Barrier Management
Risk assessment management for the world’s largest underground frozen barrier
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The Challenge
- Kajima Corporation contracts Geocomp for Fukushima project
- Geocomp partners with Moretrench for construction expertise
- Moretrench aids in “ice wall” barrier around nuclear plant
Kajima Corporation of Tokyo, Japan contracted with Geocomp to provide engineering services on the construction and evaluation of an “ice wall” groundwater barrier around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Geocomp subcontracted with Moretrench American Corporation, North America’s largest ground freezing contractor, to assist with their construction experience.
TBD
The Solution
Geocomp and Moretrench provided Kajima with assessments of comparable ground freezing experiences from around the world to help share technological achievements to enhance the design, construction, and performance of the Fukushima Ice Wall. In addition, they assisted in the evaluation of the design plans, construction quality assurance, and performance testing. Artificial ground freezing is the process of converting the subsurface pore water to ice to produce a strong, water-tight barrier.
It has been used for more than 100 years in the construction of deep shafts, excavations, and groundwater barriers in the mining and civil construction industries. Geocomp provided coupled groundwater, heat flow analyses to evaluate potential failure modes for the “Ice Wall”. Asked about the project, Dr. Marr replied, “We feel very honored to be asked to participate in this unprecedented project and to have the collaboration of Moretrench’s experienced staff.”
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