Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) is a new coal export facility at Gladstone, Queensland, which will export over 80 million tonnes of coal per annum. Part of the project was for a new marine facility consisting of the construction of a 1.8km jetty, wharf and berthing and mooring dolphins.
Madsen Giersing (MG) was appointed by MMMJV to provide the detailed design and technical support services for the piling frame used to construct the wharf and dolphins.
The numerous pile bent configurations of pile rake and spacing relative to the wharf centreline presented the major challenge. In addition, the entire piling frame was required to allow for 500mm adjustment in plan in any direction due to the positional tolerance of the jack-up barge (JUB) supporting the frame.
In order to accommodate the necessary piling variations and to minimise set-up, a large piling frame 20m high and 33m wide was required. This allowed for three levels of pile gates which could hold the pile during installation. The gates were designed to allow for horizontal adjustment and to be folded down when not in use. This allowed for the headstock to be placed on the piles and reduced the number of gates needed at each level. The pile gates also provided restraint for the top of the driven piles until the headstock was installed.
The piling frame was mounted on two support towers which were placed on a skid / sliding beam system fixed to the top of the JUB deck. This system comprised 8 – 30t hydraulic rams that enabled the piling frame to be adjusted 500mm in plan in any direction.
The piling frame system successfully installed all wharf piles for WICET within the project timeframe.
Location
Gladstone, Queensland
Client
Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) Pty Ltd
Contractor
Monadelphous Mubibbab Marine Joint Venture (MMMJV)
