Multiple sets of DMP mixing pile equipment support the super hub! SEMW’s strength anchors Suzhou East Station!

On the south bank of the Yangtze River, amidst the steel jungle

Multiple sets of DMP method mixing pile equipment are running at full capacity

Speed and passion on the construction site

A “railway revolution” that affects the future of the Yangtze River Delta

The construction of Suzhou East Station is accelerating

“super hub,” with a total construction area of 250,000 square meters and a total investment of approximately 17.8 billion yuan, aims to become a “new gateway for industry and finance in the Yangtze River Delta and a sub-center in Suzhou’s southeast.” Construction on the Suzhou East Station Hub and Comprehensive Development Project officially began on August 30, 2024, with completion scheduled for the end of 2027.

 

 

▲Project site

As an important regional comprehensive transportation hub in Suzhou, Suzhou East Station is planned to connect to the Sujiayong High-speed Railway, Sudianhu, and Rutongsuhu Intercity Railway. It is also planned to connect to the urban rail Line 17, Suzhou Rail Transit Line 2 and Line 6, as well as buses, unmanned driving and other modes of transportation. After completion, it will become an important four-network integrated regional comprehensive transportation hub in Suzhou, and will also be the second and largest underground high-speed railway station in Jiangsu Province.

Suzhou East Station, located in the core area of Sangtian Science Island in Suzhou Industrial Park, features four platforms and nine lines (two platforms and six lines for the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo terminal and two platforms and three lines for the intercity terminal), with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The station consists of one above-ground floor and three underground floors (partially four floors), integrating high-speed rail, commercial, office, and residential functions. It is expected to handle 180,000 passengers daily. The excavation, comprising three underground floors (including the redevelopment of Lines 2 and 6), is a core component of the Suzhou East Station hub's comprehensive development, ensuring seamless integration between high-speed rail and urban rail transit. The excavation depth ranges from 30.9 to 36.3 meters.

▲Project completion renderings

 

The participating construction units include: Shanghai Qingdie Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., Shanghai Housing Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Shengteng Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd.

 

Perfect fit, the best stage for micro-disturbance technology

 

The excavation depth of the project's foundation pit reaches 36 meters, far exceeding the conventional foundation pit depth. This places extremely high demands on the rigidity and stability of the support structure. The project needs to take necessary reinforcement measures to control and reduce the deformation of the foundation pit. At the same time, the surrounding area is close to Metro Lines 2 and 6 and other buildings, requiring the construction technology used in the project to have micro-disturbance characteristics.

Furthermore, the foundation pit is located in a silt sand layer (a highly permeable layer) with a high groundwater level, necessitating high-quality water-stopping and reinforcement measures. To meet the planned opening date of the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway by the end of 2027, Suzhou East Station required a limited 19.5-month civil construction period for the foundation pit. This demanding timeframe necessitated high-efficiency construction techniques.

 

▲Equipment No. 1 operation site

 

DMP equipment delivers a strong performance in complex strata

 

of this project is located are complex, mainly composed of silt sand and silty clay layers. The complex strata created the following three construction difficulties:

❶Soft soil characteristics : Silty clay layers have low bearing capacity (about 100-150 kPa) and high compressibility, which makes the foundation pit easily deformed;

❷ Water-rich characteristics : The silt sand layer is a highly permeable layer with a high groundwater level, which can easily lead to problems such as water gushing and quicksand during foundation pit excavation;

❸Layered structure: The soil layer is in the shape of a thousand-layer cake (alternating layers of silt and silt sand), and the engineering properties are uneven, which increases the difficulty of designing and constructing the water-stop curtain.

 

▲Equipment No. 2 operation site

This project was of great significance, but the construction challenges were also greater than expected. To ensure the project was completed on schedule, a rigorous and thorough construction and safety plan was developed after multiple rounds of expert review. Based on these engineering challenges, the trench wall reinforcement and passive zone reinforcement were achieved using DMP piles, with lengths ranging from 30 to 34 meters and a cement content of 18%. SEMW's DMP pile equipment, renowned for its efficiency and quality, was used for the construction.

 

▲Equipment No. 3 operation site

In a sensitive surrounding environment and complex geological conditions, multiple sets of SEMW's DMP method mixing pile equipment , with their ultra-high stability and excellent pile quality , ensure both progress and safety, becoming the absolute main force in "rushing the construction schedule".

 

▲Equipment No. 4 operation site

The on-site construction manager praised the equipment, saying, "This equipment boasts excellent intelligent digital construction technology and can automate pile construction. It causes minimal disturbance to the surrounding environment, produces high-quality piles, and perfectly meets construction requirements. I have to give a huge thumbs up to SEMW's products. "

 

▲Project site

The DMP mixing pile equipment, jointly developed by SEMW, Shanghai Yuanfeng, and Tongji University, utilizes a digital construction control system that manages the rotation of the mixing blades and the simultaneous injection of slurry and gas from four drill rods for automated pile construction. This equipment achieves micro-disturbance construction through automatic ground pressure control and pressure relief channels formed on the outer sides of the rotating special-shaped drill rods. This solves the problems of uneven pile strength, low information technology, difficult construction quality control, extensive soil displacement, significant construction disturbance, and low pile construction efficiency encountered during traditional mixing pile construction.

The DMP method mixing pile equipment adopts an intelligent digital construction control system, which makes the quality of the construction process controllable and greatly improves the convenience of construction. The digital construction control system collects and displays parameters including shotcrete pressure, slurry flow, jet pressure, ground pressure, pile depth, pile speed, pile verticality, etc.; it can generate a construction record sheet containing parameters such as pile length, construction time, ground pressure, cement usage, pile verticality, etc.; at the same time, the construction parameters can be uploaded to the centralized control center to realize real-time monitoring of the construction process.

 

Hundreds of boats compete for the current, thousands of sails race to set sail. SEMW's DMP mixing pile equipment has always been in sync with major national projects. Its low-carbon, efficient, intelligent, and energy-saving green and intelligent complete solutions improve the quality and efficiency of engineering construction, and promote the industry's transformation towards green and intelligent development through innovative practices.