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 Back to Projects
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Project:
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Liquid Nitrogen Freeze for Excavation Repair
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Location:
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Morgantown, West Virginia
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Client:
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Alcan Aluminum-Michels Construction
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Description:
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Construction of a slither pit within an active manufacturing plant was attempted using conventional
steel sheet piling. Due to an irregular rock surface at the base of the excavation, in addition to a
significant number of large cobbles and boulders, the sheet piling did not form a water-tight seal at
the soil-rock interface. Ground freezing, using liquid nitrogen as an expendable coolant was selected
as the method to complete the excavation.
Layne Christensen Company mobilized a drilling rig to drill and install a series of freeze pipes
around the perimeter of the sheet piling. The pipes were drilled approximately five feet into the
existing bedrock. A series of cryogenic valves, regulated by exhaust gas temperatures were used to
control the flow of the liquid nitrogen. A complex series of exhaust tubes were used to expel the
nitrogen gas to the outside of the working factory.
A detailed Health and Safety plan was prepared by Layne Safety that required the implementation of
a comprehensive air monitoring program. The freezing process took approximately two weeks before
excavation could start. This time period was somewhat longer than originally anticipated due to the
discovery of trace of a river bed under the factory floor. The project was completed without any
indication of significant ground heaving or thaw settlement.
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