Our team came up with an ingenious, and sustainable, way of coping with a stiff clay layer when testing an embankment in a quarry in the south west.
As well as following the normal procedure of using screw anchors to fix the minicrawler rig to the ground, we fitted a frame either side of the rig allowing two tonnes of quarry sand to be used to provide extra reaction force for the push. This set-up ensured four CPTs could be carried out to a maximum depth of 16.5m. Project Engineer Paul Dimelow said: “This was a speedy and cost-effective method of acquiring data on a site with weight restrictions. The client was excited about using similar techniques on future projects and was dancing around the quarry in delight at the success of the testing!”
We have just finished carrying out more than 150 CPTs and insitu shear vane tests to provide an accurate measurement of soil mixing column shear strength in Kittila, Finland. The 18m long columns were being used to raise a mine tailings dam.
Michel Julien, Vice-President, Environment, Agnico Eagle Mines, said: “I would like to take the opportunity to thank Lankelma’s team for its hard work, which has set a new standard in our company. We have collected a lot of very good data and our preliminary interpretation indicates the deep soil mixing has significantly improved the behaviour of the tailings.”
After completing a successful nearshore site investigation project in Southern Ireland, Lankelma’s Sandpiper C-5 jack-up is on the way to the next project in France.
Reporting Engineer Chris Player has been with us for a couple of years. He is part of the engineering team, responsible primarily for data analysis and reporting.
… Continue reading
We’re exhibiting at this year’s Oceanology International 2018. Meet our team on stand D510 on 13th – 15th March at ExCel London. … Continue reading
Eric Zon, Lankelma Managing Director, will be presenting at the Coastal Development Seminar held in London on 31st January 2018. … Continue reading
Joe Hobbs, Lankelma Technical Manager, will be speaking at Equipe Group’s Cone Penetration Testing in Geotechnical Practice seminar held at Brunel University on 30th – 31st January 2018. … Continue reading
The new rail facility at our head office is enabling us to further develop our rail-specific CPT rigs and equipment.
“CPT has been used successfully on railway investigations across the UK in recent years,” said Lankelma General Manager Chris Dimelow. “We have developed on-track plant and equipment designed specifically for investigations in the four main rail environments: track bed, embankments, tunnels and stations. This includes our CPT rail truck and our UK14 excavator-mounted unit.
“The facility will enable us to continue this development and also allow us to test and maintain our equipment more easily.”
Lankelma’s CPT rail units can be used with the full range of standard and specialist cones, can take samples and be used to install instrumentation. Provided there is sufficient reaction force and a power supply, CPTs can be carried out almost anywhere in the rail environment.
Our highly versatile excavator-mounted inclined rig solved the challenge of testing next to a road in Oxfordshire this summer.
UK21 carried out 35 CPTs, to a maximum depth of 25m, at the proposed locations of drainage culverts for the road, at angles of between 20° and 55°.
“UK21 was originally developed to carry out CPTs through reservoir embankments,” explained Lankelma Technical Manager Joe Hobbs. “However, it has far wider applications, particularly for inclined testing below buried structures, deep or shallow foundations and next to piles, to assess ground conditions and the potential re-use of below ground structures.”
UK21 fits onto the end of most excavator arms and can be tilted to allow CPTs to be carried out at any angle up to 90°.
“The CPT cone has been modified to allow the angle of testing to be monitored throughout the test and provide a repeatable relative stiffness profile,” Joe said. “In many cases, it is also possible to carry out horizontal CPTs along the course of the inclined test so that we can calibrate results to the equivalent vertical test results.”
