Product category:
Ground Engineering
News Release from: Aarsleff Piling | Subject: Leeds Swimming Pool
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 09 November 2005
Aarsleff drives into Leeds swimming pool
Aarsleff Piling overcome potential piling problems at the new Leeds Swimming Pool and Diving Centre.
Close co-operation between Sir Robert McAlpine, the main contractor for the new Leeds Swimming Pool and Diving Centre, and its specialist driven piling contractor Aarsleff Piling, has been a major benefit in overcoming potential piling problems on the project Aarsleff expected it would be difficult to drive the required tubular steel piles through the stiff made ground and into the underlying mudstone, so the two companies worked together on precontract piling trials to determine the most appropriate drop hammer to cope with the anticipated hard driving and achieve the desired working loads for the piles
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 26 May 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"The pool and diving centre are being built on part of the car park of the South Leeds Stadium, which is on the site of a former opencast coal mine," says Aarsleff contracts engineer Matthew King.
"We anticipated the mining backfill and underlying mudstone could pose a problem driving the piles, which were up to 26 m long".
"So we worked with Sir Robert McAlpine and did some precontract pile driving and testing trials with one of our 5 t Banut hammers".
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"Driving was very hard and the hammer was working beyond its recommended limits and unable to achieve the desired penetration and the required working loads".
"From the drive information gained during the trial piling with the Banut hammer we decided a bigger 7 t Junttan HHK-5/7A hammer, working safely within its capabilities, was able to achieve the specified penetration and working loads".
The Junttan hammer, operated from the host rig's hydraulic system, hydraulically accelerates the 7 t ram during the fall, boosting the impact energy and increasing by up to 20% the efficiency at full stroke over a conventional free fall drop hammer of the same weight.
The HHK-5/7A hammer, with its 7 t ram, produces maximum impact energy of 84 kNm at full stroke of 1.2 m.
Impact energy, ram stroke and blow rate can be adjusted to suit ground conditions and pile type.
Aarsleff's GBP673,000 supply, handle, pitch, drive and testing contract involved installing approximately 13,000 linear metres of tubular steel piling.
For the approximate 530 steel piles Aarsleff used various sizes of recycled oil well drill casing, ranging from 178 mm up 273 mm diameter, which was collared and coupled together in 10 m to 13 m long sections.
The tubular steel piles were designed predominantly for compressive working loads up to 1100 kN with some tension piles catering for 200 kN.
Precision Monitoring and Control carried out independent dynamic and static testing to verify capacity of the driven tubes.
Pull out tests were also done to check the integrity of the interference fit of the piles' collared joints".
"We went to tender for the driven piling and Aarsleff came up with the best bid and we got them to do some trial piling with a Banut hammer," says Sir Robert McAlpine project manager Mike Simpson.
"They couldn't get the penetration or achieve the design loads with it and proposed a bigger Junttan hammer and proved its capabilities in pre contract trials".
Sir Robert McAlpine, working for client Leeds City Council, is building the swimming pool complex adjacent to the existing South Leeds Stadium, to a design by architect and structural engineer William Saunders Partnership.
The company started on its GBP15 M contract in April 2005 and expects to complete on schedule for the complex to open in February 2007.
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