Service Details
It is the requirement of the majority of local planning authorities that Phase 1 non-intrusive investigations (desk studies) and Phase 2 intrusive ground investigations to be carried and all of the geotechnical and chemical soil/water hazards have been identified, detected and mitigated prior to the commencement of the solar park schemes or any other schemes in the UK. Phase 2 intrusive ground investigations would also aid to inform the geotechnical assessment of the scheme.
It should be noted that the vast majority of solar park schemes’ foundations comprised of driven galvanised steel piles. Therefore, determining and designing sufficient pile depths plays a significant role to save time and costs. At IBEX CE Limited, our chartered civil engineers have over 20 years of experience within the industry, we prefer to cross correlate our pile design with in-situ axial load tests (pull-out, lateral and compression), Eurocode 7 complaint statistical calculations as well as derived satisfactory utilisation factors from the relevant geotechnical software.
Although, the appointed manufacturer’ structural teams provide the site-specific variable/permanent actions, we can also estimate moderately conservative prevailing actions/loads (after BS EN 1991-1-3:2003) and in line with your requirements and site’s geography.
As part of our standard investigations, we also obtain chemical samples at regular intervals to inform our corrosion assessment to determine the required coating rates for each site
We also undertake in-situ soils’ thermal resistivity tests in accordance with IEEE Standard 442 or D5334-14 across the UK. Power cables require that the heat generated by the cable in service is dissipated into the environment without overheating the cable’s insulation. Therefore, the underlying natural soil deposits’ thermal resistivity is mandatory in the event of cable current rating calculations as well as designing cable trench geometry in accordance with IEEE Standard 442 or D5334-14. Highly organic soils and peat with high Soil Thermal Resistivity (STR) can inhibit heat transmission through the soil, therefore the STR of the underlying soils is dependent on the composition of the materials encountered as well as the physical parameters of the soil such as moisture content and density. Soil sampling is necessary along the cable routes where it is unclear as to whether the natural soil deposits is free of substantial organic or peat content at the proposed cable burial depths.
IBEX CE Limited is leading industry experts in ground related investigations and testing. Contact us today to book your Pull-Out tests or Soil Thermal Resistivity Tests.
