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Case study
QUEENSWAY TUNNEL
REFURBISHMENT,
#2
ENGLAND
Material
Selection
The cladding panels are supported by
a lightweight modular stainless steel
framework of cold formed members
which were manufactured from 390
tonnes of stainless steel strip. The
only visible stainless steel following
installation of the panels are the cover
strips (90mm wide x 3mm thick) at the
connection between each panel.
Design
The stainless steel framework was The Highways Agency Design Manual bearing members in the framework
designed to be as lightweight as for Roads and Bridges BD 78/99[3] were cold formed angles 55mm x
possible, not only to cut material costs requires tunnel cladding to be 35mm x 4mm thick. The framework
but also to facilitate quick installation designed to resist a load of ±1.5kPa for was attached to the tunnel wall using
which was important because the 50 million cycles, however, in-situ load 15,100m of stainless steel slotted
refurbishment had to be completed cell testing determined that the actual channels (41mm x 21mm) fixed by
with minimal disruption to the normal pressure fluctuations caused by traffic 48,000 resin anchors from grade A4
running of the tunnel, taking place for in the tunnel were considerably lower, stainless steel (equivalent composition
6 consecutive nights every 3 weeks. and an approved departure from that to Type 316 / UNS S31600).
The framework system also needed requirement was granted to permit
to be easily demountable in case any a value of 0.5kPa to be used instead. The total weight of the cladding
panels were damaged, for example The cyclic nature of the loading was system was approximately 900 tonnes.
by vehicle impact, and needed taken into account by limiting the
replacement. stresses in the various components of
the framework to 50% of the material’s
The stainless steel framework was fatigue endurance life.
designed on a modular basis, with
each sub-frame supporting one The design was based on simple
cladding panel of standard size 5.2m elastic analysis, adopting a permissible
high x 1.2m wide. The frame was stress methodology because many of
designed to resist the self-weight of the small components (e.g. brackets,
the cladding and the wind pressure/ cleats) were not conventional
suction caused by the moving traffic. structural members. The main load-
Fabrication
and
installation
The innovative design concept of
pre-fixing sturdy top and bottom rails
to the tunnel wall and then fastening
the stainless steel frames in position
reduced installation time considerably
compared to the conventional method
of fixing all horizontal and vertical
support rails on site and fitting smaller
panels directly to it. The frames were
designed to ‘tilt up’ during installation,
whereby the frames were first laid
horizontally on the floor, secured at
the bottom and then tilted up and
secured in position. This process saved
time and hence minimised disruption
to tunnel users.
Fig 7 - Frames ready for transportation
Photo courtesy Ancon Building Products
Information for this case study was kindly provided by Ancon Building Products and Chippendale Consulting.
Procurement Details
Client: Merseytravel
Designer: Chippendale Consulting
Manufacturer of stainless steel framework: Ancon Building Products
Supplier of ceramic steel panels: PolyVision SV
References
[1] AboutMyArea. (2012, January 27). Mersey Tunnel Refurbishent fit for a queen. Retrieved from About My Area: http://
www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshire/Neston/CH64/News/Local-News/214956-Mersey-Tunnel-Refurbishment-Fit-For-a-
Queen (Accessed: 10 May 2017)
[2] Weston, A. (2013, May 8). Artwork incorporated in Mersey Tunnel refurbishment. Retrieved from Liverpool Echo:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/artwork-incorporated-mersey-tunnel-refurbishment-3356267
(Accessed: 10 May 2017)
[3] Highways Agency Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 2 Section 2 Part 9 (BD 78/99) Highway structures:
Design (substructures and special structures) material. Special structures. Design of road tunnels
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Published 2017