada for more than 20 years.

Richard (Rick) Kramer has been appointed by CES as the Soilmec representative for the eastern regions of Canada, including Labrador, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec.

Kramer is well-known in the industry and brings decades of experience in foundation construction and ground engineering equipment sales to the position. Rick may be reached in Grimsby, Ontario, by phone: 905945-0398; fax: 905-945-2946; or email: rkramer@championsales.net.

Western Canada will continue to be served by CES General Sales Manager Steve Wilson, John Wilson, Craig Berninger, and the Nisku, Alberta parts and service location. Additional locations will be announced soon.

Minimate Pro4 and Minimate Pro6 Class 1 Sound Level Microphone The new Instantel Series IV Sound Level Microphone can perform unattended monitoring of noise, such as building activities, construction, traffic, and mining operations. It is now possible to combine noise and vibration monitoring on the same unit, making the Minimate Pro4 or Minimate Pro6 a cost effective and flexible monitor for these applications. The microphone ships with a microphone stand and windscreen.

The Sound Level Microphone has been designed to

Port of Baie-Comeau, QC

Canal de Chambly, QC

Saskatoon, SK

Your True Project Partner Skyline Steel is a premier steel foundation supplier with an extensive network of manufacturing and stocking locations. Our wide range of products include H-piles, Pipe Piles, Steel Sheet Piles, Threaded Bar, Micropiles, Piling Accessories, and Structural Sections.

See how Skyline Steel can help with your next project. Visit skylinesteel.com or call. In Western Canada (BC, AB, SK, MB, YT, NT, and NU), call 1-866-461-6367; In Eastern Canada (ON, NB, NS, QC, PE, and NL.), call 1-866-461-6366.

Š 2013 Skyline Steel, LLC. Skyline Steel is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nucor Corporation, the largest producer of steel in the United States.

Piling Industry News Canada Pile Dynamics Building is now Officially Green The Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI) headquarters building, located in Solon, Ohio, U.S., is now LEED® Certified. The LEED program, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), is the United States preeminent program for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. PDI is proud to be housed in the first - and so far only - certified LEED Green Building in the New Construction and Major Renovations category in the City of Solon.

meet the requirements for IEC Class 1, which includes A and C weighted specifications. It has a measuring range from 30 to 140 dB with a fast or slow response. It is also capable of recording the unfiltered response in one of two ranges, +/- 25 Pa or +/- 100 Pa. The record mode can be set to Manual trigger, Waveform (records up to 9,000 seconds once a preset trigger level has been exceeded), Histogram (with intervals from two seconds to one hour) or Histogram-Combo (Compliance mode only, this combines histogram and waveform monitoring at the same time).

Cross-Hole Analyzer (CHAMP) Reliable cross hole sonic logging of drilled shafts.

Tomography Available

Motorized Probe Deployment System makes testing comfortable

Quality Assurance for Deep Foundations

Cleveland, OH USA +1 216-831-6131

www.pile.com/cha

8

sales@pile.com

The building achieved LEED certification for the efficient use of energy, lighting, and water for incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. “Most of all, we are proud that we could preserve valuable resources by adaptively reusing an existing building,” says Yolita Rausche, who served as LEED Project Administrator for the renovation. The original building housed a packaged nuts plant; renovation was accomplished with minimal construction material waste and reusing 96 per cent of the existing structure.

“The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most-important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “The work of innovative building projects such as the PDI headquarters is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.”

A Certification Ceremony conducted by Michele Kilroy, LEED AP, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the USGBC, took place on January 29. Present at the ceremony were, among others, Solon Mayor Susan Drucker and United States Congressman David Joyce, who presented PDI (and GRL Engineers, Inc., also headquartered in the building) with a proclamation. Ohio State Senator Thomas F. Patton and Ohio Representative Marlene Anielski could not attend the ceremony but also acknowledged its significance with tributes to the companies and the renovation team. “PDI is honoured to be part of a movement towards greater building efficiency, which, according to USGBC, has the potential to reduce the future U.S. demand for energy and generate 2.5 million jobs,” says Garland Likins, PDI president.

PDI manufactures electronic instruments to evaluate the quality and control the execution of deep foundations that support bridges, stadiums, high rises, wind towers, residential buildings, and other structures.

Its products are not only extensively used in the United States, but are exported to the four corners of the globe. For more information visit www.pile.com/pdi. n

Taking the

LEAD in over 40 countries around the world

Deep Foundation Contracting Services Leader Systems Impact Hammers Statnamic Load Testing Technology Reverse Circulation Drills Custom Foundation Equipment Site Support Project Planning Canada's oldest and most innovative deep foundation contractor - Since 1897

Wellington Street Marine Terminal, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8L 4Z9 Tel: 1.905.528.7924 Fax:1.905.528.6187 | Toll Free: 1.800.668.9432 (in Canada and USA)

www.berminghammer.com | www.berminghamfoundationsolutions.com

Technical Feature

Feeling the Pressure Measuring the output from an electrical resistance (ER) type load cell with accuracy through new technology

By Barrie Sellers President, Geokon Inc. Pile load tests, with the exception of the Os-

which the jack piston pushes. Spherical seats

changes of load accurately. On account of this

terberg and Statnamic testing methods, use

on top of the jack piston will take care of this

it is thought to be prudent to have a second

one or more hydraulic jacks to impose loads

problem.

means of measuring loads in the form of a

on the top of the pile. The loads imposed are

To ensure accuracy the hydraulic jacks

load cell that can also record and store the

calculated from the “effective” cross-sectional

are calibrated frequently, along with their

test data electronically.

area of the piston multiplied by the internal

attendant pressure gages. This calibration is

Load cells can either be of a solid construc-

oil pressure acting upon it as measured by

normally performed in a testing machine of

tion or they may be annular in cross-section

a Bourdon style pressure gage. The effective

known accuracy. Loads applied to the jack

where they may also be used with hollow ram

cross sectional area is usually less than the

by the testing machine are deduced from the

jacks to load tie backs and rockbolts. Load

theoretical because some of the load is lost

piston area and the pressure indicated by the

cells may be of two kinds – vibrating wire,

due to the friction generated by the O-rings

jack pressure gage at each increment of load.

(VW), or electrical resistance, (ER), depend-

sealing the piston. Additional friction and

Pressure gages tend not to have gradu-

ing on the type of strain gages used to mea-

loss of load can also be the result of tilting of

ations fine enough, and a dead spot caused

sure the compressive strains developed in the

the jack piston inside the jack housing caused

by hysteresis between increasing and de-

body of the load cell when the loads are ap-

by the top surface of the pile not being paral-

creasing loads reduce the precision of the

plied. In general, vibrating wire load cells are

lel to the surface of the reaction frame against

pressure gage and its ability to record small

preferred where the load cell will be left in

10 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Technical Feature

place to monitor the loads over long periods of time – perhaps amounting to decades – while electrical resistance type load cells are usually preferred for short term pile tests.

Some mention should be made concerning the agreement between loads indicated by the jack and by the load cell. Very often the agreement is poor with discrepancies of as much as 10 to 20 per cent of the full-scale load. The reason for this lies in the different conditions of loading produced by warped, non-parallel, and uneven bearing plates that produce a different calibration factor than that measured in the ideal conditions of testing machine. This suggests that when-

ever possible the load cell and jack should be calibrated in tandem using the same type and configuration of bearing plates that will be used in the field.

To measure the output from an electrical resistance (ER) type load cell requires an instrument that can accurately read the microvolt output from a Full Wheatstone Bridge network of electrical resistance strain gages: the Geokon Model GK-502 Readout Box has been especially designed for this task. Care has been taken to make sure that the GK502 can be used outdoors by making it rainproof and operable in hot or cold weather.

Displayed numerals are large in size and

Pile Drivers, Divers, Bridge, Dock and Wharf Builders Local Union 2404 • Trade Qualified Pile Drivers / Bridgeworkers • Red Seal Carpenters • CWB Certified Welders • CSA Z275.4 Competent Surface Supplied Divers • ITA Designated Trades Training Provider • CWB Certified Welder Testing Facility

#101-580 Ebury Place Delta, B.C. V3M 6M8 www.Piledrivers2404.ca 12 PIC Magazine • June 2013

604-526-2404 Fax: 604-526-2446 Cell: 604-788-2902 1-800-LOC 2404

can be backlit for easy reading in poor light.

Connections to the load cell are by means of a 10-pin connector so no breaking of finger nails trying to push bare wires into pokehome terminal strips.

ER load cells may or may not use remote sensing techniques where a separate pair of leads is used to measure the voltage input to the Wheatstone Bridge at the load cell itself and not at the GK-502 location. This removes any inaccuracies that may arise due to temperature induced changes in cable resistances or to varying contact resistances.

The GK-502 will sense whether or not the load cell has been wired for remote sense and will automatically adjust itself so that it will read either type of load cell.

A further refinement of the GK-502 is its ability to display the load in engineering units. Internal programming allows the input of load cell calibration factors and noload readings through a user friendly menu, and then converts the measured microvolt output into the desired units be they mV/V, pounds, kilograms, kips, tonnes, etc...

The GK-502 also permits storage of the pile test data which can be downloaded through a 10-pin USB connector to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

For more information about the Geokon GK-502 Readout Box, please call 1 (603) 448-1562 (USA) or 1 (450) 441-5444 (Canada) and ask to speak to a sales associate or visit www.geokon.com/GK-502. n

Follow Our Lead To A Solid Foundation BAUER-Pileco is a leading global provider of foundation equipment and service to the construction industry. Recognized for it’s technological advances and innovation, BAUER-Pileco and our network of dealers represent the BAUER Group across North and Central America.

BAUER RTG FAMBO BETEK www.bauerpileco.com info@bauerpileco.com

www.facebook.com/bauerpileco

PILECO KLEMM MAT PRAKLA

Scan this QR Code to your smart phone and contact us directly.

BAUER-Pileco Inc., 111 Berry Road, Houston, TX 77022 (713) 691-3000 / (800) 474-5326 www.youtube.com/PilecoTX

Technical Feature

Changing the Pile Vibration Game high speed Variable Moment Vibros ICE recently introduced its line of high speed variable moment vibros. The largest of the three models, the 50ZR (zero resonance), was just unveiled at Bauma 2013. Eastrock, ICE’s Canadian distributor, is pleased and excited to be able to offer these products to the Canadian piling industry. Variable moment vibros provide a number of benefits and are being specified more and more on projects where the vibration created by traditional vibrator-extractors may introduce concerns. Complementing the variable moment with high speed functionality really makes the new ZR vibros “game changers” compared to standard vibratory drivers and extractors.

What is Variable Moment Technology?

Variable moment technology means the hammer produces no amplitude or moment (energy) when the hammer is started or stopped, and the output energy (moment) of the hammer can be adjusted from zero to full output during operation.

How is Variable Moment Achieved?

Variable moment output is accomplished with the use of two (or more) pairs of counter rotating eccentrics, one set opposing the other set during start up and shut down. The eccentric pairs are phased in and out of time with each other during operation creating variable levels of amplitude or moment (energy). By controlling the phase angle between the eccentric pairs, the hammer is able to operate at any moment from zero to full moment. When the eccentric pairs are 180 degrees out of phase, the hammer produces no moment and thus zero resonance.

Two major benefits of ICE’s ZR vibros are infinite amplitude control, and high speed operation. Infinite amplitude control gives the operator the ability to minimize the radial vibration in the surrounding native soil and maximizes the drivability of the pile all while limiting the impact on nearby structures. High-speed operation through functioning at higher vibrations per minute further reduces the extent of the surrounding soil vibration and results in a suppressor that produces virtually no crane line vibration (crane shake) which is common with a standard driver/extractor. The high-speed design also provides more frequencies in which the vibro can be operated compared to a standard vibro, with some units having a max frequency of 2300 VPM. This creates a larger window of opportunity for aligning the operating frequency which is optimal for the soil type.

The starting and stopping of standard drivers/extractors has the highest impact on the surrounding soil. During the time that a standard driver/extractor takes to accelerate to full speed, the amplitude of the soil vibration is many times larger than when the driver/extractor is at its full speed. The same is true for when it is shut down. This effect is known as resonant vibration, which is forced vibration in which the frequency of the disturbing force is very close to the natural frequency of the system, so that the amplitude of vibration is very large.

Vibration sensitive jobsites are the primary places variable moment drivers/extractors are beneficial and there are many examples of vibration sensi14 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Providing Piling Product Solutions to the Heavy Construction Industry for over 25 years Offering a full range of piling products including sheet pile, H-pile, and pipe for sale or for rent anywhere across North America from eight stocking locations.

Sheet piling - Hot Rolled, Cold Formed A572 Grade 50 Standard. A690, A588, and other grades readily available - all in your “as required� length.

Call us for support and service on your next project.

www.rollformgroup.com Roll Form Group Suite 100 - 6701 Financial Drive, Mississauga, ON L5N 7J7 950 Industrial Road, Cambridge, ON N3H 4W1 26 Country Road 351, Iuka, MS, 38852 Piling Products 945 Center Street, Green Cove Springs, FL, 32043

Tel: (905) 270-5300 Tel: (519) 650-2222 Tel: (662) 424-1460

Fax: (905) 593-3489 Fax: (519) 650-2223 Fax: (662) 424-0314

Tel: (904) 287-8000

Fax: (904) 529-7757

Technical Feature tive sites. Some of these are when older foun-

stopping, driving speed can be controllable by

transmission case in order to lower the overall

dations are in close proximity to the jobsite,

the operator, pile penetration rates are increased

profile of the ICE ZR series vibros, as well as to

when jobsites are close to seismically-sensitive

in non-cohesive soil conditions, and setting and

improve their centre of gravity. The computer

businesses with sensitive equipment, construc-

starting a pile is made easier by starting with re-

controls on the power units reduce fuel con-

tion sites near occupied buildings, construction

duced moment.

sumption, pinpoint repair needs, as well as pro-

during non-standard work hours, construction

ICE continuously works to refine and im-

vide diagnostics and logs. The power units have

near medical clinics and hospitals, driving op-

prove the functionality, durability, and reliabil-

an open circuit system for maximum cooling

erations close to curing concrete, project sites

ity of the equipment they produce. A great deal

and filtering efficiency, also variable displace-

near pipelines and utilities, as well as operations

of their understanding and expertise were in-

around rivers and waterways with known fish

ment pumps for optimum power consump-

corporated into the ZR designs. With the pairs

spawning grounds.

of eccentrics being aligned one above the other

Other benefits of the ICE ZR vibros are that

in the transmission case, ICE made the deci-

crane shake is eliminated during starting and

sion to wrap the suppressor housing around the

tion and smooth operation. The power unit oil cooler is combined with the engine cooler providing ample capacity without using auxiliary power to drive extra cooler fans. The ZR units are adaptable for underwater, low headroom, or box leads operation.

If you have any questions or want more information regarding the exciting line of ICE ZR vibros please contact Eastrock today at 613737-3963. Eastrock is your Canadian Impact Energy Specialist. We are a growing, customer focussed Ottawa-based company with a diversified product line of piling equipment, rotary heads, foundation, and geotechnical drills, rock drills, HDD drills, drilling consumables, and grouting systems. n

D.A. McIntyre Construction Ltd.

Geotechnical experts

pile testinG experts

Geotechnical equipment

Over 40 Years of Reliable Quality Service

Your partner in

• Sheet Piling & Retaining Walls

pile testing and geo-

• Bridge Construction & Repair

technical engineering

• Pipeline Scour Protection • Pile Driving of All Types • Erosion Protection

Allnamics USA - 1411 Cumberland Rd - Tyler, TX 75703 - (903) 216-0038 info@allnamics.eu i: W iT h W if lT sy sT em s PD A/ D es el p ir W a b ac k -u n al d at • in te r c h ec k se n so r ic at m • au to te st in g ad lo r r ap id • fi t fo

16 PIC Magazine • June 2013

1411 cumberland rd tyler, tx 75703 (903) 216-0038

www.allnamics.eu

#203, 17205 - 106 A Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5S 1M7 • Canada Phone 780-484-6333 • Fax 780-987-4098 mcintyremap@canadasurfs.net

Platinum Grover “The Piling Connection”

TM

Servicing Canada and USA

Canada, U.S., International

Make Room Tight quarters require special drilling solutions In the rolling countryside around Fort McMurray, Alberta in the heart of the Canadian oil sands, you would think a drill rig would have all the room in the world. Nothing but blue sky above, and miles of open terra firma underneath. Just grab any old rig in your fleet and start counting your profits, right? Wrong.

Like most everything in life, and in drilling, things are never as easy as they seem. When Pacer Corporation’s foundation drilling division, Pacer Foundations, was contracted for drilled shafts at an oil sands facility they knew quickly that they would need a rig with some exceptional capabilities.

Bernie Leroux started Pacer’s piling and foundations unit, Pacer Foundations, in 2003, and has been supervising field operations with Terry Powell as general manager, and Dan Berg as president. Pacer Foundations has the experience and the equipment to handle driven piles, concrete piles, micropiles, screw piles, caissons, and earth retention. Pacer’s fleet includes six Soilmec SR-30s, two Soilmec SR-50s and one Soilmec SR-65, and two Watson 1100 truck mounted rigs, but none of those rigs were candidates for this job.

“We’re working in and around a functioning oil sands plant,” explains Leroux. “That means there are obstacles in the way all the time. We have to drill over concrete barriers or over pipes with oil flowing through them. We also have pipes overhead, as well as power lines at 25 feet (7.6 metres). There is no way we could do this job with a traditional highmast rig with limited reach beyond the tracks.”

The Pacer job includes 2,000, 48-inch (1,200 milimetre) diameter shafts that were 40 feet (12 metres) deep. Some of the shafts are drilled at 45 degrees for battered piles. Soil conditions include, sand, silt, shale, and large boulders, where a core barrel and extra force is required to get down to the desired 40 feet (12 metres) depth. These shafts will be used to create support structures for racks that will secure active oil pipelines overhead, as well as large oil storage containers and various outbuildings.

The rig of choice for Pacer in this job was a LoDril DH40 manufactured by Bay Shore Systems. Mounted to a new Komatsu PC 290LC10, this standard DH40 has 43,000 ft-lbs (58 kN-m) of rotary torque.

Pacer’s rig is built for a 60 foot (18 metres) drilling depth that gives them plenty of capacity for the 40 foot shafts. In addition to the rig he bought from Bay Shore Systems, he rents a second from KI International - also a DH40, but this one mounted on a John Deere 350.

“We’re impressed with these rigs,” continues Leroux. “We expect that over the course of the project we’ll get from 12-15 shafts per day from them. In spite of the obstacles both overhead and on the ground, we’ll more than meet our production schedules. They are some of the quicker machines we have. They are very maneuverable. We just tuck in the boom and move quickly to the next hole.”

18 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International The advantage of an excavator-based rig such as the LoDril is not only the ability to move around and under or reach over obstacles, but also to have more control over spin off locations.

“In the environment for this project, we need to have a tremendous amount of flexibility for where we spin off,” notes Leroux. “In most cases, rigs like the LoDril will allow us 360 degrees around the machine for spin off, in addition to the extended reach. Other rig configurations would never work. We’d be spinning off over the top of a pipeline or on top of some other structure. It would be a nightmare.”

As with all new equipment, proper training in maintenance and operations is critical to the most effective use of the machine. Specialized training of support staff and operators reduces downtime and increases effective production. And, since LoDril work can potentially bring in a 30 per cent higher hourly rate compared to other drill rigs in Pacer’s fleet, keeping the LoDrils turning is both a production and revenue generating priority.

“Training operators on the new rigs was easier than expected,” says Leroux. “We have some great operators and the controls for these rigs are very intuitive. So training was a breeze.”

“We find that operators quickly become accustomed to the joystick controls,” adds Andy Olson, Bay Shore’s sales representative for western Canada. “We provided Pacer with several days of on-site training in maintenance and operations. We want to make sure that when we leave a customer, we’re confident they’re going to have a good experience with their new rig. Plus, our telephone support is staffed by field-experienced people, so we can handle many issues right over the phone.”

As with all new equipment, proper training in maintenance and operations is critical to the most effective use of the machine. Specialized training of support staff and operators reduces downtime and increases effective production.

The side tilt and angled drilling capabilities of excavator based rigs such as the LoDril make batter piles much easier to drill. The Pacer project includes numerous batter piles, typically drilled 4:1. Quick set up and alignment features of the LoDril help to make certain that the shafts remain true.

“We were very interested in the LoDril’s ability to drill in a slanted position as we have a significant need for batter piles in this project,” says Leroux. “It may not be that common to need rigs that will reach over an obstacle and still bring significant force to a 4:1 batter pile, but that’s what we needed and the LoDril was the perfect solution.”

Pacer Foundations expects to spend another month or two on this job and then move the LoDrils to a similar project at another facility. Clearly they have found the LoDril to be a perfect match for their difficult oil sands project.

“We love these excavator based rigs and the flexibility they bring to our jobs,” concludes Leroux. “Since we can get into more restricted locations, we’ll get more work. We’ll be keeping them busy for a long time to come.” n

3801—53 Avenue Lacombe, Alberta, Canada T4L 2L6 Website: www.canadianpile.com Email: bruce@canadianpile.com

20 PIC Magazine • June 2013

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Canada, U.S., International

Digging Deep Liebherr rotary drilling rigs LB 24 in deep foundation work for a new office building in calgary

By Tobias Fröhlich

Since last November two Liebherr rotary drilling rigs have been operating at Tervita Drilling, and Coring Services’s project in Alberta.

The LB 24 machines have been involved in the construction of a new office building in the city of Calgary. The two LB 24 had to do various deep foundation work to install the shoring, as well as the building’s foundation.

Secant Pile Wall and Cast-In-Place Piles

Each of the machines was thus able to finish

On the jobsite the Liebherr rotary drilling

ing rigs helped to keep deep foundation work

rigs were used for two major tasks. On the one

within the scheduled period of time.

10 piles every day. The Liebherr rotary drill-

hand, the machines had to install the shoring by constructing a secant pile wall. Piles with a diameter of 880 millimetres were drilled approximately 15 metres into the ground. Since the jobsite was adjacent to the Bow River the construction of the secant pile wall was a challenge because of the need to withstand constant hydrostatic pressure.

For the foundation of the building, the rotary drilling rigs had to drill cast-in-place piles with diameters of 1,300 millimetres about eight to 10 metres into the ground, which consists of sand and gravel followed by cobbles and finally bedrock. The job was carried out using the Kelly drilling method with sectional

Main advantages of the LB 24 According to the customer the LB 24 once more proved to be a very strong and reliable machine. Another distinguishing advantage is its efficiency as the LB 24 provides high output while the fuel consumption is kept considerably low. Furthermore, the rotary drilling rig can easily be transported at and between jobsites and thus facilitates the planning work of construction companies.

The comfortable cabin, the clear touch screen display illustrating relevant information, a great number of pre-programmed func-

casing.

tions, and the memory function on joysticks

Thanks to the powerful engine of the LB

are just a few features of the LB 24 that contrib-

24 one pile was completed within two hours.

ute to its ease of operation. n

Since the jobsite was adjacent to the Bow River the construction of the secant pile wall was a challenge because of the need to withstand constant hydrostatic pressure.

22 PIC Magazine • June 2013

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Canada, U.S., International

Second Chance for Randle Reef

Clean up starts in Hamilton Harbour with pile tests

By Melanie Franner

The decades-plus long wait to begin cleaning

Randle Reef is unusual due to the sheer size

The Randle Reef Clean-up is anticipated to

up Hamilton Harbour’s Randle Reef may fi-

of the contaminated area and the high level of

cost $138.9 million. The federal and provincial

nally be coming close to an end. Environment

contamination present in sediments, which

governments have each committed to con-

Canada’s Head of Sediment Remediation Unit,

contain heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic

tributing $46.3 million. The remaining third

Roger Santiago, anticipates that, barring any

hydrocarbons in very high concentrations.

of the monies will derive from the five other

unforeseen circumstances, the in-water work

“In 2001, we formed a Project Advisory

stakeholders involved on the project: the City

required during the first phase of the clean up

Group that includes government, munici-

of Hamilton, the City of Burlington, the Ham-

should start sometime in May 2014.

palities, scientists, agencies, academia, local

ilton Port Authority, U.S. Steel Canada, and the

This is a welcome relief to the stakeholders

consulting groups, and conservation authori-

Region of Halton.

involved in the project, many of whom have

ties,” explains Environment Canada’s Santiago.

“Environment Canada is leading the proj-

been asking for help for the past 10 to 15 years.

“Some of the people looked at removing the

ect, with support from all funding partners

If and when this work finally does begin, it will

sediments. Others looked at managing the

and input from the wider community,” states

be the culmination of years of research and ef-

sediments in place. After 18 months of re-

Bruce Wood, president and CEO, Hamilton

fort to find the very best methods possible to

search and discussion, it was decided to move

Port Authority, which is contributing $14 mil-

clean up what is undoubtedly the largest geo-

forward with an in-situ remedy to handle the

lion. “Hamilton Port Authority will continue

graphically contaminated site on the Canadian

worst of the sediments: the building of an en-

to be an active participant in the process, as

side of the Great Lakes.

gineered containment facility.”

we have been for 10 years. We were among

The mandatory Environmental Assessment

the first community agencies to support the

In the beginning

on the project is close to completion, under-

Randle Reef remediation, and our engineering

Randle Reef is one of 42 “Areas of Concern”

going the 30-day public comment period in

team has taken the lead, investing many years

that were identified in the Great Lakes Water

January of this year. The comments have been

of time and expertise into bringing the project

Quality Agreement between Canada and the

addressed and a subsequent Environmental

to where it is today.”

United States. Of these 42 Areas of Concern,

Assessment Statement is being prepared by the

nine are located in Canada, 25 in the United

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

A working remedy

States, and the remaining are shared between

to be forwarded to the Minister of Environ-

Hamilton Port Authority’s Wood speaks of

the two countries. In many of these cases, some

ment. The minister’s approval to go ahead is

the Randle Reef remediation project leaving a

type of sediment management is required.

expected some time in the next few months.

legacy of a clean, active harbour for the future.

28 PIC Magazine • June 2013

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Canada, U.S., International Highlighted subarea priorities.

The layers of production dredging.

It will also create approximately 7.5 hectares of

surfaced with a suitable aggregate material and

One of the main components of the proj-

new land.

used as light industrial space,” he says. “The

ect is the construction of a capped, engineered

“The completed project will also result in the

proposed marine terminal facility is intended

containment facility of about 7.5 hectares in

creation of a new pier with a proposed end use

to be suitable for vessels greater than 25,000

size. This containment facility will be con-

of approximately two-thirds marine terminal

DWT and of Seaway draught, with vessels en-

structed of double steel sheet pile walls, with

and one-third naturalized open space or area

tering and exiting the berths along Pier 15.”

the outer walls being driven over 20 metres

30 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International

into the underlying sediment. It will be de-

“If all goes well, the project should be

and involved hammering metal sheets into

signed to hold approximately 500,000 cubic

completed by 2022,” states Santiago. “The

the lakebed to a depth of 24 metres.

metres of contaminated sediments dredged

approach that we’ve chosen is quite inno-

“The testing was situated along the

from the surrounding areas, and will sit upon

vative not so much in the methods we are

perimetre of the area to simulate the work

another 130,000 cubic metres of contaminated

going to use but in the fact that we are plan-

that will be done and provide an indication

sediments to prevent continuing contamina-

ning to incorporate several different rem-

of the amount of force that will be required

tion of the local ecosystem.

edies.”

to drive the piles at the site,” explains Santi-

The total amount of time anticipated to fin-

These remedies include: both hydraulic

ago. “The testing was done over a two-week

ish the Randle Reef Clean Up is eight years:

and mechanical dredging, a containment fa-

period, with the resulting data to become

approximately two years to build the contain-

cility, the use of an environmental cap, isola-

part of the engineering specifications for

ment facility; three years to dredge the 500,000

tion capping and thin-layer backfilling.

project tendering.”

m3 of sediment and place them in the contain-

“Lots of other approaches have been used

ment facility, along with isolation capping of

at different sites but there hasn’t been a site

A collaborative front

the US Steel channel area and a thin layer

yet that will use all of these,” adds Santiago.

The Randle Reef Clean Up has certainly been a long time in the making and has been

capping over the areas not being dredged; and another three years to place the three-metre

Testing the waters

pushed forward as a result of the stakeholders’

thick environmental cap over the containment

In December of last year, Environment

unwavering commitment to drive the project

facility.

Canada and the Hamilton Port Authority

forward. Despite this lengthy planning period,

Once the containment facility is capped, the

began and completed a test project to help

the project promises to be one that will act as a

Hamilton Port Authority will assume owner-

gain data on the site. These structural tests

case study for many years to come.

ship and will become responsible for monitor-

were designed to confirm the engineering

“I think there will be lessons learned from

ing and maintaining it.

design details of the containment facility

this partnership project that will help others Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 31

Canada, U.S., International Plans are to construct a 7.5 hectare (18.5 acres) Engineered Containment Facility (ECF) over the most highly contaminated sediment.

contemplating similar approaches,” states Santiago. “It has taken a lot of time and effort by the various stakeholders to advance this project to where we can reach the point of a successful implementation that will go a long way toward delisting Hamilton Harbour from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern.”

Hamilton Port Authority’s Wood acknowlsealed interior wall

edges the time that it has taken to get the project to where it is today and speaks of this lengthy period as time well spent.

“The due diligence involved in choosing the right engineering solution took time,” he admits. “We are confident that the approach

outer structural wall

being taken will deliver lasting benefits to the harbour and the community for generations

The isolation structure will feature a double steel sheetpile wall with sealed interlocks.

to come.” n

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32 PIC Magazine • June 2013

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Canada, U.S., International

A Glass-Half-Full Kind of Company Independence Tube Corp. expands offerings after devastation of natural disaster

By Jillian Mitchell

Sometimes the difference between a positive, successful outcome and a dismal letdown is a mere shift in perception.

As John Tassone of Independence Tube Corp. recalls, the scope of destruction in the wake of an EF5 tornado is unimaginable, but not impossible to overcome. On April 2011, a 210-mph windstorm left the company with incomprehensible damages to their major piling facility in Decatur, Alabama - 385,000 square feet of the 435,000-square-foot facility was completely destroyed. Thankfully, all 25 employees were able to escape unharmed.

While some companies might be tempted to gripe and brood, Independence Tube quickly rolled up their sleeves, pulled together a recov-

to these key points, the company’s Illinois facilities in Chicago and Marseilles soon picked up the Decatur workload, and out-of-work employees were offered placements accordingly - a proud accomplishment, he says.

ery team, and got to work. Twelve months later, the Alabama facility

“We’ve been in business for 40 years now, and if you think back over

reopened for business and the company began forging ahead - some say

the course of those years, the steel industry went through some pretty

even better than before.

tough times,” notes the marketing manager. “We’ve never laid anybody

It was the company motto, says marketing manager Tassone, that act-

off, and we wanted to keep that record, so to speak, intact through the

ed as a driving force in the rebuild: “Quality, Integrity, Service.” Adhering

course of the rebuild.”

34 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International In true Independence fashion, the company reopened its Decatur doors with a bang. Already a leading North American manufacturer of square, rectangular, and round structural steel tubing, Independence Tube now offers 14- and 16-inch OD pipe piling (which, pre-disaster, was only available up to 12 ¾ inch).

“We feel like we know the square and rectangular tube market; we’re kind of newcomers to the pipe piling market. We have a pipe piling specialist, Jim O’Shea, and he has a dedicated inside salesperson, Lisa Kingsbury, who handles all of the piling quotes and orders,” he says. “By increasing to the 16-inch OD, it gave us much more credibility in the market.

We’re a much bigger player now than we were before the tornado.”

Bigger player is right. In fact, Independence Tube was recently honoured with an FMA Industry award, as well as a The Tube and Pipe Journal (TPJ) Industry Award for their gallant efforts throughout the natural disaster. Fast-forward to today and the company has not lost any of their momentum. Some might say they are on the leading edge of service, delving into the latest in mobile apps for smartphones and iPads. They even have their own development team to continually better their online portal where current customers can view inventory, place orders for material (both off the floor and from up-coming rollings), print bills of lading, test reports, invoices, and receive auto-email notifications. A yearly rolling schedule is also readily available to customers.

“Technology is a huge part of business these days,” the marketing manager adds. “When we started the portal three years ago, we were kind of skeptical as to how it would work, but over 50 per cent of our customer orders now come in through the portal.”

Founded in 1972, Independence Tube Corp. steadily evolved from a 53,000-square-foot facility on the southwest side of Chicago to three facilities totaling over one million square feet. In 1997, the company opened their second location in Marseilles, and in 2006 the Decatur site opened its doors.

In 2009, a second mill was implemented into the Marseilles division and the hiring of additional crew brought the number of total employees up to 265.

As Tassone confirms, plans for the immediate future are focused on expanding the A252 pipe piling portion of their portal to support the continued growth they are seeing from their piling customers. They are also redesigning their website, www.independencetube.com, to expand the technical pipe piling information that their customers are asking for. The main focus over the last 16 months, however, has been on getting Decatur up and running.

“Even though Decatur had been producing since 2006, with the improvements we made during the tornado rebuild—increasing the piling sizes offered by adding 14-inch OD and 16-inch OD, adding three 90’ spans to allow for better material transfer to the outdoor pipe piling yard [which also was increased in size during the tornado re-build] - they kind of need to let everything and everyone settle in and let life get back to somewhat normal.”

“That being said, Independence Tube has steadily grown over the last 40 years, continuously adding new facilities and new products. We pride ourselves on doing what we say we’re going to do, and the quality has been built in since day one,” adds Tassone. “We’re continually looking for new opportunities to grow, and a lot of it is through feedback from the customers - what they want us to do, what they want us to make. We’re always open to their suggestions.” n

Drilling & Piles Ltd. Fort Macleod, Alberta

Ph: (403) 553-4084 | Fax: (403) 553-2834 info@westcodrilling.ca

www.westcodrilling.ca

Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 35

Canada, U.S., International

Singapore’s Vision O’Cell™ Technology Advances Tight Schedules in Challenging Subsurface Conditions William F. “Bubba” Knight, P.E., Fitri Johari; Loadtest USA Singapore began using forward thinking and planning with creation of a master plan in 195255, officially accepted in 1958, that looked at future development in the city-state. With the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) established in 1974, focus was further placed on development meeting the visions of master plan.

The master plan, reviewed and updated eight times since inception, identifies five regions: the west, north, north-east, east, and central. Marina Bay is an important development within the central area which is part of the central region.

The vision for a seamless extension of the downtown district to support the city-state’s continued development into a major financial and business hub in Asia dates to over 40 years ago. This vision included the transformation of Singapore’s southern tip into a 360 hectare (890 acre) waterfront business district that eventually lead to the Marina Bay development. Along this artificial bay land reclamation efforts occurred in phases between 1969 and 1992. These reclamation efforts had major impacts in the planning and construction of the Marina Bay Sands development as discussed later in the article.

With the vision of a Garden City environment by the bay, Marina Bay was desired as a 24/7 location for rich leisure and cultural experience back dropped against Singapore’s city skyline.

It should fulfill the vision as a source for exciting exchange of ideas, business information, and with opportunity for new living and lifestyles to burgeon in Singapore.

The Marina Bay Area The Marina Bay master plan focuses on mixed use to ensure around the clock area vibrancy. Value was sought through provision of commercial, residential, hotel, and entertainment space; building heights for the key open spaces and waterfront areas were desired to be low to maximize views from individual de36 PIC Magazine • June 2013

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Canada, U.S., International

velopments located further inland from the water front to enhance their attractiveness and create a dynamic stepped profile with more pedestrianscaled areas.

The overall Marina Bay Development area is supported by transportation links of the iconic Helix Bridge, separate bridges linking Marina South and Marina Centre, roads directly linking to the city and airport, five underground MRT stations, and a data, telecommunication cable and sewers in a common tunnel. All these link and support the 101-hectare (250 acre) Gardens by the Bay and over 400,000-square-metres (5,400,000-squarefeet) of grade ’A’ office space.

The Safdie Marina Bay Sands Design Following a highly competitive proposal bidding process in May 2006, Las Vegas Sands was awarded Marina Bay Sands based on the Safdie Architect design of the business-oriented integrated resort.

The Moshe Safdie Architect design for Marina Bay Sands was deemed superior because of the hotel tower placement, setback from the waterfront, which opened views of the city and Marina Bay enhancing the distinctive skyline. Devotion to pedestrian circulation and fit with the Marina Bay landscape made the design desired. Provision for 110,000-square-metres (1,200,000-square-feet) of convention space, one-half the desired amount for downtown Singapore, as well as the inclusion of the ArtScience Museum, two performing theaters, and six celebrity chef restaurants netted the design top marks for convention and tourism appeal. Adding to the tourism appeal the three hotel towers, inspired by decks of cards placed upright and shuffled as 38 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International

typical of a casino croupier, provide 2,560 rooms and suites, a shopping mall, skating rink, the world’s largest atrium casino, and a onehectare Sands SkyPark terrace sitting atop the three hotel towers.

The Site Condition Challenges As noted earlier, the Marina Bay area has undergone several reclamation phases since the late 1960s, with the latest being completed in mid-1990s. The majority of the development is sitting on the 1990s reclamation zone, while the eastern side of the development is located within the reclamation zone, completed in late 1970s.

A general soils profile is described as 12 to 15 metres (39 to 49 feet) of sand reclamation fill overlying five to 35 metres (16 to 115 feet) of soft marine clay deposits known as the Kallang Formation. This predominately soft marine clay has some interbedded firm clay and fluvial origin medium dense sands.

This is underlain by a layer of very stiff-to-hard Old Alluvium (OA).

This soft marine clay, coupled with the proximity of the East Coast Parkway highway and the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, posed significant challenges to the design of the excavation works.

Beneath the southern end of the Sands Expo and Convention Center (MICE), casino, retail, theatres and ArtScience Museum the Kallang Formation deposit is upwards of 35 metres (115 feet) thick with it thinning towards the north. To the east at the hotel, district cooling system and Singapore Mass Transit Downtown Line 1 extension the soft marine deposit is generally 10 metres (32 feet) thick with deep valleys being encountered at the southern and northern ends of the site.

Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 39

Canada, U.S., International

ARUP Design Innovations With an average basement excavation of approximately 20 metres (65 feet) combined with over 40 per cent of the concrete construction occurring 18 to 35 metres (59 to 115 feet) underground the schedule timetable required innovative design approaches. ARUP, the structural engineer, took an innovative design approach that allowed for removal form the site of 2.8 million m3 (3.66 million cy) of sand fill and marine clay in two years, an average of 800 trucks per day. Additionally, a 35 metre (115 foot) deep cutand-cover tunnel next to the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, to remain operational, was engineered to connect the Downtown Line 1 extension of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit rail.

ARUP’s excavation design innovations include constructing four large cofferdams: two 120-metre (393-foot) diameter, and a 100-metre (328-foot) diameter circular cofferdams, a twin-cell 75-metre (246-foot) diameter cofferdam, a 65-metre (213-foot) radius semi-circular cofferdam, a T-shaped diaphragm wall, and modification to the Benjamin Sheares Bridge to ensure the bridge could safely tolerate the horizontal movement imposed upon it to facilitate excavation.

The Foundation Challenges Below these cofferdam excavations the foundations for the Marina Bay Sands development, a forest of barrettes and one to three-metre (3.3 to 9.8 foot) bored piles installed into the Old Alluvium layer provided support to the buildings. The compressed construction schedule required construction of these bored and barrette foundations concurrently with the construction of the diaphragm walls prior to the excavation of the cofferdams. In addition to the logistical challenges created, the issue of foundation load capacity confirmation needed addressing.

40 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International O’Cell Technology Solves Foundation Challenge With such a major project and the extremely tight piling works program, Sambo Geo-Tosfoc Co. LTD. engaged Fugro Loadtest (Singapore) to conduct out a working pile load test program using Osterberg Cell™ bi-directional testing method to confirm foundation load capacities.

The O’Cell™ bi-directional technology was chosen: • To confirm that the design loading requirements were being met • For its ability to isolate and load the foundation bearing strata, key with the works schedule requiring loading capacity confirmation prior to site excavation • For its ability to separate the end bearing and skin friction components of the foundation capacity • For its ability to provide high test loads even with the deep foundation cutoff levels, 13 to 25.5 metres (42.6 to 83.6 feet) below ground surface without need for reaction systems • A total of six working piles and one working barrette were tested. Test pile depths ranged from 69.5 to 82.5 metres (228 to 270 feet) on the 1.8-metre and three-metre (six-foot and 9.8-foot) diameter rotary bored piles, and 2.8-metre by one-metre (nine-foot by 3.3-foot) barrette; as noted above the cutoff elevations ranged from 13 to 25.5 metres (42.6 to 83.6 feet).

The O’Cell™ test piles and barrette were constructed full depth and were concreted to cut off elevation levels with the empty excavated bore above carefully backfilled with clean sand fill material to platform level to maintain bore wall stability and for safety reasons. The reinforcing cages and O-cell™ related instrumentation was brought to platform level so that testing could be conducted from the existing platform level.

Testing of the rotary bored piles and the barrette were carried out using the ASTM quick test method but with a full 24-hour hold at test load. Bidirectional test loads reaching from 22.0 MN (4945 kip) to 54.0 MN (12,140 kip) were applied to the test piles using a combination of 870-millimetre (34inch) and 610-millimetre (24-inch) O-cells™ in single and multiple configurations. As the test piles were production piles intended to carry structural loading, the O-cell™s and annular void created as a result of the expansion of the O-cell™ were grouted to reinstate the structural integrity.

The flexibility of the O’Cell bi-direction testing capability allowed for advance testing even though the site was reclaimed from the sea with a substantial layer of sand fill overlying varying thicknesses of the Kallang Formation, a soft Marine Clay. The O’Cell™ testing was able to confirm that foundation capacities meeting design loading requirements were derived from the Old Alluvium founding layer beneath the Marine Clay layer.

References: • www.ura.gov.sg • www.marina-bay.sg • http://www.msafdie.com/#/projects/marinabaysands • Singapore’s vision for Marina Bay, The Arup Journal 1/2012, Jenny Lee; • Innovative excavation design for Marina Bay Sands, Underground Singapore 2011, J.W. Pappin & W.K. Leong, Arup, Hong Kong; P. Iskandar, Arup, Singapore • Geotechnics and foundation design, The Arup Journal 1/2012; Philip Iskandar, Leong Wing Kai, Jack Pappin • Deep Basement & Foundations, A496, Bachy Soletanche, Author unknown n

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Canada, U.S., International

Foundation Fix Wolf Creek Dam project seeks to stop leaks far below the surface

by Stefano Valagussa, Fabio Santillan and Vincent Jue When Kentucky’s Wolf Creek Dam was built in the 1940s, no one knew the extent of the troubles that lurked below the surface. Lacking the sophisticated tools and equipment that today allow for detailed evaluations of foundation conditions, Wolf Creek Dam’s original designers and builders felt certain that the cutoff trench that was installed into the bedrock foundation would be enough to prevent seepage below the dam.

They were wrong.

About 15 years after construction of the Wolf Creek Dam was completed, serious reservoir seepage problems were discovered near the downstream toe of the embankment. The dam’s deteriorating karst limestone foundation kicked off a series of actions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The most recent project – which the USACE hopes to be a permanent solution – is a US$594 million (total cost) remediation project to cut off the seepage.

Dams on Karst Foundations At Wolf Creek Dam, the limestone foundation has been dissolving over the years due to carbonic acid found naturally in underground water at a level well below the original trench. However, Wolf Creek Dam is far from the only dam affected by a pervious foundation and the problem isn’t just in the U.S. Dams throughout Canada are also built on trouble-

impoundment, seepage flows increased, sinkholes formed in the head pond, and fine grained materials were discharged - all signs of a developing foundation problem. The dam was monitored and phased repairs planned, but it was eventually concluded that such fixes were no match for Mother Nature. The limestone foundation continued deteriorating, and in 2003, a decision was made to build a replacement dam downstream at a location where it was possible to seal the foundation adequately.

some karst limestone foundations, and have exhibited failures to varying

Other Canadian dams that have struggled with karstic foundations

degrees through the years.

include the Stewartville Dam in Ontario, the Grand Rapids Dam in the

The original Shikwamkwa Dam near Wawa in northern Ontario, for

Saskatchewan River Delta, and the Arnprior Dam on the Madawaska

example, was built in 1958 on a highly pervious foundation. Soon after

River in Southern Ontario.

42 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International

The current fix to Kentucky’s Wolf Creek Dam seeks to stop the seep-

seepage once again appeared downstream of the dam. Lake Cumberland

age with the placement of a new 277-foot-deep, 3,800-foot-long barrier

was lowered in 2007, and has since been maintained some 40 feet below

wall combined with a unique pile system of secant piles and rectangular

its original 723 foot level to reduce the stress on the dam.

elements and an unique quality control plan that will stop the seepage and greatly extend the life of the structure.

A Better Fix The $402 million barrier wall project currently underway started in

Sturdy Structure, Faulty Foundation The Wolf Creek Dam structure itself has posed no problems. The western end of the 5,736-foot-long dam is a 1,796-foot-long gravity structure built across the Cumberland River. The rest of the structure is a compacted clay embankment. At ultimate capacity in flood conditions, it holds six million acre-ft of water. U.S. Highway 127 runs across the top of the dam.

Foundation troubles began in 1962 with the discovery of the downstream seepage. The issue worsened, and crews pumped in nearly 290,000 cubic yards of pressurized grout to temporarily stop the leaks as they studied more permanent solutions. It was found that the original foundation trench was designed to cut through the alluvial deposits above the limestone and 50 feet into the rock, but it didn’t reach far enough to do the job.

In 1976, the Corps recommended construction of a $50 million concrete cutoff wall. After significant debate, it was decided that a concrete diaphragm wall would be placed through the dam into underlying rock to about 250 feet, but only for two-thirds of the overall embankment

2008. It was awarded by the USACE to Treviicos-Soletanche Joint Venture (TSJV), a Treviicos-led partnership between Boston-based Treviicos, the North American subsidiary of Trevi headquartered in Italy, and Soletanche Construction, a subsidiary of Soletanche-Bachy of France. It includes a multi-step plan that involves a preventative grouting program, construction of a protective concrete embankment wall (PCEW) and a new barrier wall within the PCEW.

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Canada, U.S., International The new barrier wall is composed of a combination of three piling techniques to ensure a watertight barricade. The project improves upon the 1976 fix by installing a new wall 1,561 feet longer and as much as 70 feet deeper than the barrier put in place in 1976. Precision is critical, requiring advanced drilling equipment and methods for pile holes, pile excavation, and pile placement.

Joint-venture contractors began work by significantly augmenting the double-line grout curtains (installed previously by other contractors) in preparation for the barrier wall construction. TSJV’s low mobility grouting was designed to find and improve any soft contact areas at the interface of the earth embankment and the rock below. By implementing this additional soil stabilizing step, installation of the PCEW would be safer. TSJV drilled and grouted more than 760 holes - 180,000 linear feet of drilling - and injected 400,000 gallons of grout.

The grouting program not only helped stabilize the area for the upcoming wall construction, but also provided additional data about the underlying karst limestone foundation. TSJV was able to combine this data with that of earlier projects to create three-dimensional drawings of the formation which were then used to design the installation sequence of the barrier wall in the most critical areas of the dam.

Next came the construction of the PCEW, a concrete wall that was installed as a safety measure to stabilize the clay embankment from the effects of construction activity. It is within the PCEW that the complex piling system is placed to form the new barrier wall. The PCEW is a six-foot wide concrete wall ranging in depth from 115 feet to 235 feet and running the entire length of the barrier wall. It is 40 feet upstream from the barrier wall built in 1976.

Crews built the wall in nine-foot long segments, using a Soletanche hydromill mounted on a Soilmec SC-120 crawler crane. The hydraulically powered hydromill used two counter-rotating heads to perform the excavation.

A polymer-based slurry kept the excavation open. As the hydromill advanced downward, the excavated material was removed to a recycling plant and concrete was poured.

The reliability of the Soilmec SC-120 has played a pivotal role in the project. Rated at 120 metric tons with a 13-foot boom extension, the crane offers features typically found on cranes designed to hoist heavy loads, while 44 PIC Magazine • June 2013

also serving as a multi-functional base for a number of specialized applications. The crane has also been used during special hoisting operations, as an attachment to hydraulic and mechanical buckets, and as a hydraulic rotary rig. Outfitted with a proportional hydraulic system, the rig features two hydraulic pumps with a flow rate of 125 gallons per minute.

A Soilmec SC-90 crane, rigged with a clamshell mechanical bucket, was recruited to begin the excavation work, which allowed the construction of the PCEW hydromill panels to depths of up to 180 feet. Like the SC-120, the SC90 also features a proportional hydraulic system with two pumps, each providing 107 gpm.

Barrier Wall Construction Begins As segments of the PCEW were completed, crews began drilling pilot holes down through the concrete in anticipation of the barrier wall’s secant piles. Directional drilling technology was used to ensure the best possible alignment of piles. The pilot hole approach also gave crews an opportunity to perform additional investigation of the foundation conditions. Four Soilmec PSM 16GTS rigs drilled the 1,255, eight-inch diametre pilot holes, which extended to a level five feet below the bottom of the PCEW. Alignment of each element was checked by four different methods: twice during pilot hole drilling (one in real time and one upon completion) and twice during pile excavation (again, one in real time and one upon completion). The final check used an ultrasonic drilling monitor designed to provide highly accurate data even in challenging soil conditions. The three initial sets of data were correlated with the ultrasonic reading, which then became the as-built drawings for each hole.

These drawings were used to confirm that the proper alignment and overlap would be achieved when the full-size holes were drilled.

A special 50-inch drill bit with a leading eight-inch nose follows the pilot hole and keeps the larger drilled piling on course. Ensuring continuity of the barrier wall was the project’s primary objective. To that end, contract requirements limit the barrier wall deviation from vertical to a maximum of 0.25 per cent with an overlap between elements of at least 0.5 feet. These requirements have been consistently exceeded along the project to the

point that no remedial work was required due pile verticality issues. In addition, production rates using the pilot holes has been up to 30 per cent greater than original estimates.

Multi-Pile Approach Crews have used three different construction methods to build the barrier wall: the combined barrier wall, secant pile wall, and Treviicos’ relatively new continuous secant pile system.

Combined barrier wall panels were constructed for much of the easternmost 700 feet of the embankment. A reverse circulation drill was used to drill two 50-inch diametre piles on 126-inch centers. A nine-foot wide hydromill panel connected each pair of piles.

While the combined barrier wall process was efficient and effective, shifts in job sequencing meant the secant pile wall system was used for the majority of the barrier wall. Here, 50-inch diametre piles were drilled on either 31.5-inch or 35-inch centres, starting with the pilot holes, through the PCEW and the rock underneath it. Two Soilmec drill rigs were dedicated to the predrilling operation, advancing the slightly oversized secant piles about 150 feet through the PCEW. Then, five reverse circulation drills drove the remaining 120 feet of the 50-foot diametre piles into the limestone rock.

A third system - the secant pile system - was used on a limited section of the project. Developed by Treviicos for use on New Zealand’s Arapuni Dam project, it uses a smaller, shorter pipe-like piece attached to the drill to guide it, making the subsequent pile perfectly aligned with its predecessor. Once the first pilot hole and pile are drilled conventionally, the secant pile system can be used to drill three, four or more holes, producing one slot-like excavation ready for concrete.

Soilmec’s Drill Mate System (DMS) monitors and controls all drilling operations on the secant pile system, set up to drill 50-inch diametre piles with a 40-inch axis dimension between the drill and the guide. This ensured physical continuity of the secant pile wall by the arrangement of its parts, and additionally cuts down some of the repetitive operations typically required in secant pile construction, such as setting up for each pile. It also minimizes the amount of excavated material by 25 per cent, which directly affects drilling time.

While the continuous secant pile system was used on only a small portion of the Wolf Creek

Canada, U.S., International Dam barrier wall, it remains a promising approach for future similar projects.

Critical Construction in Critical Areas

and concrete strength. The results obtained during this effort confirmed that the quality of the barrier reached outstanding levels, consistently exceeding the contract requirements and thus allowing the USACE to anticipate raising the lake level nearly a year earlier than expected. This translates into huge savings to the taxpayers by allowing the full utilization of the lake in terms of recreation and permitting the generation of electricity to return to full capacity.

technical contractor Treviicos, the North America subsidiary of Trevi headquartered in Italy. Reach him at svalagussa@treviicos.com.

Fabio Santillan is the Treviicos-Soletanche Joint Venture project manager for the Wolf Creek Dam project. He has been with Trevi Group since 1999, and with Treviicos since 2002.

Reach him at fsantillan@treviicos.com.

Vincent Jue is a vice president with Soilmec North America. Soilmec manufactures drilling and ground engineering construction equipment. Reach him at vjue@champion-equipment.com. n

The condition of the dam’s foundation and the sheer number of tasks requiring coordination have made the entire project a challenge. Four areas totalling about 900 feet of the dam’s length were identified as “critical areas” because of the state of the underlying limestone. In fact, in a About the Authors particularly cavernous section deemed “Critical Stefano Valagussa is president and CEO of geoArea 1,” work was halted for nine months early in the project timeline as a result of the USACE’s concern of embankment instability.

In these critical areas, crews were limited in their use of equipment and methodology. Any Interpipe drilling or excavation equipment had to be more Inc. is a steel pipe distributor of new and than 90 feet apart to permit simultaneousused exca- structural steel pipe. We have two vation, compared to 40 feet in non-critical large areas. stocking locations of Seamless, ERW, Additionally, excavation of new elements closer Spiralweld and DSAW pipe. than 40 feet to the edge of an already-concreted Interpipe Inc. is a steel pipe distributor of new element could only proceed after the concrete had and used structural steel pipe.

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Barrier Wall Construction Completes Ahead of Schedule

Despite the project’s complexity, its challenges and early delays in construction, the Wolf Creek Dam’s barrier wall was successfully completed on March 6, 2013 - almost eight months ahead of schedule.

Thoughtful planning with particular emphasis on safety and quality contributed to the completion of the barrier with an outstanding safety record of more than two years and 1,300,000 man hours without a lost time injury. Barely any remedial work - less than 0.2 per cent - was required on the job.

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www.interpipe.com Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 45

Canada, U.S., International

Breaking New Ground Mansueto Library offers shining example of architectural and structural ingenuity

By Melanie Franner

It today’s digital world, it’s rare that a university will commit to keeping its entire research collection on campus – for the present, never mind for the next two decades. But the University of Chicago is not averse to taking the road less travelled – in more ways than one.

The University of Chicago’s new Mansueto Library is a testament to this scholarly endeavour, and an innovative example of a leading-edge architectural design that challenges the very core of structural engineering.

Lighting the way Designed by world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn, the Mansueto Library takes the form of a soaring elliptical glass dome that rises above ground to offer a clear-span of 8,000 square feet, with comfortable seating for faculty, students, and visitors. The “dome” itself is an impressive engineering feat, never mind the structural engineering that has occurred beneath it.

“The dome is one of the more interesting construction features of the library,” explains Boyd Black, assistant vice president, Capital Projects Delivery for Facility Services, University of Chicago. “The dome was completely pre-fabricated in Germany. Entire sections of the dome were assembled in Germany before being disassembled and then shipped to the site piece by piece in the order it which they had to be erected.”

The oval glass dome measures approximately 236 feet in length and approximately 129 feet across. It rises 32 feet high.

46 PIC Magazine • June 2013

“This is a very unique space,” continues Black. “It is entirely column free.”

This elliptical dome acts as a beacon of light (especially at night) to the treasures that lie beneath it.

“The idea of taking this project underground was presented to the University by the architect Helmut Jahn,” explains Black. “He suggested that rather than have the library sit above ground, it would make more sense to take it underground, especially because there couldn’t be any windows because the main goal was to protect the books. We needed to be able to guard against sunlight and control the temperature and humidity.”

Because of this driving need to protect the millions of volumes of materials, the Mansueto Library extends 55 feet below ground. And it accommodates some of the most modern technology available in the form of an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) that shelves the materials underground by size rather than library classification. The ASRS uses five mechanical cranes measuring 50 feet in height to store and retrieve volumes from some 24,000 bins and 1,200 shelf racks located in 12 columns of metal racks. This high-density ASRS requires one-seventh of the space of conventional library shelving and can retrieve materials in as little as five minutes.

“The system has a 3.5 million volume capacity,” adds Black. “We brought back the many volumes that had been stored off campus so we have already filled up a significant portion of that capacity. But we built the system for the future so there is still a lot of potential for growth.”

Canada, U.S., International

View north.

View south.

Building from the ground down

and constructability of each of them, and how to build the structure in

With two-thirds of the Mansueto Library designed to be under-

the most cost-effective way possible.”

ground, the University of Chicago needed the expertise of a company

According to Terri, the firm’s valuable input enabled the University of

well established in offering geotechnical design and construction ser-

Chicago to issue tenders for the project. Hayward Baker bid on it – and

vices. It turned to Hayward Baker, a company that has over six decades

won.

of experience in implementing effective and economical projects that in-

“Once we won the bid, we were responsible for the design, excavation,

clude grouting, ground improvement, structural support, earth retention

and installation of the permanent below-grade walls, including construc-

– and more.

tion of the ground anchors,” adds Terri. “We oversaw everything that

“We were involved in the project many years before the actual con-

went on underground.”

struction,” explains Gregory Terri, area manager, Hayward Baker. “We

There were a couple of interesting features about the site that added some

were brought in early to review all underground technologies, logistics

complexity to the building of the underground library. One, the water table Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 47

Canada, U.S., International

was quite high – around seven to 10 feet below

The 30-inch thick diaphragm foundation system runs the entire 660-foot perimetre of the project.

grade. Two, there was sloping rock across the site, as well as some deep sand pockets. And third, the excavation and construction was located right beside the foundation of the neighbouring building: the Joseph Regenstein Library.

“The shape of the building was very unusual as well,” comments Terri. “The only permanent lateral support in it was the concrete slab located at street level and the concrete slab at 50 feet below grade. There were no interior slabs so we had to come up with a unique solution.”

The answer would lie in the use of an optimized anchored diaphragm wall.

The 30-inch thick diaphragm foundation system runs the entire 660-foot perimetre of the project. As the digging occurred, slurry was pumped in, filling the excavation and keeping the earth in place. Steel cages were lowered into the 30-inch, 60-foot deep excavated trench and, as the concrete was poured, the slurry was displaced and pumped out for later reuse.

In all, the foundation required a total of 26, 30-inch concrete panels measuring 24 feet wide by 70 feet deep. Once the panels were installed, end stops were put in place to prevent any water leakage in between the panels. Additionally, grouting was used along portions of the perimeter to minimize groundwater infiltration through the weathered rock below the wall. In total, there were over 330 permanent ground tiebacks used to hold and anchor the panels in place.

In addition to the use of end stops and grouting to prevent water or moisture leakage, the underground library storage area also has a separate corridor running around its entire perimetre and acting as a barrier to the trea-

48 PIC Magazine • June 2013

Canada, U.S., International

sures inside. This corridor does double duty as a maintenance area. It also allows for the temperature to be held at the desired 60 degrees F and the relative humidity at 30 per cent.

“This was a significant project for us both in terms of size and visibility,” states Terri. “It is certainly one of a only a handful that we have worked on that has garnered so much attention and accolades.”

These accolades include the 2011 Distinguished Building Award Citation of Merit from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

A brilliant example Although the Mansueto Library is attached to – and can only be accessed through – the Joseph Regenstein Library, it nevertheless stands apart in both its design and its usefulness.

“I think that the Mansueto Library has changed the University of Chicago in two distinct ways,” concludes the University’s Black.

“First, there is a significant advantage to faculty, students and visitors in keeping all the library’s books on campus rather than building an offsite facility to house expanding collections.

Second, this is an award-winning design and a wonderful piece of architecture that brings a new sense of excitement and added visibility to a very prominent part of the campus.”

Construction on the facility began in July 2008 and was completed in April 2011. The building came with a price tag of $81 million.

But the result is a stunning piece of architecture and design that illuminates the future path forward for many young scholars yet to come. n

Book storage retrieval.

Piling Industry Canada • June 2013 49

Index to Advertisers American Pile Driving Equipment

33

Arntzen Corporation

43

Bauer-Pileco Inc.

13

Bay Shore Systems, Inc.

11

Bermingham Foundation Solutions

9

Canadian Pile Driving Equipment

20

D.A. McIntyre Construction Ltd.

16

Dominion Pipe & Piling

IFC

Eastrock Inc.

19

ECA Canada

26

Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc. Geokon, Incorporated

IBC 41

Hammer & Steel OBC HCM Contractors Inc. Independence Tube

25 3

Instantel 50 Interpipe Inc.

45

Liebherr-Canada Ltd.

23

Loadtest 37 Northstar Inc.

5

Pile Dynamics, Inc.

8

Pile Drivers Local Union 2404

12

Platinum Grover International Inc.

17

Roll Form Group

15

RST Instruments Ltd.

35

Skyline Steel

7

Soilmec North America C/o Convey Inc. OFC, 3

50

Tadano Mantis Corporation

29

Verbeek Management Services

16

Waterloo Barrier

16

Westco Drilling & Piles Ltd.

35

Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc.

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