Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Services provided: Geotechnical Survey and Corrosion Analysis
Year: 2019
Megawatts: 800
Description: The project consisted of conducting 20 mechanical trial pits, 14 rotary soundings with continuous sample extraction, 80 dynamic penetration tests, 20 vertical electrical resistivity tests, 20 thermal resistivity tests, taking 80 soil samples and surveying 275 linear km with georadar (GPR). The geotechnical survey was carried out on a dune complex that allowed the direct driving of most of the profiles, despite the fact that in some areas cemented surface layers were found with the presence of conglomerates. Georadar proved to be an excellent technique for characterising the internal structure of the dunes and determining the densest levels of the dunes in contrast to the loosest levels. The work involved hiring various local subcontractors, managing access, and the health and safety of all parties involved in the survey. In this survey, the Proctor and California Bearing Ratio tests were used to verify that the surface material was suitable for the construction of the access roads to the solar plant. This project represents the culmination of a larger project initiated in 2015, when GMS Internacional began to study possible foundation solutions, with the least possible economic impact, in dune complexes in the same area.
