Proceedings of the XVI ECSMGE

Geotechnical Engineering for Infrastructure and Development

ISBN 978-0-7277-6067-8

© The authors and ICE Publishing: All rights reserved, 2015

doi:10.1680/ecsmge.60678

Working platforms for tracked plant – an alternative

design approach to BR470 using hexagonal geogrid
mechanically stabilised layers
Plates-formes de travail d’usine de chenilles, une approche de
conception alternatives à une BR470 utilisant une couche stabilisé
mécaniquement avec une géogrille hexagonal
Mitul J Dalwadi*1 and John Dixon1
1
Tensar International UK
* Corresponding Author
ABSTRACT Temporary working platforms are critical for plant stability, efficiency and safe operation. The guide to good practice (BR
470), ‘Working platforms for tracked plant’ was prepared by BRE in June 2004. The prime objective of this guide is to achieve an accepta-
ble level of safety for piling and other tracked plant operations. The guide includes the option to use geosynthetic products as structural re-
inforcement. Designs based on this guideline often results in an excessively thick working platform. Extensive research has been carried
out on unbound aggregate layers mechanically stabilised with a hexagonal structure geogrid with triangular apertures. Based on this re-
search together with experience from the field, a load spread method has been developed as an alternative approach to the BR470 guide that
provides a safe but more economic design with a lower carbon footprint. This approach has been widely used on numerous projects in UK
for working platforms over weak foundation soil, sometimes including extreme loading conditions. This paper highlights the application of
mechanically stabilised working platforms on two projects with challenging geotechnical and loading conditions; Crossrail, Contract C310
at North Woolwich and a commercial development at Ipswich. The stabilised working platforms not only allowed the use of recycled mate-
rial but also reduced the thickness of working platform by up to 65% compared to a design to BR470. Thus mechanically stabilised work-
ing platforms designed with a load spread method empirically derived for hexagonal structure geogrids can reduce the cost and time of con-
struction and minimise or avoid the need to import granular fill, while still creating a sustainable, safe working platform for the tracked
plant.

RÉSUMÉ Plates-formes de travail temporaires sont essentielles pour la stabilité de l'installation, l'efficacité et la sécurité de fonctionne-
ment. Le guide de bonnes pratiques (BR 470), «les plates-formes de travail pour l'usine de camions» a été préparé par le BRE en Juin 2004
Le premier objectif de ce guide est d'atteindre un niveau de sécurité acceptable pour empilage et d'autres opérations de l'usine à chenilles.
Le guide inclut l'option d'utiliser des produits géosynthétiques comme renfort structurel. Conceptions basées sur cette directive se traduit
souvent par une plate-forme de travail trop épaisse. Des recherches approfondies ont été réalisées sur des couches d'agrégats non liés méca-
niquement stabilisé avec une structure de géogrille hexagonale avec des ouvertures triangulaires. Sur la base de cette recherche avec une
expérience sur le terrain, une méthode de charge de propagation a été conçue comme une approche alternative au guide de BR470 qui four-
nit une conception économique sûr, mais plus avec une empreinte carbone plus faible. Cette approche a été largement utilisée dans de nom-
breux projets au Royaume-Uni pour les plates-formes de travail sur des sols de fondation plus faibles, parfois inclus, conditions de charge
extrêmes. Ce document met en évidence l'application de plates-formes de travail stabilisées mécaniquement sur deux projets avec des con-
ditions géotechniques et de chargement difficiles; Crossrail, contrat C310 à North Woolwich et de développement commercial à Ipswich.
Les plates-formes de travail stabilisées non seulement permis l'utilisation de matériaux recyclés, mais aussi de réduire l'épaisseur de la
plate-forme de travail pouvant aller jusqu'à 65% par rapport à une conception avec le BR470. Ainsi les plates-formes de travail stabilisé
mécaniquement conçus avec une méthode de charge de propagation de façon empirique pour des structures de géogrille hexagonale peut
réduire le coût et le temps de construction et de réduire ou d'éviter la nécessité d'importer le remblai granulaire, tout en créant une plate-
forme de travail durable, sans danger pour le suivi du projet.

1395
Piling 2020
4.3 Rotational Failure - Edge Stability
Further checks on rotational edge stability may be undertaken
using limit equilibrium software (Figure 9), especially where
adjacent features (in this case a river channel) could
compromise platform stability.
Figure 9: Limit equilibrium rotational failure check.
5. Conclusions
The safe design of granular temporary working platforms using
rational design methods has, for nearly 20 years, been routine
for piling sites.
Although having been mandated for geotechnical design for
nearly 10 years the application of EC7 for the design of
working platforms has not gained industry traction. The
BRE470 platform design approach, which has the merit of
simplicity, remains popular even though it may not the most
efficient design method when incorporating geogrid
reinforcement within the platform design. BRE 470 is also
quite sensitive to the angle of friction used in the calculation
which can be a cause of concern where either high quality
aggregate is difficult to source (increasingly problematic
especially in the south east of the England) or where slurry
contamination can lead to a reduction in the operative angle of
friction.
Whilst having the downside of being a more complex
calculation procedure the CIRIA 123 method can yield a more
economic design than the BRE 470 approach. However
uncertainty in the selection of the load spread angle b needs
careful consideration. For a small working or where the
subgrade is not particularly soft, the BRE approach remains the
most used method of design. Where a weaker subgrade is
present or for large areas the additional complexity and design
costs of the CIRIA 123 approach or numerical analysis can
yield overall cost savings.
348
Notwithstanding the design method used to establish the
working platform thickness additional design considerations
relating to edge stability are necessary. BS8006 provides a
comprehensive guidance or dealing with edge stability and
commercially available software packages are a useful
additional design tool. Shear key trenches, particularly when
reinforced, provide a cost-effective solution to enhance edge
stability as described within this paper.
References
British Standards Institute (2016). BS 8006-1+A1:2016:
Code of practice for strengthened/reinforced soils
and other fills, London: British Standards Institute.
British Standards Institute (2013). BS EN 1997-
1:2004+A1:2013, Eurocode 7: Geotechncial Design
– Part 1: General Rules, London: British Standards
Institute.
Building Research Establishment [BRE] (2004). BR 470:
Working platforms for tracked plant, London: BRE
Bookshop.
Construction Industry Research and Information
Association [CIRIA] (1996). Special Report 123: Soil
Reinforcement with geotextiles, London: Thomas
Telford.
Corke, D. and Gannon, J. (2010). Economic design of
working platforms for tracked plant. Ground
Engineering, 43, pp 29-31.
Giffen, A.D. (2015). Design and construction of a
strengthened embankment for an intermodal transfer
facility. Proceedings of the XVI ECSMGE,
Edinburgh, Scotland. pp. 583-588.
Highways England (2016). Manual of Contract
Documents for Highways Works [MCHW], Volume 1
– Series 600 Earthworks, London:
Okamura, M., Takemura, J. and Kimura, T. (1998).
Bearing capacity predictions of sand overlying clay
based on limit equilibrium methods, Soils and
Foundations 38(1), pp. 181–194.
Palmeira, E.M. and Antunes, L.G.S. (2010) Large scale
tests on geosynthetic reinforced unpaved roads
subjected to surface maintenance, Geotextiles and
Geomembranes, 28 (2010), pp. 547-558.
Smith, C.C. and Tatari, A. (2016). Limit analysis of
reinforced embankments on soft soil, Geotextiles and
Geomembranes, 44 (2016), pp. 504-514.
Temporary Works Forum [TWf] Working Platforms
(2019) Design of granular working platforms for
construction plant. A guide to good practice.
Transport and Road Research Laboratory [TRRL]
(1984). Laboratory Report 1132: The Structural
Design of Bituminous Roads. Berkshire, UK.
Waste and Resource Action Programme [WRAP] (2010).
Sustainable Geosystems in Civil Engineering
Applications, WRAP, Banbury, UK.
technical note

A simple stability check for piling rigs

David Corke, director, DCProjectSolutions

Introduction
Although manufacturers have to
design piling rigs to comply with
Eurocode minimum stability
requirements, this cannot simulate
rig behaviour on all sites with a range
of working platform conditions
and all possible combinations of
operation and loading.
Cranes are generally equipped
with safe load indicators, but for
piling rigs, due to their variable
geometry and relatively complex
modes of operation, there has only
been a limited application of such
devices for specific types of use,
such as some driven piling.
Electronic systems for
monitoring and safely controlling
piling rig operations are becoming
more available, but may be an
optional item rather than being
fitted as standard. At present, there
is no available simple means of
checking rig stability for site specific
operations. This paper presents the
Rig Stability Factor as a proposed
solution.
Overturning of a piling rig may
be caused by inadequate bearing
capacity of the working platform
provided. However, a combination
of the rig configuration and Eurocodes BS EN 996:1995 that must be complied with by requirements for drilling and
excessive loading applied by +A3:2009, Piling Equipment. the rig manufacturers. These two foundation equipment.
winches or hydraulic rams may also Safety requirements; and BS EN Eurocodes are currently being The Eurocodes require that
result in a rig overturning, without 791:1995+A1:2009, Drill Rigs – redrafted into a single combined operational manuals provided
any bearing capacity failure of the Safety, set out requirements for document with the purpose with each rig include information
working platform. stability of piling and drilling rigs of specifying common safety on loading and stability, but

300 Maximum track load

Characteristic loading (kN/sq m)

Minimum track load

400
Track load (kN)

250

200 300 All load is on this track

when the rig body is at 90o
to the axis of the tracks
150
200
No load is on this track
100 when the rig body is at 90o
to the axis of the tracks
100 ie the track is about to lift
50 off the ground

0 0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 0 15 30 45 60 75 90
Angle of rig body to axis of tracks (deg) Angle of body to axis of tracks (deg)

Figure 1: Characteristic track loading for penetrating. Figure 2: Track loads for penetrating.
BRE load case 2 BRE load case 2

ground engineering september 2011 45

 subgrade and the platform may improve long-term
performance by preventing the granular platform material from
being punched into the clay.
The platform should be installed to an appropriate specification
that ensures that the design strength of the platform material is
achieved, and there should be adequate supervision by
competent staff during platform installation. Careful
observation during placement of the working platform material
may reveal weak areas of the subgrade that require design
modifications. Where required, quality control tests should be
carried out.
A formulation of good practice is of value only where it is
applied with careful supervision, control and monitoring of the
platform under appropriate contractual arrangements.
Throughout its working life, the platform should be under the
day-to-day control of appropriately experienced site staff.
Contractual arrangements should ensure that the platform is
adequately inspected, controlled and maintained. Site control
should be adequate to ensure that it is not used by plant for
which it has not been designed, and that working areas are
clearly marked. Problems may arise where working platforms
are also used as haul roads, because there is likely to be an
incompatibility between the two uses.
The integrity of the working platform should be preserved at
the original designed standard throughout its working life.
Inadequate performance of working platforms may be due to
poor maintenance, and many problems experienced with rig
instability can be associated with failure to adequately
maintain and repair a working platform rather than with
inadequacies in specification or installation. Figure 1 illustrates
the hazard presented by a poorly backfilled excavation.
3. ROUTINE DESIGN CALCULATIONS
The guide has two appendices: the first provides an approach
to routine design calculations, with some worked examples,
and the second gives guidance on the determination of
characteristic values of soil parameters.
Working platforms are subject to complex loading conditions,
and it is not easy to reflect in the design calculations the
loading that will actually be experienced. The pressure under
Poorly backf illed excavations
Fig. 1. Hazard posed by poorly backfilled excavations
280 Geotechnical Engineering 161 Issue GE6
the tracks should be calculated in accordance with EN
791:1996 Drill rigs—safety and EN 996:1996 Piling equipment—
safety requirements. Using the weights of the various
components of the rig or crane, the overturning moments can
be calculated for the range of operations that will be carried
out, including standing, travelling, handling, penetrating and
extracting, for different jib and mast orientations. The bearing
pressure distributions, which can be calculated from the
overturning moments, may be triangular or trapezoidal, but
radically simplified stress distributions are recommended for
use in the design calculations. Non-uniform loading
distributions can be transformed into equivalent uniform loads
over a reduced areal extent using the method described by
Meyerhof. 2 For a more recent review of the problem, see
Foundoukos and Jardine;3 further information on loading can
also be found on the FPS website, www.fps.org.uk.
Two loading situations are considered.
(a) Case 1 loading applies to the situation when the rig or
crane operator is unlikely to be able to aid recovery from
an imminent platform failure.
(b) Case 2 loading applies to the situation when the rig or
crane operator can control the load safely, for example by
releasing the line load, or by reducing power, to aid
recovery from an imminent platform failure.
The guide gives recommended partial factors to be applied to
the loads derived according to EN 996:1996, which are
converted to an equivalent uniform loading.
The design calculations indicate the depth of working platform
that is required for the given soil and loading conditions.
Where a working platform of relatively shallow depth is placed
on a weak subgrade, a simple approach to the design
calculations can be based on the analysis of punching failure,
as illustrated in Figure 2. The bearing resistance R is considered
to be the sum of the shear required to punch through a vertical
plane in the granular platform material and the bearing
capacity of the subgrade. It is considered that this mechanism
can be applied to the design of granular platforms overlying
subgrades of cu ¼ 20–80 kPa.
Using the simplified analysis for a footing punching through a
dense granular layer overlying soft clay, the following
Loaded area
W L
Platform Punch D
Subgrade
Bearing capacity failure
Fig. 2. Punching failure mechanism
Briefing Charles et al.
expression is obtained for the bearing resistance of a platform
on a cohesive subgrade with a low water table. Rp
Granular material alone
cuNcsc
5
ªp D2
1 R ¼ cu Nc sc þ K p tan
sp
W

4
There are two limiting conditions.

(a) When D ¼ 0, the bearing resistance is simply that of the

R
cohesive subgrade 3
cuNcsc

2 Rc ¼ cu Nc sc
2

(b) When D is large, the bearing resistance is simply that of

the platform material when unaffected by the underlying
Rc
clay layer 1 Subgrade alone
cuNcsc

3 Rp ¼ 0:5ªp WNªp sª
Equation 1 used in conjunction with the limiting values given
in Equations 2 and 3 indicates an increase in bearing resistance
(R) with increasing depth of the platform (D), as illustrated in
Figure 3 for some typical conditions. The graph
is in the form of a dimensionless plot of bearing resistance,
R/(cu Nc sc ), against platform depth and loaded width (D/W).
When the platform depth D ¼ 0, the bearing resistance is a
minimum, corresponding to the subgrade alone, Rc /(cu Nc sc ) (see
Equation 2); when D is large (corresponding to a very thick
platform) the maximum bearing resistance is that provided by
an infinite depth of platform material, Rp /(cu Nc sc ) (see
Equation 3). For the conditions that apply in Figure 3, the
latter state is reached when D/W ¼ 2.5 and Rp /(cu Nc sc ) ¼ 5.6.
Between these two limits the bearing resistance of the
combined system can be determined using Equation 1.
The guide recommends values for the punching shear
coefficient, Kp tan
, for a range of 9 as well as shape factors
for this coefficient and for the subgrade bearing resistance.
A simple addition to the capacity of the platform is suggested
to take account of the effect of geosynthetic reinforcement.
This approach to the calculation of the required depth of the
working platform contains many simplifying assumptions,
which cannot fully represent actual soil behaviour. The method
described in the guide has been calibrated against other design
methods for strip loadings and the experience of FPS members.
However, the results of calculations should be critically
0
0 1 2 3
D
W
Fig. 3. Typical increase in bearing resistance (R) with
increasing depth of platform (D) for well compacted granular
platform material on soft clay subgrade
appraised by an appropriately experienced engineer, and in
situations where the routine design calculations are not
appropriate it may be necessary to carry out more sophisticated
forms of analysis.
REFERENCES
1. BUILDING RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT. Working Platforms for
Tracked Plant: Good Practice Guide to the Design,
Installation, Maintenance and Repair of Ground-Supported
Working Platforms. Building Research Establishment,
Watford, 2004, BR470.
2. MEYERHOF G. G. The bearing capacity of foundations under
eccentric and inclined loads. Proceedings of 3rd
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Zurich, 1953, 1, 440–445.
3. FOUNDOUKOS M. and JARDINE R. J. The effect of eccentric
loading on the bearing capacity of shallow foundations.
Proceedings of BGA International Conference on
Foundations: Innovations, Observations, Design and
Practice, Dundee, 2003, pp. 297–305.

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Geotechnical Engineering 161 Issue GE6 Briefing Charles et al. 281


4 CASE STUDIES
4.1 Crossrail C310 North Woolwich, London
Crossrail is Europe’s largest construction project
with £19 billion invested to help improve the capi-
tal’s rail infrastructure. Based on the provided infor-
mation by Hochtief Murphy JV, The North Wool-
wich Portal constructed as part of Contract C310 in
East London by Hochtief Murphy JV provides a
structure for the reception of the Tunnel Boring Ma-
chines (TBM) for the Thames tunnel driving from
Plumstead and a transition from the over ground to
the underground sections of Crossrail. A working
platform was required to safely support various Pil-
ing Rigs and associated plant within the North
Woolwich Portal over a length of 200 m for the con-
struction of the Diaphragm Walls, Secant CFA Piling
Walls and Rotary Bored piles
The ground profile varies across the area of work-
ing platforms. The upper crust comprises Made
Ground mainly granular material, underlain by allu-
vial clay and peat of variable thicknesses. Due to the
site constraints the existing Made Ground layer was
required to be excavated to achieve the necessary
head room for the piling operation and other site ac-
tivities. So the piling platform was required to be
constructed on the alluvium clay foundation which
can be described as a very soft to firm dark grey
slightly sandy clay. Based on the soil test results, an
undrained shear strength of 15 kN/m2 for alluvial
clay and peat material was adopted for the working
platform design. The design approach given in
BR470 is not applicable where the undrained shear
strength is less than 20 kN/m2. Thus an alternative
approach was required to be adopted to provide sta-
ble, safe and economical working platform. In 2012
the JV commissioned Tensar International to carry
out the stabilised working platform design. Extensive
research background for the stabilised granular mate-
rial with hexagonal geogrids and years of experience
in similar conditions meant that an alternative to the
BR470 analysis method could be adopted. Load
spread approach through the Mechanically Stabilised
Layer (MSL) was adopted to assess the thickness of
working platform over a challenging ground and
loading conditions. These rigs induced high track
loads including a Load Case 2 equivalent UDL pres-
sure of 355kPa. The MSL with three layers of hexag-
Dalwadi and Dixon
onal geogrids was proposed and constructed using
the available recycled granular fill (6F5 Capping). In
this instance, site conditions dictated that the MSL
layer incorporated a non-woven geotextile separator
placed directly below the bottom layer of geogrid on
the formation to provide the additional function of
separation, to control any upward migration of fines.
The upper 300 mm thick granular material was re-
placed with rolled concrete in accordance with the
client’s requirement. It was acknowledged by the
construction team that despite the presence of very
low strength soils and high rig loadings, the working
platform designed with load transfer approach and
stabilised with hexagonal geogrid was extremely sta-
ble and performed as required.
Bottom layer of hexagonal stabilizing geogrid placed on
top of geotextile separator
4.2 Stoke Quay, Ipswich
An apartment block and town house development
was planned at Stoke Quay, Ipswich, UK. The
apartment required an 18,000 sq.m. piled foundation
as the ground conditions were very poor. The cleared
site which has had several former uses was covered
with a layer of made ground underlain by sand and
gravel glacial deposits on geological strata. The made
ground could be regarded as cohesive having un-
drained shear strength of 30 kPa and granular made
ground with angle of internal friction of 28-30 de-
gree. The ground water regime was locally tidal and
considered at 1 m depth for design.
An initial design assessment was carried out ac-
cording to BR 470 guidelines with and without struc-
tural geosynthetics. The proposed thickness for non-
stabilised platform and with geosynthetic reinforce-
ment (Refer- figure 6) having short term tensile
strength (T ult) of 30 kN/m was 1135 mm and 900
mm respectively. A working platform thickness in
range of 1 m was considered uneconomical and time
1399