“On key projects in Romania, Albania & Kosovo, Testconsult have provided excellent technical support, ranging from assistance with government approval to staff training and interpretation. their systems have been very accurate and reliable, expediting constructional activities since day one. I highly recommend these systems” Erdogan Kilic, QA/QC Manager Bechtel International
SIMBAT Dynamic Pile Testing in Malta – August 2011
Work has started on a new ferry terminal in Cirkewwa, Malta. The project budgeted at €12 million, will include a passenger-handling building with a capacity for 800 people together with an elevated foot passenger gangway, a new bus terminal, vehicular marshalling and parking areas and a new police station. There will also be upgrades of the existing quays including a new berth at the north quay and new link roads to the existing road network. Malta is also thinking of it carbon footprint as the main terminal building will be host to one of the largest photovoltaic arrays in Malta.
Testconsult carried out SIMBAT testing on the piles that make up part of the main terminal foundations, under instruction of local company Terracore Ltd as part of their quality control procedures on the project. With diameters of 1m and test loads of 10,000kN, the biggest problem to overcome was finding a drop mass large enough to achieve the loads required and a safe method of dropping it. Terracore sourced a 10 ton weight on the island then proceeded to build in-situ, a custom frame to accommodate the weight. Dynamic reactions in excess of 15,000kN were achieved by dropping the 10 ton weight from heights of up to 1.6m using a crane with a free fall facility. Testconsult also assisted Terracore with analysis of pile integrity data obtained from the TDR2 pile integrity testing system, supplied, designed and developed by Testconsult Equipment Division.