Cement Free Concrete Piling Platforms

When installing piles, a piling mat needs to be created, which is a temporary working platform designed to provide a reliable and stable surface on which piling rigs and other ground treatment machinery can operate.

The traditional method of installing a pile mat is to use a 1m layer of compacted granular material. However, when piling rigs travel along this piling mat it becomes damaged and needs to be repaired. In order to maintain the piling mat an additional 20% of the original aggregate volume is required every week.

For a piling platform of over 9,000m2 for a period of at least 7 months, there is a significant amount of additional hardcore required. The solution found was to use a 700mm layer of granular material with a 200mm layer of concrete, eliminating the need for additional fill material to maintain the piling mat and keep it fit for purpose.

Furthermore, they obtained cement-free concrete which typically offers a 50% saving in embodied carbon compared to standard concrete mixes. The cement-free concrete mix uses GGBS and Fly ash and does not use Portland cement and can be used as a robust equivalent to traditional concrete, in this application.