Construction World December 2018

Specialist Contractors or Suppliers

CLAIRWOOD LOGISTICS PARK The Clairwood Logistics Park, located on the old Clairwood Racecourse in Durban, consists of various warehouse structures totalling 368 000 m 2 . The site is underlain by soft clays of the harbour bed formation and posed significant challenges for the geotechnical and structural engineers.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

PROJECT INFORMATION and founded on some competent layers at depth. A load transfer platform (engineered layer) is placed above the columns to attenuate high stresses directly above the column head. The technique significantly reduces structural forces and allows savings to be made on the foundation system. Analysis of general by driving a tube with a ring vibrator mounted on a specialised rig. Once the founding depth is reached, high strength and high slump concrete is poured whilst the tube is extracted. The CSC is completed by installation of the gravel head using the Keller vibrocat, utilising a bottom feed vibrator. CSCs or rigid inclusions were installed in a grid formation

T o meet the stringent settlement/differential settlement requirements, ground improvement, Controlled Stiffness Columns (rigid inclusions combined with gravel head) were used to support large warehouse structures. The technique is used for the first time in South Africa and provided significant saving on the foundation of the structure compared to conventional deep foundation solutions. The solution also allows the work to be completed within a reasonable time frame. The viability of the solution was verified through a rigorous programme, including full scale preconstruction field tests as well as extensive monitoring of the structural performance during construction and operation. Current results indicate excellent performance which satisfies the stringent design requirements. The purpose of the project is to improve the ground using CSCs (Controlled Stiffness Columns) to meet stringent settlement/ differential settlement requirements of the warehouse structure. To achieve depths in excess of 35 m, the CSCs were installed

settlement was carried out using the load transfer method on a unit cell. The results were calibrated against field observations to derive realistic engineering parameters. 

• Company entering: Franki Africa • Client: Fortress Propfund • Stard date: December 2016 • End date: End 2019 • Main Contractor: Franki Africa • Project Manager: Bigen Africa • Consulting Engineer: SMC Consulting Engineers

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