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 | | VIBRO PROJECTS GO BACK TO SCHOOL | | | Vibro Projects Ltd | | 17/07/2008 | | | Vibro Projects Limited went back to school recently, working on the high profile £30M West Dunbartonshire School PPP Project in Clydebank. The project, which is managed by HBG Construction, involves the redevelopment of the town's two main higher education schools - Clydebank High School and St Peter the Apostle High School - to provide modern, state-of-the-art facilities for the community.
It is pretty much a similar story up and down the UK; many school facilities have become out-dated and often too small for the high pupil intakes that many schools have to fulfil, which means they drastically need redeveloping or redesigning. Luckily the introduction of the government initiative, Public Private Partnerships has given local councils and private businesses the opportunity to work together to finance, construct and redevelop public sector buildings, such as schools, to bring them into the 21st Century. The school redevelopment project in Clydebank is specifically for this purpose and HBG Construction, Bam PPP and West Dunbartonshire Council are working in partnership to fund, design and construct these new and improved facilities.
It was discovered in the early stages of the design process that the bearing capacity of both sites would need increasing. As a result, Vibro Projects was awarded the ground works contract by HBG Construction to deliver a practical ground improvement solution that would not distract or disturb the schools' pupils, but at the same time would get the job done quickly and cost effectively. Vibro Projects Contract Manager, Gerry Crawford explained: "As the two original schools will be in use until the new schools are built, we studied hard to design and deliver a solution that would fulfil all the requirements. We found that the 'top feed' vibro stone columns technique was the best solution as it is quick, produces no land fill spoil - which reduces lorry movements - and utilises the existing soils to produce a solid foundation for the future generations of Clydebank."
The stone columns 'top feed' method has the duel effect of densifying suitable soils while also reinforcing the soil-column matrix using a top feed method. First of all, the soil is penetrated to the required depth by the combined effect of the Vibroflot weight, vibration and a jetting action by air. The Vibroflot is then lifted out so that course gravel, crushed stone or crushed aggregate can be tipped in the hole in increments of about 500mm. The Vibroflot is then reinserted and compaction begins. Redial forces produced by the vibrator drive the added material horizontally out against the in- situ soil. The Vibroflot is again removed and the filling/compacting cycle is repeated step by step up to the surface. With this complete, a dense column of granular material interlocking with the surrounding ground is formed through the treatment zone to increase bearing capacity.
Vibro Projects installed over 4000no. 'Top Feed' vibro stone columns across both sites. At St Peter the Apostle, 2,500 no. 6m columns were installed with a pre-bore into made ground and sand fill. Then the Vibro team went a mile down the road to complete 1,700 no. 4.5m columns again with a pre-bore into ground strata of lime modified clay, burnt shale fill and sand clay at Clydebank High School. A pre- bore (auger drill) was required to initially penetrate the soil due to the ground strata. Without the pre-bore, the Vibroflot would be unable to break into the ground.
From start to finish the project was completed in nine weeks and Gerry Crawford continued: "The 'top feed' stone column method proved to be the best technique for the job as the project ran smoothly, on schedule and caused the least disturbance for both pupils and staff at the two schools.
We now look forward to seeing the project progress to when the Clydebank High School and St Peter the Apostle open in the new school year of 2009, as we know how many the current pupils and future generations to come will reap in the benefits of these new and improved facilities." | |
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