67 / 140
design
mag |
67
The cost effectiveness of concrete pavers has
been enhanced by the introduction of
mechanised laying.ACP Hardstand Solutions is
the market leader in heavy-duty segmental
pavement construction through the use of
specialised equipment such as the Probst
Powerplan PP screeding machine which lays a
thin bed of sand to support the pavers. Using
laser guidance, the machine deposits the sand
and screeds it to the finished level with a speed
and precision that would be unattainable using
manual methods.
The pavers are laid using a vacuum
attachment on a skid-steer loader that lifts a
layer of pavers from a pallet and deposits them
in the pattern. For this project the pavers were
laid at an average of 1500 square metres per
day, peaking at about 2000 square metres.
The pavers are cast in special moulds at the
Austral Masonry factory, arranged in the final
laying pattern.The pattern chosen for Port
Botany was 90 degree herringbone, which has
strong interlocking characteristics.
“Pavers that are 80 to 100 millimetres thick and
laid in a 90 degree or 45 degree herringbone
patterns are the only ones we would use on
heavily-trafficked areas,” explains Ryan Daly,
ACP’s contracts manager.
The pavement is then compacted using a
hydraulically-driven vibrating triple-plate
compactor attached to a skid-steer loader.“The
initial compaction is made as soon as a section
of pavers is laid and then two further
compactions are applied before the end of the
day,” says Ryan. Compaction drives some of the
sand up into the joint between the pavers,
enhancing their interlock.
The result is a smooth, massively strong
pavement that will readily handle the loads at a
container terminal.“One hundred tonne
Caterpillar D11 bulldozers are driven over one
ACP installation and it’s not rutting at all,” Ryan
reports.“You are not really going to get anything
heavier than that!”
This was the first time ACP has used Austral
Masonry’s Techpave
™
100 heavy-duty
concrete pavers ... and Ryan Daly is
impressed.“We didn’t have any problems
with size variation or anything like that.”
As well as ports, heavy-duty concrete pavers
are also finding a ready market in airports,
car parks, intermodal terminals, mining sites,
and more.
“From my point of view, and I’ve been in the
industry for 12 years, these Techpave 100
pavers are the best product we have used,”
Ryan Daly concludes.
The extensive pavement will soon be
carrying massive loads of containers
and container handling equipment.
The mechanised laying process
includes a machine to spread and
precision screed the bedding sand
and mechanically position the
pavers. Once compacted, the final
pavement can handle considerable
loads and is easily maintained