Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry Innovative Geotechnical Solutions Shahrokh Bagli Chief Technology Officer 1 Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry 7 th February , 2014
Innovative Applications of Geosystems
in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Innovative Geotechnical Solutions
Shahrokh Bagli
Chief Technology Officer
1Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry7th February , 2014
Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
The Geosystems
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
•Reservoir Lining
•Landfill Closure
•Embankment Slopes
•Effective Alternative to Structural Walls
•Slope stabilisation
•Erosion Control
• Bridges
•Railways Tunnels
•Cut-and-Cover Tunnels culverts
•Underpasses and Grade Separators
•Paved & Unpaved Roads
•Access, Haul, Emergency & Service Roads
•Road Shoulders
•Industrial Flooring
•Container Yard, Logistic Terminals and Laydown Sites
Ground Improvement
Systems
Precast Arch Systems
Slope Protection
Systems
Reinforced Soil Systems
Areas of Applications
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
StrataGrid Geogrid
Basic Geosystems
StrataWeb Geocells
BEBO® Precast Arch System
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
StrataWeb Geocells
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
The Geocell System
Lightweight but strong three dimensional honeycomb-like cellular confinement
system
Honeycomb structure is one of the strongest structural systems
Fabricated from ultrasonically-welded HDPE strips that are expandable at site to
form the honeycomb structure
Confinement of non-cohesive material within provides rigidity to geocell system
Confinement greatly reduces the lateral movement of confined soil particles
Perforated for porewater pressure relief
Textured within for better soil-cell wall interaction
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
History of Geocells
Invented by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1970s
Used during the Vietnam and Gulf Wars for heavy equipment movement over soft /
loose ground; marshes and desert sand
Used for civilian applications in the 1980s
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
StrataWeb Geocells: Load Support Applications
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Principle of Geocells for Load BearingGeocells filled with cohesionless material form rigid mats capable of distributing
imposed loads over larger area
– If q₀ is the vertical pressure
– Lateral stresses generated equals k₀(q₀+p)/2 in loaded cells
– Lateral stresses are generated in congruent cells as reaction
– This increases shear strength of the confined soil
WHICH CREATES A STIFF MATTRESS WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO DISTRIBUTING THE
LOAD OVER A LARGER AREA
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Typical Road Section
Conventional section (CBR 5%, 150 MSA) StrataWeb section
Advantages of Geocells:
Reduces overall crust thickness by reducing WMM, DBM and GSB layers
Reduces initial cost by 4-12% besides providing maintenance savings
BC 50mm
DBM 170mm
WMM 250mm
GSB 300mm
BC 50mm
DBM 140mm
WMM 100mm
GSB/quarry run 50mm
StrataWeb 150mm depth with
GSB infill
Savings in soil excavation and
quantity
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Technical aspects - Load Support Systems
With geocells
� HDPE cell walls maintain shape and integrity of the structure, allowing heavy
equivalent axle loads without lateral movement of infill material
� Cellular structure of the geocells distributes loads over a large, extended area,
reducing stress to subgrade below
� Thickness of the overall pavement section and sub-base can be decreased with
equivalent, if not greater structural integrity
� Facilitates use of lower quality aggregates and materials locally available, eliminating
need to import better quality material
Poor load-bearing soils pose significant problems for
both paved and unpaved surfaces
Unpaved roads in wet conditions and high axle loads
are vulnerable to near-surface shear failure and
rutting
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Engineered Solution for:
Roads
- National & State Highways
- Access / Service Roads
- Port Roads
- Haul roads, Paved / Unpaved roads to oil fields
- Road Shoulders
Railway ballast confinement and subgrade strengthening
Slope Erosion Protection
Reservoir Lining
Embankment Ground Improvement
Tank Farm Pads, Pipe Supports
Terminal Depots
Tanker loading / unloading Terminals Terminal
Lay-down Sites
Industrial Flooring
Applications
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Application - Load Support
Roads - Paved & Unpaved Ports & Container Yards
Industrial Flooring Basal Improvement
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Benefits – Load Support Applications
Strength: By spreading the imposed load, it improves the load carrying capacity of a
weak base
Cost-effective Solutions: Use of locally available and cheaper material in decreased
quantities reduces raw material costs and consumption; allows a thinner road
section hence lesser excavation
Logistics: Easy to transport owing to its flat and collapsible structure
Rapid Installation: Proven to be an all weather installation system with minimal
requirement of specialized equipment and labour
Maintenance: Reduces the frequency of maintenance and effort required in each
maintenance cycle
Environmental Friendly: Smaller carbon footprint due to minimal logistics and
resource requirements
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
StrataWeb Geocells: Slope Protection Applications
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Geocells provided along the slope surface to prevent erosion of the slope surface
due to surface run-off
Geocells may be filled
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with plain cement concrete
(pcc)
with soils with fertiliser and seeds
Slope Erosion Protection
Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Landfill Lining
Slope Protection
Application- Slope Protection and Lining
Reservoir Lining
Canal Lining
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Landfill Lining
Slope Protection
Application- Slope Protection and Lining
Reservoir Lining
Canal Lining
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Steep Slopes: Can be used to line slopes as steep as up to 1V:1H
Logistics: Sections are transported in collapsed format and concrete is poured through RMC mixers or placer booms
Customised: Can be cut and placed as per the contour of slope
Infilling: Can be filled with concrete / gravel / soil supporting vegetation
Rapid installation: Can easily cover 400m2 per day and no special equipment required during execution
Liner Protection: Puncturing of underlying geomembrane can be avoided
Protection Thickness: Requires less thickness; up to 80mm; hence there is savings in terms of concrete
Economical: Requires negligible maintenance as compared to conventional solutions
Design Life: Over 100 years
Benefits - Slope Protection System
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
BEBO® Precast Concrete Arch System
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Precast Concrete Arch: History
Old Principle (since 800BC) – using modern
Technology
Patented Swiss precast arch technology for bridges,
culverts and underground structures developed in
1965
Over 1000 structures the world over since 47 years
and spans up to 30m
Applications –
– Small to middle span bridges (up to 30m and
more)
– Cut-and-cover tunnels (road, rail)
– Culverts and underground structures (drainage
channels, storage, etc.)
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Precast Concrete Arch: Technology
Fabrication and Design conform to the Design Standards of various Codes
Soil – Reinforced Concrete Structure Interaction Systems
Thickness adequate to take up stresses due to applied loads
Thickness is small enough such that arch flexing develops resistance between “at
rest” and “passive” from the soil behind
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Arch Elements Designed for:Arch Elements Designed for:
• Transportation• Transportation
• Handling and Erection• Handling and Erection
• Backfill Load Cases• Backfill Load Cases
1.83 m (6')1.22 m (4')
1.83 m (6')2.44 m (8')
2.44 m (8')3.05 m (10')
1.5 ft Overfill
0.61 m (2')
Precast Concrete Arch: Technology
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• In-Service Loads with overfill ranging
from 0.5m – 5m
• In-Service Loads with overfill ranging
from 0.5m – 5m
• State-of-the-art Finite Element Analysis
Software
• State-of-the-art Finite Element Analysis
Software
Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
ArchesArches
FootingsFootings
SpandrelsSpandrels
WingWallsWingWalls Arch
ElementSpandrel Wall
Foundation
WingWall
Precast Concrete Arch: Components
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
The E-Series (Elliptic)
Span Range from 3.7m to 25.6m
Overfills from 0.5m to 5.0m
Span Range from 3.7m to 25.6m
Overfills from 0.5m to 5.0m
Precast Concrete Arch: BEBO® Series
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
The C-Series (Circular)
Span Range from 9.1m to 16.5m
Designed for high overfill applications
Span Range from 9.1m to 16.5m
Designed for high overfill applications
Precast Concrete Arch: BEBO® Series
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry27
BEBO® Casting and Installation
Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry 28
BEBO® : NH-30 Skew IOCL Pipeline Crossing
Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Economy:
– Concrete savings by virtue of a thinner section
– While weight of steel per unit concrete volume is high, there is overall
savings due to thinner section
Speed
– Installation of basic concrete segments within hours
– No restriction for construction machinery to traverse the structure once
minimum overfill height is achieved
Quality
– Safety through compliance with specifications and guidelines
– Longevity owing to earth overfill
– Much easier maintenance
– No approach slabs or bridge decks to deteriorate
– Environment friendly – massive savings in sand, cement, steel
BEBO® : Benefits
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
StrataGrid Geogrid
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Manufactured under stringent quality controls
using specialised High Tenacity (HT) Polyester Yarn
HT yarn is made from PET polymer with:
– High molecular weight (>25,000 g/ mol)
– Low CEG number, less than 30
– Low creep
Has unique UV stabilised Polymer Modified
Bituminous (PMB) Coating:
– Which provides excellent environmental,
chemical and mechanical properties
– Its unique feature ensures minimum
thermal exposure to PET fibre, hence
preventing polymer degradation and
enhancing performance results like low
elongation
Geogrid: StrataGrid
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Concept of Soil Reinforcement
A box is filled with
aggregates
Compaction of
aggregates
Collapse of aggregates after
removal of confining walls
Insertion of Geogrid at intervals
with aggregate filling in layers
Confinement walls rendered
redundant
Aggregates now take the load of an
SUV
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Typical RS structure cross section
Components of a RS Structure
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Reinforced Soil Wall
Applications
Block Faced RS Wall Panel Faced RS Wall
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Applications
Reinforced Steep Slope
Landfills
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
Applications
Road Subgrade Stabilization
Rail Track Stabilization
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Innovative Applications of Geosystems in the Hydrocarbon Industry
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