Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) Geophysical Survey

Nov 19, 2024

This summer, Sixense teams worked hard to conduct a geophysical survey to unearth revelations and insights at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) project., situated on the South Island of the HRBT in Norfolk, Virginia.

Sixense’s scope of work included employing the borehole magnetic method to detect potential steel obstructions buried beneath the ground on the South Island of HRBT. This was conducted in collaboration with Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) to ensure proper and safe construction works by testing the areas along the tunnel boring machine (TBM) alignment that could clash with future excavation.

How does this obstruction detection method work?

It capitalizes on the ferromagnetic properties of reinforced or steel foundations generating relatively strong magnetic fields. By our team meticulously analyzing these signals, our dedicated forward modeling tools provided invaluable insights into the depth and location of buried steel structures.

What did we uncover during the Geophysical Survey?

This geophysical survey, spanning 43 boreholes across three distinct areas (STPL128, STPL122, STPL121), revealed clusters of magnetic structures, indicating the presence of left-in GI casings and settlement plates & rods. While the survey was focused on the soil layers above the future TBM excavation line, the risk of finding steel obstructions at the TBM depth was considered very high to certain.

Therefore, by drilling deeper additional holes and investigating further, we were able to provide more clarity on the extent and nature of these potential obstructions.

Data from Sixense's Geophysical Survey in Norfolk, VA — Data from Sixense’s Geophysical Survey in Norfolk, VA

Surveys like this can offer big revelations, and by addressing potential obstacles early in the process, Sixense can help ensure a seamless execution of critical infrastructure projects.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to push the boundaries of technology in service of safer, smarter practices! You can also learn more about Sixense’s role in The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion by clicking here.

Watermain Replacement Project Recently Completed

Jul 15, 2024

We would like to share a quick glimpse into Sixense’s recently completed Heritage Watermain Replacement Project. It was located in the City of Brampton and City of Mississauga.

In 2023, the construction project beneath Highway 407 and Heritage Road required extensive tunneling. This demanded the implementation of accurate monitoring solutions to control ground movements, ensure the safety of workers and neighboring areas, and maintain operational efficiency throughout the complex process.

How Sixense Canada Contributed to the Watermain Replacement Project

Installed one AMTS to monitor highway surfaces using reflectorless points.
Strategically positioned two tiltmeters on the bridge abutment to monitor structural movements.
Implemented reflectorless points in three remote arrays, surpassing traditional survey methods like the originally planned survey nails.

Project Completion

It was a pleasure to ensure this project proceeded smoothly & safely with the trust of our client: Ward and Burke!

Sixense Canada’s innovative monitoring approach not only provided the required level of precision but also significantly increased the frequency of readings during the Watermain Replacement Project. This allowed for a more comprehensive and detailed analysis of the project’s progress.

Additionally, by eliminating the need for lane closures during the installation, survey, and decommissioning phases, Sixense minimized disruption to the surrounding area and reduced potential inconveniences for the public.

Client Testimonial

“Overall, very satisfied with Sixense for settlement monitoring with this project. Sixense team was proactive and very
easy to communicate and deal with.” – Larry Gaule (Project Engineer)

As a result of these advancements, Sixense successfully completed the monitoring work on time in 2024, ensuring efficient and timely project delivery.

We feel so lucky to have been an integral part of the Heritage Watermain Replacement Project and are thrilled we were able to work closely with the client to reach their goals.

Our work demonstrates that we can help ensure a seamless execution of critical infrastructure projects

To learn more about this project on Heritage Road, visit their website.

Nora: Automatic Identification Solution for Acoustic Events Originating from your Worksite

Jul 05, 2021

Thanks to artificial intelligence, Sixense has developed the Novia solution for acoustic events to answer one of the major questions on your worksites: “Is the excessive noise level caused by my on-site work or not?” This solution, based on machine learning technology, allows you to identify whether or not a particular sound emanates from your construction noises or the surrounding urban activity.

Accessible via our Geoscope interface, Nora allows you to reduce the risks of complaints, site stoppages, or even penalties. The Novia function can be activated at any time on all standard monitoring systems and automatically adapted at each phase of the construction.

This gives you a clear and transparent means to justify good noise management on your worksite to your clients and authorities.

If you are facing noise issues on your worksite in a sensitive urban environment, get in touch with our expert Karim Benaguid for more information.

Discover our solution in more detail here.

You can also learn about our work on The Purple Line Project, in which we are using the advanced sound recognition solution for acoustic events, here.

Visualise the subsurface to manage the associated risks with Sissterra

Jan 20, 2021

Sissterra, a solution for worksites having an impacting on underground subsoils in restricted environment

Boreholes and other invasive geophysics investigation techniques are not very well adapted and difficult to deploy in restricted environment such as dense urban areas. Having a good visibility of the underground is however always necessary to carry out these works in such spaces.

It’s the reason why our experts developed an innovative geophysics solution, based on seismic without sources and particularly adapted to dense urban areas: Sissterra.
Based on a passive technology, our solution allows to reduce the number of boreholes and avoid active seismic sources. Sissterra passive technique relies on ambient noise recordings in the underground by autonomous geophones, an easy-to-use and easy-to-deploy system on site.

A turnkey and robust solution

An innovation from the academic field and the world of Oil&Gas, Sissterra is a turnkey solution allowing you to have a global visualisation of the underground subsoils. Our experts in geophysics manage the entire data value chain and can advise you from the reflection phase from your geophysics challenges, and this until the risk evaluation, going through acquisition as well. Sissterra is a tool that helps manage risks associated to the underground as it allows to consolidate the geologic model. The global visualisation ahead of the works allow to anticipate the adjustments of the constructive methods to maximise the site productivity.

Discover the solution in video:

Geologic follow ups of excavation works: the Pika solution

Jan 12, 2021

Whilst tunnelling using traditional method, the geologists usually carry out regular “manuals” cutting face mappings using a combination of field observation and pictures. But this method is not optimised as the pictures are not “at scale” and are often distorted and therefore, not representative of the actual geometry of the cutting face.

The new photogrammetric solution Pika allows a true and instant 3D reconstruction model of the tunnel face.
The geologist simply takes a few pictures of the tunnel face, then drops off the images on the Sixense Mapping beMap online platform. A Few minutes later, an ortho-image, a 3D map, a point cloud and a mesh are all made available through beMap.
All those files are a true representation of the reality, for both the geometry and the texture.

With Pika, the geologist therefore has access to:

The lithology and/or the mineralized veins, with real appearance, size and thickness
The location and the orientation of the fractures and cracks
The 2D-3D visualisation of all successive tunnel faces, one after another
The exact measurement of size, distance and surface of anything on the models

Precision, time saving, data storage: Pika facilitates geologic follow ups of excavation works.

Pika is a Sixense Mapping solution.

More information : mapping@sixense-group.com & emilie.jousset@sixense-group.com