PTC.Fayat PTC 1PHFC driving reinforcement cages in Bordeaux city centre, France.

Spie Fondations, a well know French contractor, has been chosen by Bouyges Constructions to do the foundation works for the extension of the Mayor’s building in Bordeaux.
The work required the installation of cast in-situ piles.









Spie Fondations, a well know French contractor, has been chosen by Bouyges Constructions to do the foundation works for the extension of the Mayor’s building in Bordeaux.
The work required the installation of cast in-situ piles.
Spie Fondations started to do a pre-drilling of the ground with a Soilmec R625. Then, concrete was poured in-situ and a curing agent* was used to slow the curing of the concrete, faciliting the installation of the reinforcement cages.  The PTC 1PHFC Vibrodriver was used to drive 800 mm diameter and 20m long cages into fresh concrete. This Vibrodriver was equiped with a yoke (instead of a spring) that allowed the Vibrator to increase its extraction force from 2.5 t to 6 t.  While introducing the cages, the Vibrations of the 1PHF helped as well to obtain a better distribution of the concrete inside the pile.
The Vibrodriver was powered by a PTC power pack JD85 and was mounted free hanging in a Sumitomo LS118RH crane.
* The curing agent seals the concrete to hold in the moisture. Concrete cures as the water in it evaporates, thus the key to slowing concrete curing time is to keep it moist.