the Phoenix™ Machine

Model Mk I

This hardware configuration consists of two separate modules, one above the other. The bottom half contains an eccentric vibrator, and above it is a filtered fluid intake. The motor and the pump are housed within the modules and are driven by compressed air.

To improve ground it is inserted to the maximum depth of interest and then treats the ground as it is gradually withdrawn. It is typically activated on a triangular surface grid with sides of up to 3 m in length.

Because it was originally built to work beneath the deck of the Molikpaq platform, where there was a headroom constraint of only 3.4m (11 feet), the active modules and extension rods were set at 1.5m (5 feet). On that job, working inside a structure, it still reached depths in excess of 23m in sandy materials.

This model can solve two different types of problems deep within the ground:

*    It can compacting loose granular saturated soils into a very dense packing, for among other purposes, preventing earthquake liquefaction of otherwise vulnerable ground.

*    It can remove contaminated groundwater from selected zones and pump it up to surface containment.

Model Mk II

The model has all its active components housed within a single cylindrical section 1.5m (5 feet) long. Its extension rods are common pipe sections so that the proprietary hardware is all that needs to be shipped.

Deployment by back-hoe allows the redundant hydraulic power of the excavator to drive a double-acting piston, or drum winch, for rapid penetration and withdrawal. The same hydraulics can, at the same time, power all functions of the active machinery, which is driven by a single hydraulic motor.

This versatile tool, in addition to treating liquefiable ground and extracting contaminated water, can:

*    Introduce a sand slurry, or grout, into the ground below the nose cone as the Phoenix™ Machine is being withdrawn.

*    Pump chemical solvents into polluted groundwater at chosen depths.