Note: The projects listed in this gallery were done by staff whilst they were in the employment of other institutions and consultants or alternatively on contract to other consultants.
The following projects were done at the University of Stellenbosch.
Design Audit of Semi-mobile Crusher; Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana
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The 1500t semi-mobile crusher was designed and constructed by Bateman Engineering. The audit addressed aspects of the design such as strength, fatigue life of the structure, control tower motions induced by the rotating crusher for assessing operator comfort levels, the effect of large boulders rolling off dump trucks and impacting the splitter beams of the holding bin and the potential damage of these events.
Umtamvuna River Bridge, Kwa-Zulu Natal
The bridge was constructed over 30 years ago. Changes to traffic patterns had caused some concern about the structural integrity of the bridge. In particular the central expansion joint was requiring regular attention and complaints had been received about the excessive noise generated by large vehicles crossing the bridge.
The dynamic response of the bridge was measured when subjected to traffic loading and the predominant natural frequencies and movements determined. The bridge was modelled and detailed study was conducted on the overall effects of eliminating the expansion joint and of strengthening key members.
Design procedures for polygonal tubular steel poles for electrical distribution and transmission lines
The Electrical Supply Commision in South Africa decided to use tubular steel poles as an alternative to the predominantly used lattice structures. Design procedures were not well established and were set up to meet the OH&S safety standards for these structures. Analytical and empirical methods were used to establish the design procedures an a full scale prototype of a typical pole structure was tested in order to relax the stringent factor of safety requirement. A non-linear finite element analysis was done of the prototype and the excellent correlation obtained provided the confidence to use numerical analysis to verify the design procedures for other pole configurations.
The following project was done for Entech Consultants, Stellenbosch
Design audit of a deepsea gravity base for a control bouy anchor
The reinforced concrete gravity base was designed and constructed for the gas field development 85 km to the south west of Mossel Bay on the southern coastline of South Africa. The gravity base forms the anchor for the tethered control buoy and lies on the seabed in 100 m of water.
The multi-celled caisson type gravity base structure had a final mass of 2713 tonnes, total volume of concrete 1000 m; and some 40 tonnes of special steel attachments. The overall gravity base dimensions measured 15.5 x 15.5 m in plan and 10.5 m in height. The base was slip-formed in the Navy dry dock in Simontown from where it was towed by tug to Mossel Bay. The entire design and construction process had to comply with very strict quality control requirements as stipulated by Lloyds, one of which was that the design of the structure and tether connections had to be verified by finite element analysis.
The following projects were done on contract for ASCH Consulting, Cape Town
Athlone Stadium, Cape Town: Conceptual roof arch and arch footing designs
The serviceabilty of the 180m roof arch was particularly sensitive to the design of the footings. Interaction between the arch and the foundations was modelled in some detail and the pile cap and pile layout optimised to ensure compliance with serviceability requirements.
Cape Town Convention Centre: Conceptual long span roof design for exhibition halls
During the conceptual design stage for the roof structure of the Cape Town Convention Centre, various structural options were investigated to achieve a serviceable solution. One requirement, among others, was to provide for large span uninterupted exhibition spaces that could be partitioned with heavy acoustic panels having strict limitations on the amount of movement that could be tolerated.
The following projects were done with Connell Mott MacDonald, Melbourne
Lateral stability and building movement studies of high rise buildings
Our staff was responsible for the design of the lateral stability elements of a number tall buildings including The Urban Village (50 Lonsdale Street) and the Victoria Harbour, Dock 5 residential development in Melbourne, and the Manchester Civil Justice Court in the UK, which are all currently under construction. They were also responsible for the verification of building designs for the Chevron 3 Tower on the Gold Coast.
We have been extensively involved with the building motion studies on the Eureka Tower and the Urban Village and provided advice on measures to reduce the incidence of perceptible building movement. We were responsible for the development of software to evaluate the time dependant axial shortening behaviour of concrete vertical elements in order to estimate the differential shortening between columns and core, which could be significant in buildings in excess of 30 storeys.
Dynamic response of structures subjected to human activities
A number of structures, depending on their use have different restrictions on the motion that can be tolerated. We have had experience with a number of different structures such as grandstands, laboratories housing sensitive instruments and others. For the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre shown below, the dynamic response of the ballrooms and adjacent areas as well as the plenary hall was evaluated for various human activities to ensure that the motions were within the prescribed acceptable criteria.
Analysis of profiled polycarbonate roof sheets subjected to pressure loading
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The following projects were done independently
Dynamic analysis of a printing press foundation
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Numerical investigations of geological mechanisms forming dolerite ring structures
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