2000
Geotechnical investigation for Sadra artificial island in Bushehr
Bushehr - Iran
I worked in Mandro Consulting Engineers as a geotechnical and structural engineer from 1998 to 2002. During this period, I got involved in many geotechnical investigations and designs, marine structures and structural design projects. Geotechnical investigation and foundation preparation project for a ship factory located on Sadra artificial island was one of the best experiences of mine in Mandro which started in 2000 and finished in the early 2001.
Sadra Island is a man made island adjacent to a land intrusion into the Persian Gulf which is located near Bushehr.
The client was Iran Marine Industrial Company (Sadra) who decided to construct an extension to the existing ship factory in the island. Sadra chose Mandro as the geotechnical consulting engineer and I promoted to be the Design Manager of this project in Tehran office.
This project was commissioned to construct the following items:
a. An off-shore concrete platform resting on steel piles which can lift ships by the weight of 3000 tons and dimension of 20mx100m (max.).
b. Rails to transfer ships from lift area to workshops. There are 4 rails with total width of 12.5m laying on a concrete mat foundation. An additional concrete platform and rails would be constructed for side transferring of ships to different workshops.
c. Structures of construction and maintenance workshops with mat foundations.
Our main goals, as geotechnical engineers in this project were:
1. General geology of the site
2. Site investigation (Drilling, sampling and in-situ tests)
3. Laboratory tests on samples
4. Determining of type and thickness of sub-surface soil layers
5. Assessment of physical and mechanical properties of soil layers
6. Determining of load bearing capacity of the surface and the deep foundations
7. Technical and economical comparison of soil rehabilitation methods such as dynamic compaction and pre-loading
8. Technical recommendations for foundations construction
My duties in this project as Design Manager and Geotechnical Engineer were ordering and supervising of the item 3, and handling of the items 4 to 8, and the preparation of the final report.
This project was undertaken as field and desk studies; however, I asked the site staff to carry out any necessary in-situ sampling and tests. According to therequirements of the project, I asked for the laboratory tests and supervised this procedure to prepare a proper geotechnical model of the site conditions.
After some negotiations with the client and other specialists, my recommendations for the foundation system selection and construction strategies were totally accepted and now the structures have been constructed.