Geosynthetics October/November 2022 - 13

Part 2
Construction considerations
for wick drain ground
improvements
Wick drain installation considerations at one of the largest
wick drain projects carried out in North America to date.
By Michael Etezad, Ben Riddell, Ken Bocking, Dennis Becker, Travis Pastachak,
Jason Bell, Erik Wimmelbacher and Steve Boileau
W
ick drains are one of the most common and cost-efficient ground
improvement techniques for soft fine-grained soils. Over the years,
there has been substantial development on wick drain design methods; however,
construction considerations may have not been sufficiently considered
during the design phase. Failure to incorporate construction considerations
into the design and project execution plan may result in wick drain projects
not performing as desired.
This article provides construction considerations and recommendations
related to one of the largest wick drain projects carried out in North
America to date, in which about 8,530,183 linear feet (2,600,000 linear
meters) of wick drains were installed. Unique features of the project include
complex earthworks geometry and high confining pressures applied to the
installed wick drains. Part 2 of this article provides discussions on considerations
regarding the wick drain installation, including drainage blanket
construction, wick drain materials, the effect of dense layer(s), wick drain
installation rigs, cold weather considerations, as-built data collection, and
data processing and instrumentation requirements.
Wick drain installation considerations
This section discusses important considerations that should be assessed during
the wick drain installation.
Surface grading of the drainage blanket layer
The spacing of the wick drain tips near the base of foundation clay is an
important consideration where potential critical failure surfaces may exist
at depth. To maintain consistent spacing at depth, adjacent wick drains need
OWNER
New Gold Inc.
LOCATION
Ontario, Canada
ENGINEERS
WSP Golder
GEOTEXTILE PRODUCTS
Titan TE-BXC30 biaxial geogrid
composite; TenCate Mirafi HP370
reinforced woven geotextile
WICK DRAINS
Mebra-Drain MD-88
Michael Etezad, P.Eng., is a principal geotechnical engineer
at WSP Golder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Ben Riddell, P.Eng., is a lead geotechnical engineer
at WSP Golder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Ken Bocking, P.Eng., is a fellow geotechnical engineer
at WSP Golder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Dennis Becker, P.Eng., is a fellow geotechnical engineer
at WSP Golder in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Travis Pastachak, PMP, is capital projects manager
at New Gold Rainy River Mine, Ontario, Canada.
Jason Bell is projects technical supervisor at
New Gold Rainy River Mine, Ontario, Canada.
Erik Wimmelbacher, P.Eng., was project coordinator
at New Gold Rainy River Mine, Ontario, Canada,
for the work and is now underground engineer.
Steve Boileau, P.Eng., P.Geo., is geotechnical engineer
at New Gold Rainy River Mine, Ontario, Canada.
All figures courtesy of the authors.
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
13
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
RAINY RIVER MINE
http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
Geosynthetics October/November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics October/November 2022
