Working in partnership with Severn Trent Water’s contractors, we created site access and a temporary working platform at the Earl Shilton sewage treatment works, south west of Leicester, using high performance E’GRID geogrid.
Throughout the project, Wrekin supported the coordination of the proposals and collaborated with the full supply chain, which included Noble Works, the scheme designers, and Stantec, the Tier 1 contractor.
The aim of the project is to increase the site’s waste processing capacity. The proposed plant for the site works required temporary works access as well as a working platform for a concrete pump and hydraulic crawler crane.
The traditional approach to working platform design is to use a BR470 design methodology as suggested by BRE – Working platforms for tracked plant (2004). Instead, Wrekin proposed using load spread analysis incorporating the use of E’GRID Biaxial geogrid. This meant the working platform thickness could be reduced by a further 40% compared to BR470, saving substantial fill and material handling costs. This was achieved within a tight timeframe without compromise to quality or performance.
When granular particles are compacted over E’GRID Biaxial, they partially penetrate and project through the apertures to create a strong and positive interlock. The load dispersal effect from the interlocking mechanism increases shearing resistance within the soil, improving compaction and allowing the sub-base thickness to be decreased, as proved at Earl Shilton.
Although the application area was not large, when operating in such confined spaces, the benefit can be significant.
Employed in single or multi layers, the tough platform created provides significant load dispersal, allowing previously weak soils to be reclaimed for a wide range of uses, including, as at Earl Shilton, for access roads and platforms.
Reducing the resources required can have a very positive impact on such a restricted site, not only cutting costs, but also minimising the contractor’s construction programme and overheads.
