by Platipus Inc | Aug 12, 2022
The Grand Bohemian Hotel, Greenville, USA
Project Overview
The 187-room Grand Bohemian, developed by the Florida-based Kessler Collection faced several issues with the site that would challenge its targeted opening date. Being built in the popular downtown community of Greenville, SC, the hotel will feature 30 balcony suites, a luxury spa, restaurant, bar, and indoor and outdoor event spaces. A 1:1 slope from the base of the hotel leading down to the flood-prone Reedy River needed protection from erosion and potential shallow sliding. Any failure of the embankment could cause exposure to the rammed aggregate piers that support the hotel.
Solution
The original specification called for S8 Aluminum anchors driven to a depth of 16’. During the installation process, many previously unidentified obstructions were encountered. It was determined that the slope was filled with debris from an old textile mill. A smaller Platipus S6 Cast Iron anchor, driven to a depth of 13’, was more efficient in penetrating the varying slope conditions. To stabilize the embankment, all anchors were loaded between 4,000 to 6,000 lbs. (depending on depth) successfully securing double twist PVC coated wire mesh with erosion control matting supplied by Maccaferri – USA.
by Platipus Inc | Aug 1, 2022
Geomembrane Cover – Cantonment, FL
Project Overview
Engineers were expanding the Perdido Landfill in Florida’s Escambia County to add a new cell adjacent to an existing cell, eventually connecting the two. They were challenged with designing a temporary V-ditch between the cells while the new cell was being excavated. The function of the temporary 3,000′ long ditch was to collect and convey stormwater from the existing nearly closed cell to the facility’s detention ponds.
Solution
The proposed design included a 60mil textured HDPE exposed liner secured with the Platipus S2 ARGS® Geomembrane Liner Anchor to protect the temporary stormwater structure. Wind and hydraulic uplift calculations mandated 2′ deep longitudinal anchor trenches along the edges of the 16′ wide V-ditch. The S2 ARGS® Geomembrane Liner Anchors were installed and load locked at a minimum depth of 24” on 10′ centers down the centerline of the V-ditch and tensioned to 200 lbs. The specified anchor assemblies included a Grade 316 stainless wire tendon, UV-stabilized HDPE load plate extrusion welded to the HDPE liner, and a corrosion resistant brass self-setting wedge grip.
by Platipus Inc | Aug 1, 2022
Mariscal Sucre International Airport Access – Ecuador
Project Overview
Steep cuts along the newly constructed access road to the airport required surface protection against deep erosion and shallow surface sliding. Traditional shotcrete methods were used on much of the easy access areas. The extremely high slopes posed difficulties for traditional methods so Platipus introduced the Anchored Reinforced Grid Solution (ARGS®) to protect the surface. The solution was employed and recently withstood a 5.1 earthquake on the 12th of August 2014 while other unprotected areas experienced some failures.
Solution
The cut slopes were first protected with 2 layers of erosion control materials. The first provided the erosion protection and kept the surface soil from sliding down the slope. The top layer provided the strength to handle the load generated by the Percussion Driven Earth Anchor (PDEA®) as well as UV protection.
by Platipus Inc | Aug 1, 2022
Winston Salem State University Slope Stabilisation – USA
Project Overview
To provide much-needed access to two remote parking lots at Winston Salem State University, a bridge was built to cross an existing rail line and connect the lots to the main campus. The owner of the railroad, Norfolk Southern, would not allow the newly built bridge to be accessed until an adjacent abutment that had begun to slough was reinforced. The railroad felt there was a risk that the vibrations caused by passing trains could lead to a shallow plane failure.
Solution
The Platipus ARGS® (Anchor Reinforced Grid Solutions) system was specified by a local Geotechnical Engineer who was very experienced in the local geology of the Piedmont region. Summit Design and Engineering performed a global stability analysis and concluded that the depth of failure was between 5 –10 feet deep. The design included a grid patterned of 2 TN anchors driven to a minimum depth of 15′ and pre-tensioned to 2,000 lbs. After all the anchors were loaded, the slope was covered in a 4” thick reinforced concrete face. The anchors were subsequently tensioned one last time to the concrete face once it had cured.
