Gulf Construction Online - Liebherr crawler eases geotechnical task

Cranes

The HS 8130 duty-cycle crawler crane at work at the new harbour development.

Liebherr crawler eases geotechnical task

01 October 2019

Keller Grundbau, a globally-renowned geotechnical contractor, has utilised one of Liebherr’s HS series cranes to execute a compacting job of more than 7 million cu m of sand on an area of 380,000 sq m at Dubai’s new harbour development.

The new 20-million-sq-ft Dubai Creek Harbour will feature the region’s largest marina, including 1,110 berths for 1,400 yachts, as well as a cruise ship terminal, a 135-m-tall lighthouse, luxury hotels, and various retail and entertainment spaces. The project is the cornerstone of the emirate’s vision to attract 20 million tourists a year by 2020.

According to a spokesman for Liebherr, in order for the project to be a success, the site terrain must be improved along the 2,675-m-long coast.

Through deep compaction, the load-bearing capacity of the ground to support construction loads is enhanced and the settlement of the ground is reduced, he says.

For the current harbour project, Keller is using the HS 8130 duty-cycle crawler crane equipped with a vibro-flot for deep compaction.

The long boom of the HS 8130 provides Keller with a large working radius, which is a particular advantage for the steep drop into the sea.

“Work of this kind is usually carried out from a barge, or land is temporarily reclaimed for the task and subsequently restored to the sea. But both these methods are considerably more time-consuming and cost-intensive,” says the spokesman.

With the HS 8130, a wide radius of building ground can be compacted, without having to change the position of the duty cycle crawler crane, the spokesman says.

Thanks to the deep compaction using the HS 8130, Keller has been able to improve building ground down to a depth of 19 m. The aim is to withstand a construction load of 200 kPa.

In order to verify the geotechnical requirements of the ground, approximately 600 compaction points are being tested using standard penetration test (SPT).

“In addition to the large radius of the HS 8130, the complete HS series has proven itself through its all-rounder qualities,” the spokesman concludes.