GTS Diamond Saw and Rockbreaker come to rescue.
Major construction work has taken place in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia and a Perth-based contractor was engaged to carry out the earthworks.
It wasn’t until they reached solid granite 1m down that the challenges ahead were fully understood.
The granite was a solid sheet (lacking any internal fractures) and hard and tough with compressive strength usually above 200 MPa.
After realising the whole area is on granite it was concluded that the existing 13-tonne excavator and small range rockbreaker were not going to cut it, but bigger machinery would be needed to battle this out. As a priority, a 50-tonne excavator and 4-tonne rockbreaker were hired and delivered to the site.
Impact of the 4-tonne rockbreaker wasn’t enough and it was soon upgraded to a larger rockbreaker. But even with the large rockbreaker the work did not progress as it should have, and a better solution was needed urgently.
Drilling and blasting method is often used for solid rock like granite but the construction work was in the middle of the town centre and with a requirement for a blasting permit, it wasn’t seen as much of an option. Drill and blast also requires the mobilisation of drill rigs, operator and shot firers, which is an expensive exercise.
The contractor called Jeff at Total Rockbreaking Solutions and asked if there were any other attachments that would work on granite. Jeff suggested using a diamond saw; first to cut grooves in the granite and then use the rockbreaker to break the slabs out.
The GTS Diamond Saw with a 1800mm blade was delivered to the site on the following day and Jeff’s theory was put to the test.
It was amazing to see the difference the grooves made. After cutting three grooves in 0.5 metre intervals with the GTS Saw, the operator placed the rockbreaker on grooves and within a few strokes granite started to come apart. It really worked.
By cutting the grooves with the saw first and then using the rockbreaker, the work progressed more within a few hours than it had for the last three days. The combination of GTS diamond saw and rockbreaker proved to be the best solution for this challenging earthworks.
GTS Diamond Rock Saws are available to suit 1.5 to 40-tonne excavators, with cutting depths from 410mm to 950 mm.
Also available for hire.
In Australia, GTS Diamond Rock Saws are distributed through an independent network of highly experienced dealers:
NSW: Ground Tec Equipment (Site 2 – DDT Expo)
QLD: QLD Rockbreakers (Site 128 – DDT Expo)
VIC/TAS: Walkers Hammers
SA/NT: Renex Equipment
WA: Total Rockbreaking Solutions
[colored_box color=”eg. blue, green, grey, red, yellow”]See GroundTec Equipment at DDT, site 2 and QLD Rockbreakers, site 128.[/colored_box]