About the Project
This case study highlights the difficulty of constructing large-scale projects in extremely saturated soil and the solutions construction companies chose to mitigate the risk of damaging soil.
Product
SureVoid® System, StormVoid® System
Type of Project
Large-scale public infrastructure project
What We Did
Large-scale public infrastructure projects, including hospitals, civic centers, and schools, represent generational investments for a community. With timelines spanning years and budgets in the hundreds of millions, the margin for error is narrow, and public scrutiny is high.
When a public healthcare facility broke ground on a site with confirmed expansive soil and seismic risk, the already challenging site conditions were compounded by the relentless groundwater infiltration, which would complicate every phase of foundation work.
Even well after inclement weather had passed, the ground remained waterlogged. At certain stages, sump pumps operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week to manage groundwater, removing an estimated Olympic-size swimming pool volume of water each day from below grade.
Because the foundation work was a multi-stage process spanning more than a year, scheduling coordination for the concrete work was especially difficult.
The Approach
Rainy season aside, saturated soil of any type creates a specific problem for conventional void-forming methods, which rely on degradable void forms that eventually break down with exposure to normal environmental moisture. But for paper carton forms to maintain their structural integrity in the specific void, they must stay dry until concrete is poured. In persistently wet conditions, premature degradation will affect the foundation work and the specified void beneath it.
This project deployed both StormVoid and SureVoid at various stages, depending on the season, enabling contractors to manage challenging wet-site conditions and the prolonged concrete schedule.
During the wettest months, when water tables remained high and inclement weather rolled in, crews worked with StormVoid, VoidForm’s non-degradable, weatherproof system that maintains its integrity even in wet conditions. As the seasons changed and conditions dried out, the project pivoted to SureVoid, VoidForm’s degradable, cost-effective solution.
Both solutions provided the required strength below the concrete and equivalent levels of protection against soil heave or potential seismic shifts.
With the size and complexity of the build, the VoidForm team worked closely with the project engineers and the general contractor to coordinate deliveries, review installation methods, and provide ongoing technical support. Through regular site visits and meticulous purchase order reviews, the team ensured each delivery aligned with the VoidForm-supplied project takeoffs, keeping the project on schedule and appropriately supplied for each phase of work.
StormVoid
SureVoid
