Maccaferri at the Infrastructure Show 2011
10/08/2011
Maccaferri at the Infrastructure Show 2011 for The Rail Engineer preview issue
Maccaferri – Engineering a better solution at the Infrastructure Show.
Maccaferri Ltd is the UK subsidiary of the worldwide Maccaferri Industrial Group, specialising in retaining structures, erosion protection, rock-fall mitigation embankment stabilisation and concrete fibre reinforcement technology. Renowned as the inventor of the ubiquitous wire-basket Gabion, the Company has developed hugely over recent years and now operates over a wide spectrum of construction industry sectors.
Through its Rail and Infrastructure Division, Maccaferri will be showcasing the latest developments in embankment reinforcement and erosion prevention products and highlighting its range of rock-fall mitigation systems for use in trackside and related applications.
Recent landmark projects for the Company include work on the re-opening of the Airdrie to Bathgate link in Scotland, where main contractors BAM Nuttall and Carillion made extensive use of retaining wall technology from Maccaferri.
Stone filled Gabion retaining walls were built along several sections of the line to allow widening of the rail corridor and to create space for the construction of a new station complex at Caldercruix, midway between Airdrie and Bathgate. Here, Carillion engaged the Company’s specialist installation team, Maccaferri Construction to provide design and build expertise.
The £300 million, 24km long Airdrie to Bathgate project was a major investment in Scotland’s public transport network and was completed in late 2010.
Near Denby Dale in rural South Yorkshire, Maccaferri Rock-fall mitigation systems have been used in a programme of remedial works on a 14.0m deep rail cutting by Network-Rail partnership contractor, Construction Marine Ltd and designers, URS Scott Wilson.
Here, weathering over the last 160 years has resulted in significant weakening of the quarter mile long cutting’s 50 degree sides with consequent risk of instability and rock fall onto the line. With block sizes typically in the range of 200 – 600mm diameter, there was a significant probability these could cause a derailment should they become dislodged and tumble to the line.
The solution was the installation of a network of high strength, dynamic rock-fall catch fences from Maccaferri, comprising continuous, steel-cable mesh panels and energy dissipaters, stretched between articulated vertical posts. These were placed near the bottom of the slope to prevent debris spilling onto the line.
Top down rope access techniques and night-time working were used to allow installation of the catch fence system whilst trains were still running. Only limited night time possession was required which reduced the construction costs significantly.
On an international scale, Maccaferri has pioneered the use of concrete fibre-reinforcement technology in the manufacture of pre-cast tunnel lining segments for the rail industry. Fibre reinforcement replaces conventional steel cage reinforcement and saves time and production costs.
The steel fibres, which are about the size and shape of a small paperclip redistribute the forces within the concrete, restraining the mechanism of formation and extension ofcracks - literally ‘stitching’ the sides of a forming crack together.
Maccaferri occupies a leading position in fibre reinforcement technology in Europe and their materials have been used extensively in high profile projects including the new Barcelona Metro extension, where fibre reinforced concrete was used to fabricate the 7.0m diameter lining segments for underground tunnels.
Both Maccaferri and Maccaferri Construction have display stands at the Infrastructure Show.
Maccaferri Ltd occupies stand 3A556. Maccaferri Construction, stand RA19.
Maccaferri [logo]
T 01865 770555
W.www.maccaferri.co.uk
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Photocaptions
- Maccaferri Gabion retaining walls were built to create space for the construction of a new station complex at Caldercruix, on the new Airdrie to Bathgate rail link in Scotland
- A network of high strength, dynamic rock-fall catch fences from Maccaferri protect the rail line near Denby Dale in South Yorkshire.
- Tunnel lining segments for the Barcelona Metro in Spain use fibre reinforced concrete technology from Maccaferri.
