Powerbetter

Powerbetter is the longest-established and most experienced soils improvement treatment contractor in the UK and Ireland, having pioneered and developer numerous applications for soils modification and stabilisation, demonstrating environmental, practical, financial, and geotechnical benefits available from use of treatment processes. Powerbetter have widely used soils improvement techniques and processes on large construction and civil engineering contracts, on sites as varied as highway and motorway construction and civil engineering contracts, on sites as varied as highway and motorway construction; airport runway and apron construction (at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and Glasgow), industrial, commercial and retail developments; provision of alternative means of constructing bulk fills, cappings, subbases and cement-bound layers; and treatments of pollutants and contaminants in soils.

Use of Powerbetter treatment processes, which focus on powder-based Mix-in-Place procedures, can provide the following typical benefits:

• The elimination of expensive offsite removal of unacceptable soils, leading to savings on disposal, and tipping costs, and also improvements in programming and environmental considerations
• Options for engineering greater soils strengths, providing alternatives to other foundation processes – e.g. piling, vibro-compaction, stone columns
• Engineering of subsoils for use in temporary haul roads, storage areas and stable working and piling platforms
• Engineering subsoils to replace the import of aggregates, avoiding the depletion of natural mineral resources, and eliminating unnecessary road traffic
• Providing alternative treatment solutions which will actively and significantly reduce the carbon footprint impact of the construction process
• Sealing and encapsulating soils containing high and unacceptable levels of contamination on brown field sites
• Increasing shear strength, stiffness and bearing capacity of treated soils.
• Permitting site works to be resumed at a far earlier stage after the cessation of inclement weather.
• Improving workability and compaction characteristics.

The Powerbetter treatment process is now widely recognised as an effective and efficient means of constructing pavements and foundations with significant savings in construction costs. A method for the improvement of subgrades is included within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges [document HA74/07], and soils improvement techniques and processes have been widely used by Powerbetter on large construction and civil engineering contracts, on sites as varied as highway and motorway construction; airport runway and apron construction [at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin]; industrial, commercial, residential and retail developments; provision of alternative means of constructing bulk fills, cappings, subbases and cement-bound layers; and treatments of pollutants and contaminants in soils.

Soils can be engineered, not only to enhance their strength for use as general fill materials, but also as sub-base replacement, reducing significantly the quantity of imported sub-base hardcore required, whilst still offering CBR strengths to comply with specification. As a general rule, most soil conditions encountered can be modified or stabilised to achieve enhancement – typical soils treated include both cohesive and granular materials, chalks, glacial till, mudstones and silts.