Deep Foundations

Jet Grouting

Jet Grouting is a soil improvement technology that can be used for temporary excavation support, shafts, structure foundations, underpinning, piling, impervious bottom slabs, tunneling, and cut-off walls for environmental and/or hydraulic purposes. Jet Grouting’s enormous flexibility permits its use in a large variety of soils and in very heterogeneous conditions.

Jet Grouting is employed with specialized equipment that includes grout pumps, grout mixers, a drill rig, drill rods and injection monitors with horizontal radial nozzles. The process delivers high velocity fluids to erode, mix and stabilize in-situ soils using an engineered grout slurry.

Three main types of Jet Grouting are available: single, double or triple. Single Jet Grouting uses only the cementitious grout to disaggregate and stabilize the soil, the double uses grout mix and air and the triple uses water and air to disaggregate the soil and grout mix to stabilize it.

Matcon has the specialized equipment and experienced personnel to complete your Jet Grouting project.

Slurry Trench

Slurry Trench is a soil improvement technique used for construction of non-structural, impervious cut-off walls mainly for environmental and hydraulic purposes.

A Slurry Trench is constructed by excavating a continuous trench using an excavator, typically under a bentonite slurry to keep the trench open. The trench is later filled with a blended mix of soil-bentonite or soil-cement-bentonite.The complete wall acts as an impervious barrier to lateral flow of water or/and most pollutants.

Matcon has the specialized equipment, excavators, grout plants, pumps and experienced personnel to complete your cut-off wall using slurry trench excavation methods.

Grouting

Grouting is a soil or rock improvement process used in many types of construction and structures including buildings, bridges, excavations and dams.

The grouting process consists of filling (with or without pressure) the natural voids in the soil or rock with cementitious or chemical grouts, with the purpose of increasing its strength and reducing its permeability.

Grouting can be done with various technologies including:

• permeation grouting
• compaction grouting
• jet-grouting (see related page)

Matcon has the specialized equipment grout mixers, grout plants and grout pumps and experienced personnel to complete your grouting job.

Piles / Cased Secant Piles (CSP)

Piles are typically a structural foundation element (concrete or steel) used in all types of structures including buildings, bridges and excavations.

Several piling systems are generally used including:

• Caissons or drilled shafts
• Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piles
• Driven piles (concrete or steel)

Caissons or drilled shafts are the typical piles used in excavation to construct “secant pile walls”. Secant pile walls allow the support of excavations, usually with the addition of ground anchors.

Matcon has the specialized equipment, cranes, grout plants/mixers, grout pumps and experienced personnel to complete your piling job.

Ground Anchors are used to secure cantilever excavations, to stabilize slopes, in seismic upgrades, for tunnelling and in all types of structures from buildings to bridges to dams.

A Ground Anchor is a structural system that is used to secure a tendon that applies force to the structures.  The tendon is a steel bar or strand, with sheathing and an anchorage. The Ground Anchor transmits the tendon force into the soil well behind the wall face.

The construction sequence for Ground Anchor installation consists of:

• drilling a stable hole (with or without casing) of the adequate diameter
• tendon installation
• tendon grouting
• tendon testing

Matcon has the specialized equipment drill rig, grout plants/mixers and grout pumps and experienced personnel to complete your Ground Anchor job

Diaphram / Slurry Walls

Diaphragm Walls are used in difficult soils for excavation of underground parkades, underground stations, cut and cover, top-down construction and subways. Diaphragm Walls can also be used as an impervious cut-off wall as in dams or to contain contaminated underground material.

A Diaphragm Wall (Slurry Wall) is a structural cast-in-situ underground wall excavated from the surface with the aid of stabilizing slurry (polymers or bentonite mud) and it is constructed by contiguous elements (panels). After the excavation and the installation of the rebar cage (if and when required), each panel is tremied with an engineered material, usually concrete or plastic concrete.

Diaphragm walls combine into a single foundation unit providing temporary shoring, permanent basement walls, hydraulic cut-off and vertical support element all in one.

Matcon has the specialized equipment, cranes, grout plants/mixers and grout pumps and experienced personnel to complete your diaphragm wall job.

Sheet Piling

Sheet Piles are commonly used for the construction of retaining walls, temporary shoring and cofferdams.

Sheet piles are sections of interlocking steel or concrete driven into the soil to form a continuous wall.

Normally a vibrating hammer, t-crane and crawler drill is used to install sheet piles. Sheet piles are often installed in conjunction with other soil retaining systems such Ground Anchors.

Matcon works closely with the installer to provide clients with complete deep foundation packages.

Shotcreting

Shotcrete is concrete conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface. Shotcrete undergoes placement and compaction at the same time through the force with which it is projected from the nozzle. It can be impacted onto any type or shape of surface including vertical or overhead areas. Conventional steel rods, steel mesh and/or fibers reinforce sprayed concrete.

Shotcrete applications are frequently used for the quality, speed and convenience of applications. Shotcrete can be done in elevated, tight or confined places.

Matcon provides experienced crews and industry-leading equipment for shotcrete applications in shoring, tunnel reinforcements and slope stabilizations.

Architectural Concrete

Concrete is the one of the most widely used construction materials in the world. Architectural concrete or shotcrete refers to applications that provide an aesthetic finish as well as structural integrity. Achieving a decorative appearance requires additional work done to the concrete.

Whether your project involves special forming, finishing or ingredients, Matcon has experienced crews to create the effect you’re looking for.

Micropiles / Minipiles

Micropiles (also known as Minipiles) are used mainly as a piling foundation system in many types of structures from buildings to bridges, especially where headroom is a problem.

A Micropile is a small diameter (typically less than 300mm), drilled and grouted replacement pile that is usually reinforced. A micropile is constructed by drilling a borehole, placing the reinforcement, and then grouting the hole. Micropiles can withstand axial and/or lateral loads, and may be considered a substitute for conventional piles.

Micropiles are installed by methods that cause minimal disturbance to adjacent structures, soil and the environment. They can be installed at any angle below the horizontal using the same type of equipment used for Ground Anchors and Grouting projects.

Matcon has the specialized equipment, drill rigs, grout plants/mixers and grout pumps and experienced personnel to complete your Micropile job.