WRE CATALOG GUIDE] | 31 WHAT’S NEW | 35 WRE CATALOG
35 WIRE ROPE 44 BLOCKS 50 CHAINS 50 CLAMPS 50 CLIPS 52 EQUIPMENT 52 EYE NUTS 52 EYEBOLTS 54 HOIST
54 HOOKS 56 LINKS 58 MASTER LINKS 58 MILLIMETER WIRE ROPE
58 MISCELLANEOUS 62 PRESS 62 ROPE 62 SHACKLES
WHAT’S NEW SPECIAL PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: STORY OF THE OCTA-KONG On December 8th 2011, the APE “Octakong”
hammer drove it’s fi nal pile to grade in front of a crowd of 200 people overlooking the South China Sea. Many Engineers, offi cials, contractors, and China T. V. Stations came to witness the fi nal pile drive to grade. In total, 120 piles were used to create the east and west man-made islands for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project. The 31 mile long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
will link Lantau Island, Hong Kong at the Eastern point, across the mouth of the Pearl River Delta west to The District of Macau and neighboring Zhuhai in mainland China, using a series of bridge spans and tunnels. The tunnel and bridge system is similar to that of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the US. The 4.2 mile tunnel section will allow for passage of large container vessels to pass to and from the South China Sea into and out of the Delta. The tunnel and bridges will transition at either tunnel mouth constructed within the artifi cial islands. The islands are to be formed by two circular earth-fi lled coff erdams, each constructed with 72' diameter steel piles as cells, interconnected by 37' sheet pile, or wing walls, to complete the bulkhead. To drive 72' steel caissons, 60-70 feet into seabed for the
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge islands, American Piledriving Equipment, Inc. (APE) conceived of eight Model 600 APE Super Kongs linked together to form one massive vibratory piledriver,
The largest pile was 72' in diameter, 180' high,
and 660 US tons. Photo courtesy of American Piledriving Equipment, Inc. (APE)
64 SHEAVES 64 SLEEVES 64 SLINGS 66 SOCKETS 66 SWIVELS 66 THIMBLES 68 TURNBUCKLES 70 WINCHES
The “Octakong.” The pile driving equipment capable to supply the force to drive the piles had never been tried before on this scale and in these conditions. Allnamics Pile Testing Experts of the Netherlands
helped convince Chinese contractor First Harbor Marine Group China that a massive multi-vibro hammer could be used to drive the 130-ft.-long, 72-ft.-diameter steel pipe piles, weighing 600 metric tons each, into the sea bed to the required depth. The Octakong hammer was made in the U.S. APE (APE),
Kent, WA, and shipped to China, where it was assembled and put to work. Specially designed, engineered and manufactured for the project, the Octakong consists of eight synchronized vibratory pile drivers powered by eight 1,200-hp CAT engines. By using the innovative pile driver to drive the piles, the construction schedule was reduced to less than 7 months. Specially designed, engineered and manufactured for
the project, the Octakong consists of eight synchronized vibratory pile drivers powered by eight 1,200-hp CAT engines. By using the innovative pile driver to drive the piles, the entire project lasted just under seven months, an incredibly fast time to make two full island foundations. One of the biggest challenges was learning how to drive 72' diameter piles in complex soil conditions for the east
island. When driving large diameter piles the soil conditions on one side of the pile can be very diff erent than on the other side of the pile. At some points the right side of the pile was facing N47+ soil while the left side only saw only N15. Soil layers are not fl at, which is not usually not a problem when driving small diameter piles, but when faced with super large piles often one full side of the pile will cut through a soil layer for 10' before the other side of the pile hits the same layer. This creates a big challenge when trying to get the pile to go into the soil perfectly straight. The Octakong has 4,000 metric tons of drive force, is 502 metric tons in weight, and requires 9,600 HP to run. At the time of print, the 120 72' diameter piles were all
driven and the APE 200-6 tandem following right behind installing the last of the 37' interconnecting wing walls. As the next phase of the project progresses, these piles will be fi lled with sand, followed by construction of the islands’ interiors. Says David White, APE China’s Managing Director,
“It was a surreal feeling to watch the last pile go into the ground after nearly two years of research and planning. As the pile reached its fi nal feet many surrounding boats launched fi reworks and large cheering could be heard as soon as the machine was shut off .”
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE MAY-JUNE 2012 31
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