BL&P Ground Improvement Programme, Spring Garden, Barbados

Client
Barbados Light & Power Company Limited

Completion date
2004

Engineering Services
Foundation investigations and assessment

Equipment Suppliers
Hyundai Heavy Industries

Subconsultant
Golder Associates Limited
As part of their modernization programme to phase out aging turbines, the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) planned to install new low speed diesel engines at their Spring Garden main power generation facility. The site is adjacent to the coast. Extensive geotechnical investigations indicated low bearing capacity soils incapable of supporting the static and dynamic loads from the proposed plant. It was determined that ground improvement was needed to increase the bearing capacity of the underlying soils.

A ground improvement design utilizing a vibroflot and stone columns was used as the means of improving the strength of the soils. A drilling rig with an auger shaft also had to be used to penetrate the infrequent hard layers of limestone in order to facilitate the placing of the stone columns. This was the first use of this method in Barbados.