Foundations

On and offshore
Vibrocompaction for
Tuas Reclamation,
Singapore

Site report 11-37E

Zusammenfassung

En rsum

Fr Landgewinnungsmanahmen in
Tuas wird das Rtteldruckverfahren
zur Verdichtung der umschlieenden
Bschung eingesetzt.
Insgesamt 22,4 Mio. m3 aufgeschtteter Sand sind land- und seeseitig bis
zu einer Tiefe von 35 m zu verdichten. Die Seeeinheit arbeitet von einem Ponton aus mit Keller S 300
Doppelrttlern und erreicht zusammen mit den 2 Landeinheiten eine
monatliche Leistung von bis zu
1 Mio. m3. Der Verdichtungserfolg
wird mit Drucksondierungen berprft.

Dans le cadre dun projet dextension

par remblai de la mer Tuas, le procd de vibrocompactage a t utilis
pour la ceinture priphrique. Il a t
ncessaire de compacter, sur des
profondeurs jusqu 35 m, 22,4 millions de m3 de sable remblay, aussi
bien partir de plates-formes flottantes que en site terrestre. Latelier
offshore a t mis en uvre sur un
ponton, et quip de 2 vibreurs Keller
S 300. Le rendement mensuel total, y
compris les deux ateliers terrestres, a
atteint jusqu 1 million de m3.
Le traitement a t contrl par des
pntromtres statiques.

Client
Jurong Town Corporation (JTC),
Singapore
Main Contractor
Hyundai - Ballast Nedam - Van Oord JV

Cross-section showing the

working area of the 2 land
cranes and 1 barge crane

Keller is currently involved in the ground improvement works using vibrocompaction for
the Tuas reclamation project in Singapore. The
site is located on the western tip of Singapore
Island and is projected to become a biomedical
hub when completed in the future.
The reclaimed land will create the much needed
industrial space for development in this landscarce city state. The vibrocompaction method
was chosen to improve the overall stability of
the sand key, which defines the boundary of the
reclamation works.

Scope of Works
Land Compaction:
Marine Compaction:
Max. comp. depth:

15.1 million cum sand

7.3 million cum sand
35 m

Time program
April 2002 Sept 2004

GPS

Sandkey
On & Offshore

+6.0m
1:3

1:3

Crest area

Land slope
Marine slope

20.0m Existing seabed profile

25.0m Designed dredge level

Quality Control
Post CPT tests were carried about 7 days after
the completion of each panel. The test locations
were selected by the Client. For the land side, a
CPT rig mounted on a crawler was used while
for the marine side, the tests were carried out
from a jack-up barge. The CPT equipment used
in this project allowed testing up to 20 ton load.
Settlement measured after vibrocompaction
averaged around 1.5 m which is equivalent to
6% of the average compaction depth of 25 m.
Cone Resistance [MPa]

Locate the compaction

points with GPS

Improvement shown by
CPT test after VC

Site Works
Two cranes were used for compaction on the
land side. For marine compaction, a 200 ton
crane with twin vibrators mounted on a barge
was used to carry out the improvement works.
The compaction works ran in day and night
shift for 6 days a week, compacting approx.
1 million cum of sand per month.
Global positioning system (GPS), with an
accuracy of about 20 mm was utilized to locate
the compaction points on the marine side.
The GPS antennas were mounted on a beam,
directly above the extension tubes of the
vibrators.

10

15

20

25

-5

-10
Before VC

-15

-20

After VC

Specification

The Project
The reclaimed sand along the sand key area has
to be improved by vibrocompaction to meet
the specification provided by the Client. The
specification requires that the minimum cone
tip resistance, as measured by the CPT test,
should be 4, 6 and 8 MPa between 02, 28 and
below 8 m respectively. Vibrocompaction was
carried out up to a maximum depth of 35 m.

depth [m]

Vibrocompaction on marine
side using a crane with twin
vibrators, on land side using
2 land rigs

-25
Pre Compaction Qc [MPa]
Post Compaction Qc [MPa]

Keller Grundbau GmbH

Head Office and Overseas Division

Keller Foundations (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd

P.O. Box 10 06 64
D-63006 Offenbach
Germany

25 International Business Park

#04-110 German Centre
Singapore 609916

Tel. +49 / 69 / 80 51- 0 Fax +49 / 69 / 80 51-270

E-mail
Overseas@KellerGrundbau.com
Internet www.KellerGrundbau.com

Tel. +65 / 6562 9012 or 6562 9013

Fax +65 / 6562 9014
E-mail Keller@singnet.com.sg