Westfield

Pile Type: Rotary & Bentonite

Number of Piles: 12no.         

Diameter: 750mm  

Depth: 21m

Westfield Group required the installation of 12no. rotary bored piles to support the development of a brand new 12-storey commercial building. Access to site was restricted due to a maximum headroom of just 2.2m and once into site, the works were required to be completed within just 4.1m of headroom. 

Due to the low headroom and restricted entry to the site, Martello utilised one of their MP4000 series rotary bored piling rigs. The MP4003 rig has a zero tail swing, which allowed it to safely manoeuvre in this environment to install the 600mm male/female secant wall using 10m of casing that was required to seal the granular strata. 

Due to the wet ground conditions, the piles were bored under bentonite drilling fluid which is used to support unstable ground and enable the ease of placing reinforcement. Careful consideration and management of the bentonite was crucial to the delivery of the project to prevent leakages on site.