Archive for March 2016

Conical Chimney

March 30, 2016 Chimneys, Towers Comments Off on Conical Chimney

Taean, South Korea

Conical Chimney in Taean, South Korea

Conical Chimney in Taean, South Korea

Completed in 2014, this conical chimney stands 146 m / 479 ft tall. The bottom diameter measures 32 m, the intermediate (minimum) diameter is 21 m and the top diameter is 27.3 m. This chimney is part of the STX Bukpyung Power Plant in South Korea.

The general contractor, Gangnae Co. hired Gleitbau GmbH for the slipforming of the chimney. Gleitbau supplied the customized slipform system and onsite supervision, including geometry control. This is one of dozens of chimneys built by Gleitbau. They are the only company in the world that routinely slipforms conical concrete structures such as this chimney.

Gleitbau GmbH is the technical leader in vertical concrete slipform construction, executing between 80 and 100 slipform projects every year. They work all over the world, including North America. Gleitbau typically supplies slipform equipment, engineering, geometry control and related heavy lifting services to general contractors. For more information, please contact Michael Veegh.

Hebron Main Shaft Completed

March 9, 2016 Offshore, Platforms Comments Off on Hebron Main Shaft Completed
Hebron Main Shaft Slipforming Completed

Hebron Main Shaft Slipforming Completed In Under 4 Weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hebron Offshore Gravity Based Structure

Newfoundland, Canada. The main shaft of the platform was finished on December 22, 2015 and completed in under four weeks. The shaft is 153 ft / 47 m tall and has a base diameter of 115 ft / 35 m. To slipform the variable cross-section, a 200 ton truss system was required to guide the forms as they climbed upwards. The slipform system and construction supervision were supplied by Gleitbau GmbH, the leading slipform company in the world today. Slipforming operations continued around the clock to complete this very demanding project in record time and also under severe winter conditions.

The surface finish and concrete color came out exceptionally uniformly, as can be seen in the picture above. Hydraulic jacks were used to raise the form system every few minutes, by a few millimeters at a time. The jacks were attached to special climbing rods which were embedded in the concrete wall. Vertical lasers guided the slipform system as it moved upwards to construct the shaft. The custom-designed truss system that guided the forms transversely was also used as a work platform and storage area for rebar and post-tensioning materials. About 3000 tons of post-tensioning was installed in total in the concrete substructure.

Lower platforms suspended from the truss system were used for concrete finishing work. A third platform below the finishing platform provided a work area for survey activities as part of the geometry control operations. The platforms and flooring had to be re-worked repeatedly as the concrete walls  moved within the footprint of the truss system. This made for great logistical challenges as the steady supply of materials to the work point had to be maintained at all times.

Hebron Slipform Truss System Being Removed

Slipform Truss System Being Removed After Completing the Variable Geometry Shaft