Initials and Surname: L Soobiah Student Number: 200833658

GTG4A June Exam 2011

AIDE- MEMOIRE

The Carlton Centre Foundation Construction and Excavation

2 1 The 50-storey (200m) office block 37-storey (122) hotel Both atop a 30m 7-level basement (soft residual soil) Built in 1974 500 000m excavated 4 block 122 x 158m site Johannesburg, gold, Witwatersrand Supergroup Alternating bands of shale and quartzite Local dipping of strata varying depths to bedrock Lava intruded, deeply weathered, erosion protection The Jeppestown shale and quartzite heavily weathered Piled foundations negate expansive clay in residual soil

characterised by extremely variable geological conditions dolerite argillaceous quartzites & shales very deeply weathered/diabase and aranaceous quartzites less Design criteria varied problem soils (piles, infiltration, drainage)

Sturdy foundations, cantilever nature, large forces, weight etc. Up to 45m bedrock(jointed), nearly 60m penetrated Soil conditions favorable for very deep foundations Deep basement in CBD= economical and favorable (parking etc.)

Huge later forces to be resisted Extreme water pressures, uneconomical /unrealistic design Selfweight of basement structure (away from towers) not enough to prevent flotation from predicted water head Water table lowered to basement level

Initials and Surname: L Soobiah Student Number: 200833658

GTG4A June Exam 2011

AIDE- MEMOIRE

filter wells (7.5m centres) + system of injector pumps installed 3m below basement level shorter route for water to drain/vertically( gravity)/pumped out & removed = lower water table No 1 natural sand in Gauteng suitable, proportions of different sands combined Relives pressure but not = 0, presence of water softens strata cause localized pressures Allowance made, inscribed parabola within original unaltered water pressure distribution assumed 7 8 Finest piling jobs Interesting view complexity of geological conditions Ingenuity/innovation to adapt Strength of civil engineer Knowledge of geotech + geology Integrated relationship Great Achievement Lateral pressures inherent equilibrium of soil body disturbed Pressure increases with depth, perimeter piles driven until refusal became columns Active pressure-push over the embedded face of pile bulkhead Progressed with depth of excavation, jacking beams reduce M 5m berm left at foot :design load reduced, 2000 1380kNm However insufficient to support piles before load transfer Rectagrid hold excavation open (resistance in compression) Allowed safe excavation + protected piling See models and stages of construction

10 9

REFERENCES:
Anon. (April 1967). Challenges down in that Carlton big hole. The Civil Engineering Contractor, pp.18-25. Anon. (January 1968). Deep concrete piling to the Carlton Centre. The Civil Engineering Contractor, pp.1821. Anon. (March 1970). The most exacting demolition ever undertaken. Construction in Southern Africa, Vol 14, No 12, pp.31-49. Brink, A.B.A. (1979). Engineering geology of Southern Africa: volume 1. South Africa: Fontein Books(Pty) Limited Das,B.M. (2007). Principles of foundation engineering, seventh edition. Cengage learning Isaacs, B. & Heydenrych, R. A. (May 1968). The excavation and stabilising of the Carlton Centre basement. Public Works Roads and Transport, pp.29-35.