Arua Solar Foundations: Load Testing, November 2020
Scope of Services:
EA Piling was selected to perform pile load tests for the solar foundations of a proposed solar farm in Ituka, Arua District in Northern Uganda. These works comprised the installation and testing of 32 steel channel foundations (150x75mm). The steel sections were installed using a hydraulic hammer mounted on a mini-rig. All 32 tensile and lateral load tests were successfully completed and recorded for design validation purposes within a time frame of 5 weeks.
Location: Ituka, Arua District, Uganda
Completion Date: November 2020
Main Contractor: Geo Mechanics (U) Ltd.
Client: AMEA Power LLC
Project Description:
The Project Client, AMEA Power, is planning to develop a photovoltaic solar farm in Northern Uganda for selling to the National Grid. As part of the design phase of this project, it was necessary to perform pile load tests on the proposed foundations of the PV solar panels. Such load testing allows the geotechnical design of the substructures to be accurately validated.
In total, 32 steel 150x75mm channels were installed using a Gayk LRG-V rig equipped with a VR120 hammer.
All load testing was executed in accordance with ASTM D3689-07 and ASTM D3966-07 specifications. Both tensile and lateral tests exerted a maximum failure load off 50kN onto the foundations.
Throughout the tests, pile displacements were accurately recorded against the applied load. Upon completion of load testing works, all test data were collated and a Final Investigation Report was produced for the Client.
Despite extremely challenging conditions on site with no access roads and adverse weather, the team successfully installed and tested all 32 steel foundations. EA Piling look forward to working on many more solar farm projects in the future to contribute towards the development of Uganda’s renewable energy industry.
