Founding improvement using geosynthetics at the Cape Town harbour : geotechnical engineering

In 2013, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) commenced with upgrading of the existing fire-fighting system of the oil tanker terminals in the Port of Cape Town (Figure 1). This included the construction of a new pump station, which would house booster pumps on the ground floor and a 250 kilolitre water reservoir directly above the pump station on the first floor. The design bearing pressure exerted on the ground by this new structure would be 150 kPa. The pump station site is located inside the Port of Cape Town. The fill material (the placing of which started in 1965) comprised hydraulically backfilled material derived from dredging activities, and highly variable end-tipped imported material. The objective therefore was to design a stable and effective foundation capable of handling loads from a dynamic structure (the pump station) on a highly variable, weak soil deposit.