November/December 2021 - 105

Steel piles were embedded into
bedrock, with structural strengthening
that consisted of a reinforced concrete
wall retaining the westbound highway
of A494 over approximately 246 ft (75 m)
of the embankment length. The reinforced
concrete wall has a design life of
120 years, and was designed to provide
adequate strength to span between the
piles and ground anchorage spacings.
Of the 36 permanent doubleSmart
Anchor Head arrangement and readout unit and (inset photo) transmitter for the smart anchors
Observation-over-depth charts are
used to display the site inclinometer and
piezometer readings, while time-based
charts display the ground anchor load
performances. Charts have coloured
bandings to represent the alert levels
and are delivered via email or text
messaging (SMS). It is possible to
compare all the anchor head forces on
one chart, and to compare all the data
and download it for any given time
period. Storage of documents associated
with an individual anchor and the entire
site is also possible.
The application works on all devices
from desktop, tablet to mobile phone
and uses the devices' native mobile
browsers. QR codes can also be fixed to
the anchor head that, when scanned
with the device camera, will take the
user directly to the ground anchors'
specific data located on Infrastructure
Intelligence.
Conclusion
When an embankment slope between a
lake in North Wales and a highway continued
to have erosion issues after repeated
repairs, engineers were engaged
to develop a new stabilization design. A
pile cap/retaining wall that was
reinforced with concrete and anchored
was used for the 591 ft (180 m) length of
the embankment along Bala Lake.
corrosion protected anchors, 12 were
smart anchors, likely the first in the U.K.
The load on the smart anchors can be
monitored at an adjustable frequency by
a unique force measurement sensor,
with the field data being transmitted to a
cloud-based platform. This permits
remote surveillance of the asset's
performance, supported by early warning
alarm notifications. Incorporating
data, from installed inclinometers and
piezometers, with the real-time anchor
data, also provides an integrated view of
the structure's foundation condition. In
addition, the smart data can be used to
help verify design predictions, improve
modelling quality and provide insights
for more tailored design solutions.
Engineering resources can thus be
focused to where they will have the
greatest impact through preventative
maintenance and predictive technology,
whilst encouraging safety by reducing
time spent on site by engineering staff.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank colleagues at the
Welsh government for adopting Llanycil
as the first smart anchor pilot project,
and North & Mid Wales Trunk Road
Agent, Alun Griffiths Civil Engineering &
Construction and YGC Consultants for
their support of this project.
Sean Beirne-Lewis is the global business
development director for DYWIDAG Limited. He has
nearly 30 years of experience within the geotechnical
industry and has published several technical papers
at international geotechnical conferences.
Jonathan Fullilove is geotechnical project
Llanycil Infrastructure Intelligence platform
engineering manager for Alun Griffiths Contractors
Limited. He has 18 years' experience in the
design and execution of geotechnical solutions.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * NOV/DEC 2021 * 105

November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2021