Job Reports > Impact Hammers > Harbour City PNG

Harbour City Development
Curtain Brothers
Port Moresby, PNG
New berths on land reclaimed from the sea

Instead of dropping a heavy weight from a great height only once or twice a minute, the BSP rapid impact compactor (RIC) drops a lighter weight from a relatively low height at a rate of 40 to 60 times a minute.

Australian Contractors, Curtain Bros based in Townsville, Qld have purchased a new piece of equipment to be used in their ground consolidation operations in Papua New Guinea. The machine is an RIC unit (rapid impact compactor) designed by BSP International Foundations Ltd (UK) bought exclusively through ThyssenKrupp Steelcom out of Newcastle, NSW.

Hydraulic power is taken from the excavator to operate the hammer.  A unique foot design transfers energy from the dropweight to the ground. The foot remains in contact with the ground during compaction and does not throw up debris like other compaction techniques. As the name suggests, a fast blow rate is achieved and ground is treated by imparting typically 20-80 blows (depending on soil strata) at each compaction point. Instrumentation is fitted to monitor blows and energy from the hammer as well as recording ground penetration and ground settlement.

Assembly of the RIC unit to the excavator was done at Curtain Bros workshop at Motukea Island near the capital Port Moresby. The first site compacted was the Harbour City development in Port Moresby itself. Curtain Bros are constructing new berths on land reclaimed from the sea. Depths of fill are 3 to 5m using sand and gravel quarried from nearby cuttings made through the surrounding mountains during road construction. The site will also be the location for residential development and commercial offices.

The machine is completely self-erecting and can be mobilised on site in minutes. After this job is complete the intention is to transfer the rig up to Tari in Southern Highlands, PNG for work in compacting fill put into large drainage channels alongside the highways known in Pidgin English as “Barats”. These “Barats” up to 3m deep are being filled in and require a fast efficient method for consolidating the fill.

Technical Details at a glance:  RIC Rapid Impact Compaction

BSP can supply a complete rig on a range of different excavators, or the front end equipment to mount on a customer's base machine - subject to it being in good order.

To find out more, please contact ThyssenKrupp Steelcom at +61 02 9409 1777 exclusively authorised to supply BSP RIC (rapid impact compaction) and accessories for hire and sale in the Australasia and Oceania (New Zealand, PNG and Pacific Islands) region.

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