BSP Hammer plays key role in a $53 million piling contract
A BSP International Foundations hydraulic piling hammer has played a key role in the construction of new wharves at a massive development project at Jervoise Bay, 25km south of Perth in Western Australia. Designed and built by BSP at Claydon, near Ipswich, the hydraulic hammer was used to drive more than 300 steel piles.
The A$160 million project, covering over 500 hectares at Jervoise Bay, due to be completed towards the end of 2003, is the largest marine and engineering complex in Australia and is being financed jointly by the Western Australian and Federal Governments.
The initial civil and marine works phase, worth over A$53 million, was awarded to a joint venture comprising Transfield Construction and Macmahon Contractors (TMC JV). The two companies commenced work last September on the construction of a 1.4km long armoured seawall using 6t rock boulders in water up to 11m deep. The JV was also responsible for the placement of three million cubic metres of reclamation earthworks, the installation of underground services, construction of roads, a container parking area, a 3,000t loadout wharf and a 60 metre long15,000t heavy lift wharf.
Following completion of the seawall construction and reclamation work, the installation of piles for the two wharfs began. To undertake the piling work a BSP hydraulic hammer supplied by Steelcom, the company’s Australian agent, was used to drive the 323 steel tube piles required. Mounted to a 200t crane fitted with a multi-gated piling frame, the BSP HH14 hammer, with a 14t ram weight, drove the 1m diameter piles, up to 46 metres in length, 40 metres into the seabed through a layer of calcarenite beneath the sand floor and into lower sandstone layers. Each pile has been designed to withstand a force of 1,050t.. Altogether, 5,000t of steel were driven.
BSP has designed and built the HH1146 series of hydraulic hammers with a choice of ram weights of 11t, 14t or 16t to meet needs of contractors using larger and more heavily loaded piles. These hammers have the ability to operate at a maximum stroke of 1,500mm as opposed to the more traditional 1,200mm, thus improving the impact energy rating by up to 25%. With its increased stroke, the HH14 hammer has a potential energy per blow of 208 kilonewtons compared to 168 kilonewtons – an 18% improvement in performance.
Major features of the BSP heavy-duty range of HH1146 hammers include economical operation, reliability and ease of control. In addition, the patented hydraulic actuator provides an efficient free fall, high blow rate system from a comparatively small hydraulic power source to ensure low running costs. The hammers also have an infinitely variable stroke control and blow rate to allow for precise adjustment of energy output, minimising pile damage and avoiding problems associated with pile run and efficiency in performance, all factors contributing to maximising production output.
In addition to the HH1146 series, BSP manufactures a wide range of hydraulic hammers which includes models with ram weights spanning 20t up to 40t for offshore installations requiring very large diameter piles in excess of 2m. The well-proven smaller HH357 models, with ram weights of 3t, 5t and 7t have proved to be extremely popular with contractors for more typical piling applications.
Recently, the company launched a new generation of hammers. Known as the CX range, the ten models incorporate the latest technology and are available with ram weights from 4t up to 20t and energy outputs spanning 50 kNm up to 310 kNm. Improved cushion material within the hammers has significantly lowered noise output whilst the design allows for the easy attachment of sound absorbing panels to add to environmental acceptance of the range.
With a history spanning over 100 years, BSP International Foundations is acknowledged as the industry leader in the design and manufacture of high quality hydraulic piling hammers, providing customers throughout the world with products which give many years of reliability and productivity as well as a long service life.