FAIR: World‑Class Research
The international large‑scale project sets extreme requirements for precision, stability, and radiation protection.
Client
FAIR Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe GmbH
Location
Darmstadt
Markets
Connect with an expert
Wolfgang Kissel
Senior Project Manager
New Construction of a Cutting‑edge Research Center
The new international accelerator facility, FAIR, is under construction in Darmstadt – one of the largest research building projects worldwide with an investment of € 1.2 billion. The facility aims to investigate previously unexplored states of matter, with experiments providing new information on the evolution of the universe around 13.8 billion years ago.
Combined Pile‑Raft Foundation
A sophisticated foundation system with FEM analyses and pile load tests ensures maximum stability under extreme loads.
Subsurface Testing at 60 m Depth
Extensive pile load tests and trial embankments increased planning and cost certainty.
Massive Earthworks
880,000 m³ of soil were excavated, temporarily stored, and later reinstalled.
The project involves building eight ring accelerators with a circumference of approximately 1,100 m, two linear accelerators and 3.5 km of beam tubes at depths down to 17 m, all covering an area of around 20 hectares, with an embankment of up to 15 m height acting as a radiation shield to cover the equipment.
We have been commissioned with all of the geotechnical consulting and planning services as well as on-site construction supervision for the project. Combined pile-raft foundations have been planned for all of the buildings except the accelerator ring. We used 3D finite-element calculations to investigate the load-bearing and deformation properties of the subsoil under future load conditions, with a load test on a bored pile at 60 m depth and test filling to improve planning and costs. This resulted in 1,350 piles at a depth of up to 62 m and 60,000 m in length completed within just 14 months – exceptional performance given the location of the construction site in a water reserve and the various requirements applicable to the site.
“The sensitive state-of-the-art technology at FAIR places heavy demands on foundation design and subsidence analysis.” – Wolfgang Kissel, Senior Project Manager
The previous construction stage involved the early preparation of a deep excavation down to around 19 m below ground, which required partly lowering the groundwater for protection. Secant pile walling with beam supports was used to shore up the excavation area. The excavation pit covered around 57,000 m² of construction area in this section, and approximately 880,000 m³ of soil was excavated for intermediate storage in separate storage areas before being used for backfilling after shell construction.
Currently, the shell construction work is being completed in two of the three construction areas. The installation of underground pipework on a large scale is still pending so is the finalisation of the terrain modeling by reinstalling the excavated soil. The backfill around the research buildings will be raised to a height of around 14 metres above the original ground level. CDM Smith is currently carrying out quality monitoring as part of this process. Parallel to the exterior work, the technical interior work with the research facilities is also progressing.
Our services within this project:
- Combined pile-raft foundation
- Construction supervision
- Contaminated site investigation
- Excavation pit construction
- Geotechnical investigation
- Pile load testing
Visual Insights of the Project
Project Contact
Have questions about the project or our services? Our expert is happy to help.
Wolfgang Kissel
Senior Project Manager
The Senior Project Manager in Infrastructure and Geotechnical Engineering specializes in soil studies and foundation consulting.
Client
FAIR Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe GmbH
Location
Darmstadt
Markets
Connect with an expert
Wolfgang Kissel
Senior Project Manager
Project Figures
1,350
number of bored piles
1.1
km circumference ring accelerator
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