Abstract:
Europe’ s second-largest seaport has installed a new combi wall consisting of pipe piles, sheet piles and inclined shaft grouted piles to support it.
The Port of Antwerp's location, deep inland in Belgium, provides more efficient transfer than the majority of North Sea ports.
The new Liebherr piling rig type LRH 600 with swinging leader was used to drive shaft grouted piles into a very dense soil layer of sand with glauconite. The 195-foot Liebherr swinging leader was suspended at an inclination of 45° via a suspension frame and suspension ropes from the crawler crane LR 1600, as carrier machine.
This inclined installation of shaft grouted piles via freely hanging swinging leader, as used for this project, is unique in Belgium. Moreover, the pile length of 140 feet is a novelty for this type of pile.
Shaft grouted piles or MV piles consist of a traditional steel profile with a separate box-like pile shoe with an open top. A separate injection pipe is welded to the flanges. The steel HEM pile is driven to depth using a free-fall hammer. A thin grout is injected via an injection pipe during driving and emerges just above the pile shoe. As the pile is driven further down, so compressing the ground, the space above the pile foot is immediately filled with grout under pressure. This piling system is ideally suited for the transfer of high tensile loadings. It is a method to increase geotechnical load-bearing capacity and to reduce negative skin friction during pile driving.
Jan De Nul Group has successfully completed the pile installation and the project. Thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, the company was able to manage and execute this large-scale project within the scheduled time.
Abstract: Theme 8