Simplex Westpile has long been renowned for its expertise in Rotary and CFA Piling and its innovative approach to the design and construction of retaining walls.
Simplex Westpile has, for a long time, been the accepted leader in the design and construction of tower and mast foundations, in particular, for overhead transmission lines. This expertise is born out of the numerous contracts it has carried out for all the major power line contractors.
Using larger diameter “thick walled” steel tubes driven at the correct rake, it is possible to sustain the forces generated by the tower with a single pile at each leg position.
Prefabricated stub connectors are cast into the tops of the tubes and the tower is connected directly to these. This system drastically reduces the number of piles required, offers savings in time and takes up considerably less land (a factor increasingly important in agricultural areas).
There is no breaking back of piles, bore spoil removal or lengthy construction of pile caps, and the attendances required of General Contractors are minimised. This provides considerable savings in both cost and time which significantly outweigh the cost of steel tube material. Diameters used vary between 450mm and 900mm, depending on the soils and magnitude of loads.
Technique:
The traditional solution to cater for the high shear and uplift forces generated by each leg of a tower was to design a pile cap and associated piles which could result, in certain circumstances, in as many as 100 piles per tower foundation. However, Simplex Westpile has developed the use of driven tubular steel piles for most transmission tower scenarios.