Selected Technique:
Controlled Modulus Columns


Project:
3300 Columns


A 4-level warehouse located within the South Dufferin Industrial park in Calgary was approved to support a supply chain facility. Ledcor was contracted to design and construct the warehouse, which included a 65,000m2 warehouse, large docking areas, heavy parking, light parking, and few access roads. The engineer recommended stone columns as a ground improvement solution, but Menard Canada’s Design and build team proposed Controlled Modulus Columns (CMCs) to achieve the required bearing capacity, reducing the post-construction settlement. In addition, CMCs are cost-effective, swiftly operated with little vibrations, and generate nominal/no spoil during execution.

Ground Conditions

The general subsurface stratigraphy consists of:

  • Structural Clay Fill in the top 0.5 to 2.0m;
  • Loose Clay for the next 4m;
  • Firm Clay Till for the next 2m;
  • Siltstone and Shale made up the bedrock beneath.

The groundwater table is at approximately 3m.

YYC4 Project Maverick - Warehouse - Calgary (AB)

YYC4 Project Maverick – Warehouse – Calgary, Alberta

Menard Canada Solution

Menard Canada offered to Design and Built Controlled Modulus Columns (CMCs) with the sole purpose of improving the soil bearing capacity and limiting the post-construction settlement of the supporting foundations. Roughly 3300 CMCs were installed to support the footings of this vast warehouse. The CMCs were tailored with an average 2.6m cut-off from the work platform to accommodate a mud slab until the bottom of the footing.

Menard Canada performed five static load tests on isolated CMCs to verify the design and performance of this solution. The resulting settlement was less than 1/4th of the specified requirement, proving an effective solution. CMCs are robust and inexpensive compared to other ground improvement techniques.

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