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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
APRIL
2016
>
CEMENT AND CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
Johannesburg-based concrete specialist KP Projects formed
part of the team working on the six-month-long runway
portion of the St Helena Airport construction project,
which officially started in March 2015 and was completed in
September 2015. The company grooved approximately 77 000 m
2
across
the St Helena airport runway and saw-cut approximately 61 000 linear
metres and sealed the concrete joints.
KP Projects project manager Darin Phillips explains that grooving
of a runway removes surface water and ensures surface adhesion
to increase control during the aircraft’s braking action. “The special
grooves made are 4 mm deep x 4 mm wide and are spaced at 28 mm
and 23 mm apart. The grooves were spaced unevenly to avoid causing
any resonance.”
The grooves were made using blades supplied by Diamond
Products – a leading specialist in the manufacture, assembly and sale
of diamond tools and equipment for industrial applications – which
supplied a custom-made 368 mm diameter Arix-blade for use on the
grooving machine. A Diamond Products 300 mm GC77 cutting blade was
used for saw cutting all the joints.
Phillips indicates that slight adjustments had to be made to the
blade, in order to achieve the 43-lines-per-cut that was specified. “The
work also involved cutting off the corner or edges of the longitudinal
joints (Chamfering) using Diamond Products’ 30 degree chamfering
St Helena
RUNWAY PROJECT
successfully
COMPLETED
on
TIME
After decades of relying on one
passenger ship as the only means
of access to and from its shores, the
remotely-located South Atlantic island
of St Helena will welcome its first air
travel guests in 2016, following the
much anticipated completion of its
£200-million airport construction
project, in which South African
companies have played a vital role.
About St Helena Airport
Saint Helena Airport has been
under construction since early
2012. South African airport
operator Lanseria Airport is the
appointed airport operator,
and scheduled air services from
Johannesburg are expected to
commence in May 2016. The
official opening of the airport will
result in the retirement of the
RMS St Helena, the only transport
that regularly serves the island.
blade. Our scope of work took a trained 22-strong team to complete the
task, four from KP Projects and 18 local workers.”
According to Phillips, inferior diamond blades would have compro-
mised the contract deadline, in addition to negatively affecting machine
availability too. “Higher grade blades, such as those supplied by
Diamond Products, are more efficient and therefore increase produc-
tivity, while minimising the risk of unnecessary downtime,”
he continues.
The British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena is located approxi-
mately 4 000 km east of Rio de Janeiro and 1 950 km west of the Kunene
river, which marks the border between Namibia and Angola. Phillips
admits that the secluded location, together with wet and windy condi-
tions, proved to be a major challenge to KP Projects.
“There is limited technical support on the island, and tools have to
be sent back to South Africa for repairs and servicing, which impacts
negatively on uptime. Diamond Products’ blades were able to efficiently
cut through everything that we needed them to. Another benefit is that
the blades have a 30 percent longer wear rate, allowing us to complete
tasks more efficiently. KP Projects has been using Diamond Products for
more than a decade, and is highly satisfied with the overall offering.”
They saw-cut approximately
61 000 linear metres and
sealed the concrete joints.
KP Projects formed part of the team working on the six-month-long
runway portion.
The company grooved approximately 77 000 m
2
across the St Helena airport runway.