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PROJECTS

City Quays AC Hotel by Marriott

Client: Gilbert-Ash NI Limited

Solution: Contiguous Flight Auger (CFA) Piling

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As part of the City Quays Development by Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Quinn Piling were contracted to install 426no. CFA piles for the new Marriott hotel on the Belfast waterfront.

Due to the site’s proximity to the River Lagan, Quinn Piling had to overcome the notoriously challenging soft estuarine deposits locally known as ‘Belfast sleech’ in addition to the rise and ebb of the tidal waters which changed the ground conditions continuously. Due to the softness of the ground and concerns about stability of the wet cast insitu concrete shaft a unique hybrid permanent steel-liner system was adopted. The piling needed to be carried out in a considered three-step process including pre-bore drilling to five metres, installing permanent steel casing down to 12 metres and CFA piling in the final step down to 27 metres depth.

“The City Quays development has transformed the Belfast waterfront, quickly establishing itself as a commercial and leisure hub for the City. As such, it was paramount that the foundations for this development were of the best quality; with Quinn’s Piling, this was a guarantee.”

Gilbert Ash

Piling Scope and Details

Piling works comprised the installation of 414No., 450mm diameter CFA pilesto supportthe structure with an additional 8no. piles for the crane base and 4no. for a sculpture. Piles were designed for a SWL=750kN. 4 no. static load tests on working piles (with test loads up to 1,125kN) were carried out successfully to demonstrate the load carrying capacity of the piles.

Two high-powered Casagrande CFA rigs were used to ensure that the tight programme was achieved.

Project Innovation

All Quinn Piling CFA rigs are fitted with the latest generation NDT piling computer systems which enable our CFA rig operators to monitor and accurately control all aspects of the pile construction process. As each pile is completed, the rig transmits the pile data to the ‘cloud’ for review and analysis by Quinn Piling engineers which enables real-time quality control. The system provides instant data on important parameters such as auger depth, auger rotations, penetration speed, rotary torque, extraction force, extraction speed, concrete pressure, concrete flow and total concrete volume pumped.