Our jack-up platform Sandpiper is playing a key role on an investigation for a flood defence scheme in the east of England.
We have been commissioned by the BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald joint venture to carry out 13 overwater CPTs from Sandpiper, four of which will include seismic and pressuremeter testing, to target depths of 25m. Onshore testing will be carried out by one of our track-truck CPT rigs at 18 locations, eight of which include seismic and pressuremeter tests, again to target depths of 25m.
“These types of project can be quite complex,” said Lankelma’s Nearshore Manager Carlos Alvarenga. “They require careful planning to coordinate the nearshore and onshore teams, to ensure work is carried out efficiently and safely.”
The combination of our lubricating module and CPT rams proved invaluable on a basement car park investigation in central London in October.
We were working for Geotechnical and Environmental Associates (GEA) and carried out a single CPT to 26m, using our lubrication module to help the cone penetrate the underlying London Clay. The team then carried out six pressuremeter tests to 20m the following day.
“The basement rams can be transported on the back of a pick-up, which enabled us to carry out testing in the low headroom car park,” said Lankelma Technical Manager Joe Hobbs, “but it was the lubricating module that really came into its own on this job.”
The lubricating module uses water to form a lubricating layer to reduce the friction between the rods and the ground. The system has proved particularly effective in London Clay, where it has enabled testing to depths of more than 40m. The design of the module means the water is distributed behind the cone and therefore has no effect on cone readings or CPT data quality.
“Typically, maximum penetration depth would be between 18-20m, with a push force of 18t, but using the lubricating module we have reached depths of 30m with just 5t of push force,” Joe said.
Matthew Penfold at GEA added: “The preliminary outputs from the CPTs were extremely useful in providing an indication of the likely depth of the base of the London Clay and the nature of the underlying Lambeth Group, which were used to help guide our subsequent intrusive works.
“Ground conditions were confirmed in a nearby cable percussion borehole, with the base of the London Clay at about 20m and the transition in the Lambeth Group, from upper clay-dominated units into very dense sand, closely matching the observed changes in cone resistance.”
Projects Engineer Paul Dimelow says asking annoying questions has helped him develop his career with Lankelma.
Paul took up the role of Projects Engineer in September, after two years as a CPT operator.
“I joined Lankelma in 2015, starting out as a trainee. I was a complete geotechnical investigation novice but was soon asking my new colleagues many (probably) annoying questions about what a CPT actually was and how it worked,” Paul said.
“Two years on – and MANY more annoying questions later – I am now working in the Project Management team, ensuring our jobs run as smoothly and successfully as possible. With the ever-growing demand for CPT testing, I am expecting to be kept very busy with many varying and interesting projects for many years to come.”
Paul said he really enjoyed his time as a CPT operator, which saw him work all over the UK – from the Scottish Highlands to central London.
“Every day brought a new experience, meeting different people in many different environments, but now I am looking forward to a more settled but equally-demanding role working at the heart of the Lankelma family.”
Hopefully Paul’s fellow office workers will be as willing as our CPT operators to answer all of his questions – it certainly seems to have been a good career development strategy!
Lankelma will go on as an independent company after the takeover of the Gardline group by Boskalis, of which Lankelma is not part. We will be very happy to support the new Gardline/Boskalis group for any on land or nearshore operations and we wish them every success.
Lankelma will be building on its position as the foremost in situ testing specialist in the UK with over 20 CPT units for greenfield, brownfield, rail and overwater projects as well as international nearshore marine geotechnical projects. Lankelma will utilise its own jack up platform Sandpiper and we are looking forward to be working for our existing and new clients.
Lankelma MD Eric Zon has over the years had several positons in the Gardline group as MD of Gardline Geosciences Ltd and BD Director for the Gardline group. He has retired from all his Gardline positions and will fully concentrate on Lankelma.
Lankelma now works once again as an independent company but next to its prominent position in the on land industry now also with a wealth of marine experience.
Technical Manager Joe Hobbs oversees the technical aspects of all our testing, sampling and reporting, ensuring our work is of the highest quality. … Continue reading
Lankelma won the Equipment Innovation
category at this year’s Ground Engineering Awards, recognising its work in developing better ways to gather high quality geotechnical data from Cone Penetration Testing for engineering design. … Continue reading
We have enhanced our popular video cone to enable faster detection of fuel and oil ground contamination.
The new cone features UV-emitting LEDs that can detect cold light emission luminescence from fuels and oils, providing a more accurate picture of the ground in real-time.
“Many industrial oils and fuels visibly emit fluorescence under ultra-violet conditions,” explained Lankelma Reporting Engineer Christopher Player. “The UV video cone can detect these emissions at low concentrations, with images streamed lived to a monitor in the CPT truck. Results can be used to enable real-time ground characterisation and to help target additional sampling and testing.”
Pushed into the ground at 0.5cm/s using CPT equipment, the video cone has a camera and LEDs sitting behind a glass window. Alongside fuel and oil contamination, the cone allows particles such as shells and sand grains to be distinguished easily; small voids and gas bubbles are also visible.
We will be showcasing our contaminated land investigation techniques at Brownfield Briefing’s Effective site investigation and data management conference, being held at the De Vere Colmore Gate in Birmingham on 24-25 May. For more details, visit the conference website.
Sandpiper, our Combifloat C5 jack-up platform has been overhauled, following an extensive trip to the Caribbean Sea.
Lankelma Managing Director Eric Zon commented: “Sandpiper was very busy in 2016 and when it returned to the UK earlier this year, it was the ideal time to give it a lick of paint and to overhaul all of the CPT and drilling equipment.”
He added: “Sandpiper can be mobilised in just two weeks and its crew are now raring to go. We have a number of potential nearshore investigations in the pipeline so I’m sure it won’t be long before it sets sail again.”
