Don’t leave yourself in Deep Water!
SUMO’s engineering geophysics team can provide invaluable information during the construction and management of water infrastructure.
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Whether remedial work is taking place to replace harbour gates, restoration work is being done to re-open a disused canal, or settlement or cracks are appearing along promenade, SUMO’s engineering solutions can help identify the problem.
Harbours and promenades
GPR can be used to search for evidence of hidden voids within harbour walls, which are often caused by the gradual washing out of fines or discrete changes in material composition. Investigations can be carried out from the top of the harbour walls, using surface GPR profiles and on the side of the walls using vertical GPR profiles.
Above - A GPR survey in progress over the top and side of a harbour wall.
Above - A vertical GPR profile down the side of a harbour wall, showing evidence of voiding at 0.7-1.2m within the wall..
Canals
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GPR surveys are also particularly useful for locating voids hidden beneath a towpath or behind a lock chamber. Again, GPR profiles can be surveyed along the towpath to produce sections behind the lock wall, while the internal structure of a lock wall can be investigated using vertical profiles down the face of the wall. Results can then be used to determine the wall profile and thickness and to locate internal defects.
Above - Interpretation drawing of a GPR survey showing voiding (areas of blue) and other defects behind a canal wall.
Locks & Weirs
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Often there is a need to consider the wider area whilst working on a particular water asset. For example, during remedial operations on locks and weirs, such as a gate replacement, a GPR survey may be necessary over the proposed track and station of the crane to check for areas of voiding before siting the crane.
Bridges
UAS (drone) survey can also be used in difficult to reach or dangerous areas. In the example below an urgently needed replacement bridge had to be built on the same site as the collapsed bridge. However, prior to its imminent demolition, a detailed survey was required of the surviving structure which was in a hazardous and difficult position and deemed unsafe for access on foot.
Accordingly, a detailed UAS survey was undertaken, and the structural engineers were then able to design the replacement bridge including elements of the old structure, without delaying its demolition.
A 3D model of the data also enabled a varied audience to visualise how the site would look, after restoration.
With a vast wealth of experience and a wide range of equipment applicable to many different scenarios, SUMO are here to help you to understand your water infrastructure, avoid any hidden dangers on your site and minimise unexpected costs.
Geophysical Engineering Surveys
Air Raid Shelters
Cellars & Basements
Post Tension Cables
Underground Storage Tanks
Air Voids
Chimney Flues
Rebar
Water Engineering
Badger Setts
Earthing Installations
Sinkholes
Burials
Geological Application
Soil Thermal Resistivity Testing
Buried Foundations
Landfills
Structural Investigations
Buried Manholes
Mineshafts
