Construction of N-31 Highway: Nearly 300 Reinforced Concrete Piles Installed

Completion of the N-31 Highway: Nearly 300 Reinforced Concrete Piles Installed!

The 30-kilometre section of the N-31 “Dnipro — Tsarychanka — Kobeliaky — Reshetylivka” highway includes several structures, including underpasses for special-purpose vehicles and grade-separated interchanges.

The construction of these structures starts with the installation of reinforced concrete piles. More than 300 piles are planned for the second section, and the majority have already been driven.

At the underpass at km 26+200, 100 six-metre piles have been driven.

At the underpass at km 25+300, 116 ten-metre piles have been driven.

At the grade-separated interchange at km 28+700 (the turn from N-31 towards Tsarychanka), more than half of the nearly 100 ten-metre piles have already been driven.

Pile-driving works are being carried out using a MAIT HR 260 in a pile-driving configuration equipped with a diesel hammer. This is a true “heavyweight”, weighing approximately 75 tonnes.

A unique BAUER RTG RM20 piling rig is also being used. This is the only machine of its kind in Ukraine.

The key advantage of the BAUER RTG RM20 is that, through the combination of BAUER technologies — hydraulic HRS-series hammers and the electronic B-Tronic control system — the operator can smoothly adjust the impact energy (force) and impact frequency directly from the cab.

Unlike mechanical or conventional diesel hammers, where the impact force depends mainly on the weight of the ram and its drop height — and is often adjusted manually or cannot be changed at all — RTG HRS hydraulic hammers are fully electronically controlled.

When a pile passes through soft soil layers, the operator can reduce the impact force to prevent the pile from penetrating too quickly or becoming damaged. When the pile reaches hard rock or dense soil layers, the impact force can be increased to the maximum level.

At the beginning of pile driving, when the pile is not yet firmly embedded in the ground, strong impacts can cause it to crack or deform. The RM20 starts operation at minimum power — the so-called “soft start” — and gradually increases the impact energy.

The system allows operators to adjust not only individual impact energy but also the optimal impact frequency (the number of blows per minute) to achieve maximum penetration speed without overheating the equipment. With conventional piling rigs, changing the impact force often requires stopping the operation, adjusting the pressure settings on the hammer itself, or even changing the ram weight. With the BAUER RM20, all these adjustments can be made simply by pressing buttons or moving a joystick on the B-Tronic touchscreen.