Recently, the pile foundation project for the expansion of a four-star hotel in Istanbul, Turkey has officially kicked off. The KR360M multi-functional rotary drilling rig with a Caterpillar chassis, independently developed by TYSIM Piling Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "TYSIM"), has become the core construction equipment for the project thanks to its adaptability to complex strata. The project requires the construction of cast-in-place bored piles with a diameter of 0.8m and an effective pile depth of 14m, while the construction area faces challenges from karst caves and large cobblestone formations.
Process Breakthrough: Full Casing + Caterpillar Chassis Addresses Geological Pain Points
Targeting the project's geological characteristics, the KR360M adopts the core solution of "full casing follow-drilling" and achieves efficient hole formation through its own configuration. First, the Caterpillar chassis ensures stable operation – the equipment is equipped with an adapted Caterpillar OEM custom rotary drilling chassis, boasting strong torque and overall machine weight advantages. When drilling in large cobblestone formations, it can effectively suppress machine vibration, ensure the verticality of casing lowering, and avoid casing deviation caused by unstable chassis. Secondly, the full casing process isolates risks – a casing matching the 0.8m pile diameter is used (with a reasonable gap reserved to ensure concrete pouring). During drilling, the casing is synchronously advanced below the bottom of karst caves, directly isolating the loose soil layer in the karst cave section and solving the hole collapse problem. When encountering large cobblestone formations, a combined operation of "cylinder drill crushing + sand bucket slag cleaning" is adopted. Finally, efficiency meets standards and quality is controllable – verified by on-site construction, under such geological conditions, the entire process of a single pile from casing lowering, drilling and slag cleaning to hole formation acceptance can be controlled within 6 hours, and the pile integrity all meets the design requirements.
High Drilling Efficiency: Customized Processes + Caterpillar Services Are Key to Construction
"Compared with the equipment used previously, the KR360M performs more stably when switching operations between the two complex strata," noted the leader of the project construction team. The application of the full casing process has significantly reduced the rework rate, while the durability and stability of the Caterpillar-chassis rig enable the equipment to operate for over 16 hours per day on average, effectively guaranteeing the project schedule. Meanwhile, TYSIM provides construction process guidance, timely adjusting drilling parameters in response to on-site geological changes to further improve construction efficiency. As TYSIM's flagship product for the medium and large-sized rotary drilling market, the KR360M's core advantage lies in its ability to customize drilling solutions for different geological conditions (such as karst caves, cobblestones, sand layers, and hard rock), combined with various processes including full casing and mud wall protection. Additionally, leveraging the global service network of the internationally renowned Caterpillar chassis, it can quickly respond to after-sales needs of overseas projects—becoming a key factor for many international projects to choose TYSIM rotary drilling rigs.
Global Layout: Targeting Complex Strata to Expand the International Market
The application of the KR360M multi-functional rotary drilling rig with a Caterpillar chassis, developed by TYSIM, in the Istanbul project has further verified the equipment’s capability to handle the "karst cave + cobblestone" complex composite strata. In the future, TYSIM will continue to focus on the geological characteristics of different global regions to optimize the adaptability between equipment and construction processes. For instance, targeting complex strata common in regions like the Middle East and Europe, it will launch more precise integrated services of "equipment selection + process guidance" to support the efficient construction of overseas projects. Meanwhile, TYSIM will continuously improve its global sales and service network, enhancing the international market recognition of Chinese pile foundation equipment.
