The newest addition to the super stadiums of the NFL

Transcription

1 Form+Function NEWS & INFORMATION FROM HAMILTON FORM SPRING 2015 Project Profile Formwork for the Falcons Metromont Corporation The newest addition to the super stadiums of the NFL recently broke ground in Atlanta. These new generation stadiums are incorporating more and more innovative design features to reflect the unique personality of the team and its home town. The new Atlanta Stadium presents strong evidence of this trend. Inspired by the team s logo, the new Falcon Stadium will have a uniquely designed retractable roof. It features eight triangular translucent panels that create the illusion of a bird s wings extended when opened. The panels simultaneously open like a camera aperture to expose the field to the sky in less than eight minutes. When closed, the translucent panels allow light into the stadium. Built into the retractable roof will be a one of a kind halo-style video board that surrounds the field. The 6,800 square feet video board will be more than five stories high. Floor-to-ceiling windows located on the stadium s northeast corner will provide views of the Atlanta skyline and provide natural lighting inside the stadium. The stadium will seat approximately 75,000 with 7,500 club seats and 180 luxury suites including 16 Touchdown suites located directly on the field behind each end zone. Utilizing an innovative mechanized curtaining system for the stadium s mid and upper bowls, the capacity can be reduced to optimize the setting and acoustics for concerts. Adjacent to the new stadium, the upper portion of the Georgia Dome will be deconstructed and the lower portion will be converted to a multi-level parking garage for the new stadium. The stadium is seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification at the highest level from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures. Some of those measures include utilizing natural lighting to reduce energy consumption, water efficiency, recycling and rainwater collection strategies, solar panels installed on-site and a partial building re-use to build a parking structure that will include electric vehicle charging stations. Metromont Corporation is supplying the precast elements for the stadium with forms designed and fabricated by Hamilton Form Company. The formwork for the risers for this project is complex due to the number of different cross sections. Fifteen different forms were supplied. Most are triple hammerhead forms and each uses several different back pans (pivoting covers) and fillers. The project calls for a total 2,609 pieces, over 50 different cross sections and more than 1,000 linear feet of steel forms. The most recent budget for the stadium is $1.4 billion and the stadium is expected to open in 2017.

2 Formwork Dual Median Barrier Forms for Historic Highway Knife River Prestress Concrete median barriers are typically used for their functionality. The most popular is the Jersey Barrier, developed in the 1950s. The Jersey Barrier was designed to prevent cars from drifting into on-coming traffic and minimize damage in the event of an accident by allowing a car s tires to ride up the sloped edge of the barrier and be redirected back to its original direction. Typically, median barriers are designed for safety, not aesthetics. But, when median barriers are being used on the Columbia River Highway, the first scenic highway built in the United States and a National Historical Landmark, aesthetics considerations come into play. K nife River Prestress in Harrisburg, Oregon is producing 5,00 median barriers for use on a section of the Columbia River Highway east of Portland. The Columbia River Highway, built between 191 and 1922, was the first planned scenic roadway built in the United States. It is a National Historical Landmark and has been recognized as a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The highway was designed by engineer and landscape architect Samuel C. Lancaster, who made use of concrete curbs, gutters, culverts and reinforced concrete bridges. Although the road has been repaired and upgraded over the years, each new project has been in keeping with the original intent of the designer to build a road that will allow all who travel it to take in the natural beauty of the surrounding area. This is true even for the median barriers. To that end, a special mix has been specified to produce earth toned products that will blend with the natural surroundings. In addition, the median barriers have several unique design details that affected the design of the formwork. The bottom of the product has a one-and-a-half-inch tall longitudinal grout key and a transverse scupper for drainage. The grout key is pumped with grout after the barrier is set in place and anchored. The four-foot scupper allows for handling with a forklift. Each barrier has four PVC lined holes for an anchoring pin and a cast-in recess or pocket for the head of the pin. After anchoring the barrier in place, the pocket is grouted. The headers were designed to accommodate protruding rebar loops used to lock the barriers together, end to end, with pins. To minimize gaps, the ends of the barriers have a half-round vertical groove cast into them so the pins and loops fit tightly together. The barrier ends are slightly tapered to allow the barriers to follow a curve in the roadway without binding. Each dual-line form casts two two-foot eleven-inch tall by twelvefoot six-inch long products. The self-contained forms were leveled and casting began as soon as they were delivered to Knife River to keep the project on schedule.

3 Form Design As Stadium Design Evolves, So Do the Precast Products I n the past several years stadium design has become more innovative, more complex and more competitive. Stadiums are a symbol of local pride, designed to reflect the identity of the home team and the character of the location. They also need to offer fans a powerful, live, interactive sporting experience and function as multi-purpose facilities for special events, concerts and shows. To meet these needs stadiums are being designed with more levels, wider concourses, a wider offering of seating options, higher end finishes and a plethora of amenities. Stadiums must also adhere to increased safety requirements and are being designed with more and more sustainable attributes. As stadium design becomes increasing complex, so do the precast elements, and in turn, the formwork to cast those elements. While some stadiums require only a few forms that may each cast -4 products, it s not unusual to see a stadium or arena with as many as 28 different risers sections alone. As the complexity of design increases, so does the complexity of bidding on a stadium project. Adding to this complexity is the fact that initial designs (contract drawings) often do not provide enough information to develop a realistic bid, let alone a formwork package. Given these realities, it can be difficult to estimate a form package for a stadium project. The best information for us to have is a set of product drawings with their piece count. For risers, the drawings need to include the dimensions of the risers including length, and the number, size and placement of strand. Many risers change by small increments. In those cases, knowing the piece count and the casting schedule can determine if a single form can be used to cast several different products, using fillers and risers to accommodate the incremental changes. Form complexity, labor costs, changeover time and the casting schedule may point to the need for more dedicated forms. self-stressing form. When fillers and risers are used to produce multiple products in a single form, the strand pattern moves further away from the base of the form. This changes the load paths and requires a more robust form design. In the past several years we ve seen more products with drop stems. To design a form we need to know the maximum depth of the drop stem and if the stem depth changes. If the stem depth changes, it can be shortened with fillers. However, using fillers changes the strand pattern and needs to be accommodated for in the form design. Over the years, we have designed forms for most of the major stadiums and arenas as well as dozens of smaller stadiums across the country. Formwork for smaller stadiums can be challenging since they typically have as many cross sections as larger stadiums, but not the quantity. Smaller projects take careful analysis to determine the best formwork solution. As stadium design becomes more complex, it is very important to work with an experienced partner to design and develop a formwork package. Hamilton Form has fabricated formwork for most of the major stadiums built since 197. This knowledge and experience can be a valuable asset in your next stadium project. The next time you have a stadium project, big or small, contact the experts at sales@hamiltonform.com or call The design of a self-stressing form is driven by the amount and location of pre-stress force the form needs to resist. This makes strand patterns an essential factor in designing and pricing a

4 Technically Speaking Your Role in Approving Form Drawings We design and build our forms to last for decades. To get the most out of your formwork investment, it is critical to carefully check your approval drawings so the forms you order will serve you well for years to come. D esigning forms for our customers is always a collaborative effort. Hamilton Form is a custom form manufacturer we don t have designs on the shelf, nor forms in inventory ready to ship. Each form is designed with a specific customer and specific need in mind. Once we consult with our customer and a design is finalized, we send approval drawings to our customer. These drawings are your assurance that the form we build meets your requirements. The approval process is a very important step. Time and care should be taken to verify the form will produce both the product and the number of products you intend to cast at a time. Make sure any provisions needed for production are included. Many customers circulate the drawings to their engineering, production, QC and sales departments to make sure all details are covered on the drawings. Here s a quick checklist of things to look for when approving drawings for production: 1. Compare your final product drawing with the form drawing. Verify that all product dimensions are correct. 2. Check the overall length of the form. Make sure all bed layout issues are addressed. Make sure you have sufficient room for bulkheads.. Check that the stressing capacity of the form is sufficient for the product you are producing. Verify the strand pattern. Think about any other products that you may want to cast with the same form in the future. Make sure you have enough stressing capacity for future needs. Stressing capacity can t be added at a later date. 4. Check all details of the order, including headers and tie-downs. 5. Make sure any allowances that need to be included or called out for your curing process are addressed. If steam line holes are required make sure the size and quantity are noted. Are provisions needed for an electric curing system? If so, they should be noted in the drawings. 6. Make sure you understand and can comply with any notes, instructions and warnings that are noted on the form drawings. The review of your final drawings is critical because it is your last practical opportunity to make any revisions. Always feel free to call us with questions or comments when you receive drawings. If modifications are needed, mark up the drawings and send them back. We will make changes and send a new set of drawings to you for final approval. The approved drawing is what we send to our shop for fabrication. Carefully checked and approved drawings are the key to us fabricating forms that produce the products you need and work efficiently in your facility. Once the final drawings are approved, the drawings are turned over to our production department. At that point, it is difficult, expensive and often impossible to make any changes. Always carefully check your approval drawings before sending them back to Hamilton Form for production. Adjustable Stadia Forms Adjustable forms can be cost effective especially for low volume products. Forms can be adjusted with fillers, risers and by adjusting the back pans, as pictured below. When thinking about adjustable forms, the precaster has to determine if the time and labor involved in changeovers is more economical than ordering an additional form. Bolt on riser Adjustable back pan Adjustable back pan Deck filler Stadia form with bolt-on riser Stem filler Stadia form with deck filler and stem filler

5 Product News Galvanized Steel Embed and Beveled Plates O ver the past several years, Hamilton Form has been producing galvanized steel embed and beveled plates. Our capabilities include studded embed plates, as well as matching beveled plates, machined for both grade slope and cross slope. Plates are produced on our state-of-the-art CNC Gantry Mill with computerized interface control to assure accurate dimensions and slope of the plates, as well as placement of studs and holes. The next time your project calls for embed or beveled plates, call on Hamilton Form: sales@ hamiltonform.com or We can produce embed as well as beveled plates up to 54-inch x 54-inch; 4-inches thick at a 10% slope. Equipment PS-4500 Single Stroke Pull Type Tensioning Jack S ingle stroke pull-type tensioning jacks are commonly used on long-line forms where handling equipment is available and there is ample room at the end of the bed. Hamilton Form tensioning jacks are available in 24, 6, 48 and 60 strokes for half-inch or.6 strand. A Y-chain sling is included for easy manipulation into strand. You should always pull with the jack properly aligned with the trajectory of the strand and the jack nose centered on the stressing chucks. To help, Hamilton Form includes a magnetic torpedo level to make sure the unit is level. And, our pull type jacks are designed with an anti-twist bar on the pulling yoke that can be used to measure elongation. For more information contact sales@hamiltonform.com or

6 Hamilton Form Company, Ltd 7009 Midway Road Fort Worth, Texas Ph Fx Form and Function Newsletter If you would prefer to get the Hamilton Form FORM and FUNCTION Newsletter electronically, please send an with Newsletter in the subject line to: