BANUT and DELMAG Working Hand in Hand in Russia

In December 2010 and March 2011 the company Stroygazconsulting Autostrada put into service two machines in wintery Russia, one DELMAG drilling rig and one BANUT fixed leader mast, for the construction of foundation piles.

Stroygazconsulting and its subsidiaries are the construction industry branch of the world-famous Gazprom group, that operates plants and infrastructure of the energy giant.

The subsidiary enterprise Stroygazconsulting Autostrada that was established in 2009 only, needed new pile driving and drilling equipment for the construction of foundations for numerous bridges in sandy clay soil with high groundwater level for a large-scale road construction project in the southwest of Moscow.

The new construction of the 35 km long three-lane motorway section Ophod Odintsovo started already in 2010. App. 10,000 impact-driven piles and cross-sections of 350 and 400 mm and lengths of 12 to 18 m were to be placed within the scope of this construction measure. They serve as a floating foundation as they do not reach the firm gravel layer. Another app. 2,500 drilled piles with a diameter of 1500 mm and a length of up to 32 m will be founded in a firm gravel layer.

The new three-lane high-speed motorway will connect Moscow and its suburbs in the southwest. The project is a logistic challenge. Large stretches of the new road pass in parallel to the existing and congested road that remains in service during the construction work. In some sections the distance between the drilling equipment and the flowing traffic is two meters only.

The restrictions during the transport through the flowing traffic as well as the use of pile driving and drilling procedures at the same bridge section were the deciding criteria for the choice of the pile driving and drilling equipment.

ABI submitted an offer for two machines, one fixed leader mast BANUT 655 and one DELMAG drilling rig RH 34 in the special type SRH. After profound technical consultations and examinations of the equipment design by the customer, they gave the order for delivery.

The BANUT 655 is equipped with the hydraulic impact hammer SuperRAM 8000XL and is used in classic pile driving work for inserting pre-fabricated concrete piles. The drilling rig RH 34 SRH was delivered with Kelly drilling equipment as well as a connection for a casing oscillator and a hydraulic impact hammer SuperRAM 10000XL, and will be used for drilling and pile driving work.

In order for the drilling equipment to be used as pile driving equipment fundamental adaptations were made in the area of the mast head and mast foot. In addition, a guide for the impact-driven piles is required. A pile driving mode was added to the drilling rig, which can be selected using the touch screen in the driver's cab.

The chosen technical solution allows for a conversion from a drilling to a pile driving unit within eight hours. With that, we remained under the requirements of the customer.

The comments of the customer on the machine were all positive: "The convincing and very solid design of the drilling rig made this option possible and was a deciding factor for the acquisition. Besides the fast installation of the equipment on the construction site, the good off-road mobility is an advantage. Due to the restricted available space steep ramps were needed in some cases to approach the drilling place, which the RH 34 SRH managed without problems."

The hydraulic impact hammers SuperRAM 8000XL and 10000XL demonstrate here again and they are absolutely suited for the installation of impact-driven concrete piles. As with all machines delivered to Russia a "winter package" was installed and ester-based hydraulic oil was used so that the equipment can be operated down to -20°C. During the hand over the personnel was extensively trained on the construction site. Besides the robust and reliable technology this is the basis for continuous operation.

_{Article from: ABI Gruppe NEWS}