Miscellaneous
Diego Garcia Radomes
Location: The Island of Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean
Overview: Located just south of the equator in central British Indian Ocean Territory, Diego Garcia is the most remote Naval base in the world. The U.S. Navy requested CTL’s unique expertise to provide geotechnical testing and consulting as it expanded its communications facilities across the island with nine new antennas and radomes―structural, weatherproof enclosures that protect the radar antennas.
The project had no shortage of obstacles. Diego Garcia is located 1000 miles from the nearest continent, so the drill equipment, including a track-mounted drill rig, had to be sea lifted from Sacramento, California to Singapore and then sea lifted to Diego Garcia. The subsurface conditions on the island’s interior is primarily sand and gravel made from eroded coral, while the seaward side of the atoll consists of fossilized coral, an extremely hard material.
CTL|T utilized a mud-rotatory technique to log the subsurface conditions and collect samples for testing. Portions of the site were located within the jungle which made mobilization difficult. CTL|T teamed with a local contractor to help lay down mud mats on the soft, saturated soils to allow access to the boring locations.
Services Provided: Geotechnical expertise and engineering solutions
Other related projects:
Faith Bible Baptist Church
CTL|Thompson was contracted to conduct structural design of a 9,193 sq. ft. sanctuary addition to the church. The addition consists of 16’ tall wood framed walls with wood trusses for the roof structure. An elevated stage and lectern added to the structural complexity
Grandview Cemetery Mausoleum
CTL|Thompson’s structural engineers worked closely with the City of Fort Collins, architect, and contractor to provide pricing options, including precast and cast in place concrete, for the primary structure. In addition to structural design, CTL|Thompson provided a geotechnical investigation, construction observation, and material testing for this project.
Peetz Wind Farm, Northeast Colorado
CTL|Thompson provided services for 267 wind generator turbines, four electrical substations, and maintenance facilities in Northeast Colorado.
Each turbine consisted of an approximately 260-foot tall tower with a 15-foot diameter base weighing approximately 25 tons.
An offsite office was set up with materials testing equipment, including a concrete compression machine, concrete cure tanks, and nuclear density gauges. Three technicians were provided on a full-time basis. Providing a full-time staff of field technicians on-site was crucial to keeping the project on schedule and avoiding costly delays.
The specific construction observations that our field representatives performed on the wind turbine projects included: excavation observations, compaction testing, reinforcing steel observations, concrete testing, aggregate testing, and concrete batch inspections.
Avery Park
On August 3rd, 2017, the City of Fort Collins proudly opened the newly rejuvenated Avery Park. The ever-popular 17-acre neighborhood park has welcomed an updated playground, remodeled restrooms, a new shelter, "creek play" elements and a new bridge. CTL|Thompson provided geotechnical, structural and materials testing consultation.