Impact compaction action
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
Anro Impact Compaction
An Anro impact compactor towed by a Bell 2806 hauler .
Impact compaction action
Anro Impact Compaction recently sold Fraser Alexander two five-sided impact compactors for use on their Elikhulu site , where they are constructing a large tailings storage facility . The project involves constructing a tailings dam with large earth-filled walls , two smaller HDPE-lined water dams , as well as various other civil works . The impact compactors are being used to compact the imported fill material on the dam walls . The impact compactors were necessary because the project is being constructed over a brief period and has strict milestone dates that must be achieved . To do so , Fraser Alexander needs to compact in excess of 18 000m 3 of compacted fill every day , with the material for the dam walls coming from borrow pits inside the dam . Contracts manager Johannes Vorster says : “ The impact compactors work great where you have thick layers of even up to a metre to compact . We are filling in 300mm layers due to the very stringent compaction specification required by the design engineer . Our reason for using Anro impact compactors on this site is that we can compact twice the amount of earth per day than we could using normal 10-ton rollers .” Roger Stromsoe of Anro Impact Compaction says they manufacture two types of impact compactors : a five-sided and a three-sided compactor . They are rated according to their energy output ; the five-sided being a 15kJ compactor
and the three-sided a 30kJ compactor . The five-sided impact compactor is a more general-purpose compactor , mainly used on earthworks where use of this impact compactor makes it possible to place material in thick layers . Depending on the material type , fill can be placed in layers of 500 – 700mm thick and more . This gives the compactor an output of about 2 000m 3 per hour compared to the output of a vibro roller of about 300m 3 per hour on the same material . The five-sided compactor is also used on in situ material on sites where only moderately deep compaction is required . The 30kJ , three-sided impact compactor is generally used for the compaction of in situ material on sites where deep compaction is required . Because the depth of influence of an impact compactor is significantly greater than that of conventional equipment , use of the three-sided compactor usually makes it possible to satisfactorily compact soil from the surface , instead of having to remove the soil and replace it in layers , as would be the case with vibro rollers . Depending on the material type , in situ material can be improved to depths of up to three metres . On many construction sites , the impact compactor has been the only compactor that could achieve the required densities by compacting the site surface without having to remove and replace the material in layers , resulting in significant cost saving . The three-sided compactor is also used on fill where there is an advantage in placing very thick layers .
40 - CEC August 2018