Biaxial Geogrids

SEZAD plans to build a service corridor in the industrial zone of Duqm, Oman. The project aims to link Duqm refinery with a liquid jetty by allowing the Refinery to lay its pipes and connecting it to the Port. The project was awarded to Qurum Business Group LLC under the scope of Engineering, Procurement & Construction. The last 3 km stretch of the project lies close and parallel to the Duqm Road Nos. 1 and 5 project. This location is characterized by the significant presence of ‘soft clay/sabkha’ soil, which influences the construction of foundations of the proposed service corridor that consists of concrete sleepers supporting pipelines, service roads, etc. The FEED design requires the EPC contractor to replace the entire Sabkha soil with engineered fill if the depth of Sabkha is less than 4 m. For locations where Sabkha depth is more than 4 m, ground improvement techniques like stone columns shall be adopted. Nonetheless, the potential cost of doing stone columns is very high, and this prompted the EPC contractor to look for alternate viable options.

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The proposed project “Gate Access & Parking for Emirates Aluminium (EMAL)” consisted of design and construction of road pavement and parking facilities, wherein the existing subgrade was weak in nature with very low CBR value such that the Factor of Safety in the original pavement design was lower than the requirement. Intial proposal of ground improvement considered by the ‘client / consultant’ was deep removal of weak soil, backfilling & compaction works in order to improve the subgrade CBR value. Understating that the conventional ground improvement of soil replacement can prolong the project duration considerably since it requires massive earth works, the alternate option of ground stabilization by installation of geogrid in pavement layers was proposed by Maccaferri and was approved by the client after proper verifications and evaluation of its benefits.

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Rabab Harweel Integrated Project (RHIP) is located in the Harweel Cluster of oil fields in the south of the Sultanate of Oman. The present phase of the project involves many heavy machineries & pipelines which were to be constructed in a problematic foundation soil. Several areas (7 locations) within the project site had existing soil with high gypsum content (6% - 12%) which were susceptible for dissolution and in turn can cause un-predictable settlement. Specifically, the foundation soil with a gypsum content >5% is not acceptable as per the project requirements; from bearing capacity and diferential settelement criteria. Realizing that the conventional ground improvements & deep foundations can consume huge cost, time and require tedious construction activities, the alternative option of ‘ground stabilization with geogrid’ proposed by Maccaferri was agreed by the client.

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