Wind farms
Wind power as a clean energy source has gained significant territory. Wind turbines are constructed creating large wind farms. The local soil in these areas is often weak and lacking bearing capacity for the heavy equipment needed during construction and maintenance. It isof utmost importance that working platforms, associated ramps and access roads are properly designed to ensure stability and safety.
The construction of wind farms demands the use of heavy equipment in order to lift heavy power generating turbines. Enka Solutions reinforcement products offer cost-saving and risk-reducing solutions for working platforms and associated access roads.
Traditional methods to improve bearing capacity of weak soils in rural areas involve large excavations to exchange the weak soil with well graded material. Alternatively, rigid inclusions like steel or concrete piles are also applied. These inclusions transfer high surface loads to lower ground layers. Both methods are associated with a high material demand, large lead times and high embedded carbon content. In contrast to these traditional methods, Enkagrid, Enka-Tex and Enka-Force offer effective and cost-efficient alternative solutions.
Geotextiles and geogrids are used in designed solutions to improve the local soil performance, creating a safe and economical construction site. Risks of overturning cranes and heavy lifting equipment and stability issues at roads and platform edges are avoided.
Enka Solutions can create a stabilised foundation covering weaker zones in the subgrade, the so-called soft spots. This reinforcement layer can be constructed with single or multiple layers of geotextile. When selecting high strength Enka-Force, these layers can also function as a stabilizing mattress bridging a grid of concrete piles. The result of using Enka-Force and Enkagrid in roads and working platforms is an immediate increase of bearing capacity whilst reducing the thickness of the sub-base and foundation layer.
Additionally, these improvements result in a reduction of differential settlements and increase of trafficability and loading capacity of access roads by decreasing fatigue phenomena, i.e. rutting effects and loss of bearing capacity.
Windfarms require solid foundation platforms for the extreme heavy equipment during erection and maintenance of mills. Enka-Tex and Enka-Force separate and reinforce the backfill at the intersection of the weak subsoils and horizontal Enkagrid layers reinforce the foundation platform preventing differential settlements.
Functions:
- Reinforcement
- Separation
Relevant products:
