Jack-up platforms provided ideal working conditionsback to The Construction Project
The central loadbearing element of the new quay consists of heavy-duty combined sheet piling, made up of double piles and intermediate piles. The double piles are between 35 and 40 metres long. The sheet piling is anchored by 42 to 46-metre long batter piles. The load-retaining reinforced concrete slab (pier slab) behind the sheet piling has deep foundations consisting of three rows of Peine steel piles, set in the lengthwise direction of the quay.
As it was not possible to fill in an area with sand to create a suitable working basis beside the Weser fairway, jack-up platforms were used to drive in the piles in the area immediately around the future quay. These platforms have repeatedly proved their worth during previous quay extension projects, as they are not affected by the waves. The jack-up platforms stand on the underwater slope of the soil replacement pit.
Before the sheet piling could be backfilled with sand, it had to be completely connected with the batter piles. Once the area behind the sheet piling had been filled in with sand up to a level of 2.50 metres above mean sea level, CT 4 becomes a land construction site. The site is protected by the sheet piling and the dyke, which had been raised to the necessary height. Further pile driving work was handled by excavator-mounted pile drivers.
To keep the noise within acceptable limits, the port planning engineers tried to avoid using pile hammers wherever possible. Instead, modern vibration technology was used to insert the piles. Only along the last few metres were the individual piles subsequently driven into place to guarantee sufficient loadbearing capacity.
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