ArcelorMittal R&D contributed to a research and development project related to Standardization of Safety Assessment Procedures across Brittle to Ductile Failure Modes. The objective for this research and development project, called SAFEBRICTILE, was to develop a procedure for the safety assessment of the various failure modes that are relevant for steel structures.

Several objectives to fulfil

The following objectives have been fulfilled within SAFEBRICTILE:

1. Development of an objective and consistent assessment procedure for the safety assessment of the various failure modes that are relevant for steel structures. The unified procedure will cover: modes driven by plasticity + modes driven by stability + modes driven by fracture.
2. Development of a more complex procedure in which newly developed design rules are defined by a pre-established safety factor.
3. Reassessment of several rules in Eurocode 3 covering the failure modes treated in the project by applying the developed safety assessment procedures in order to check their compliance with the target failure probability.
4. Proposal of new or improved design rules for cases where deviations from the target failure probability were observed.
5. Conceptual development and further maintenance of a European database of steel properties resulting from experimental tests.

Conclusions

The report gives an overview of the reliability assessment of the Eurocode 3 design rules carried out within the project related to cross-sectional resistance; buckling resistance of columns, beams, and beam-columns; and weld resistance. It presents adjustments to these design rules proposed whenever it was necessary. It also establishes recommendations on the statistical distributions of the relevant basic variables for steel structures compiled in a European Database of Steel Properties that was also developed within the project.

Text: Constructalia
Photos: ©European Union

On 14 November, ArcelorMittal participated in the first Polish Steel Day, organised as part of the Build With Steel initiative managed by the Polish Chamber of Steelwork and partners at the Warsaw Sheraton hotel – an event dedicated to investors, architects, designers, and general contractors to promote steel in the construction market.

About 130 people from the business and academic world gathered at the Warsaw Sheraton hotel for this first Steel Day in Poland. The event consisted of talks by specialists from production, galvanising, and design companies, and lectures given by well-known architects and representatives of industry associations. Different topics were discussed such as: new technologies in the galvanising industry, modern steel and composite bridges, and construction of the world’s largest mobile structure – the Chernobyl sarcophagus (made of ArcelorMittal steel).

Representing ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal was represented on the Technical Committee by Marta Dziarnowska, International Steel Promotion Director at ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products, and Wojciech Ochojski, Technical Advisor at ArcelorMittal Commercial Long Poland sp. z o.o.

Two ArcelorMittal speeches were given by:

•    Tomasz Plaskura, CMO Region East at ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products, who focused on 'Innovation in steel for the architecture of tomorrow'
•    Dr Renata Obiała, ArcelorMittal Global R&D on the topic 'Engineering fire safety of construction and creativity of designers'

Steligence® in the spotlight

As construction was the focus of the event, Steligence® was also in the spotlight with a mini stand, including a video display, as an introduction to this concept.

Steligence® is ArcelorMittal’s radical new concept for the use of steel in construction, which will facilitate the next generation of high performance buildings and construction techniques and create a more sustainable life-cycle for buildings.

As explained by Tomasz Plaskura during his speech: “We already know that steel is an ideal material to create functional and aesthetic constructions, but it is also important to make others as passionate about steel constructions as we are because steel is beautiful…The Steligence® concept has the potential to drive significant architectural and sustainability benefits. It will also impact the cost, which will be reduced…ArcelorMittal’s new headquarters, which will be built in Luxembourg, is an excellent example of this concept”.

The Steligence® concept is enabled by the latest development in steel solutions such as building columns, castellated beams, composite slim-floor beams, additive floors, architectural panels, profile claddings, cassette systems, and many others. You can view more details at steligence.arcelormittal.com/products.

Polish Steel Day was a great networking opportunity for people from different areas: architects, engineers, students, and academics and we look forward for the next edition.

More about Steligence®

Steligence® proposes a new approach to construction which considers buildings holistically, almost as ‘living entities’. As such, this new science-based methodology proposes the need for more dialogue between various specialist architectural and engineering disciplines recognising not only specialist expertise, but also the positive impact of enhanced co-operation between experts.

The concept has the potential to resolve the competing demands of creativity, flexibility, sustainability, and economics. Built into the Steligence® approach is a broad range of steel products for construction which individually add value, but together represent a compelling portfolio.

About Build With Steel (Buduj ze stali)

The Build With Steel initiative was developed in cooperation with some of the most important steel companies in Poland. Build With Steel is the answer to the industry’s expectations for increasing the use of steel in the building industry. Steel as a material characterised by great flexibility and durability deserves proper promotion.

The Build With Steel initiative is addressed to all key players in the construction market including students and graduates of technical universities, designers, architects, as well as investors and general contractors.

On 31 October 2018, the first phase of the Doha Metro in Qatar was inaugurated. ArcelorMittal steel fibres were used in the construction of the tunnels, and are being used in three projects in the construction of this first-class transportation network.

Opening the door for further opportunities

In 2015, ArcelorMittal WireSolutions signed three contracts to supply approximately 21 500 tonnes of steel fibres to the Doha Metro, strengthening ArcelorMittal’s position as a leading supplier of steel fibre to the tunnelling industry.

The contracts represented ArcelorMittal WireSolutions’ first delivery of steel fibres to the Middle East, opening the door for further opportunities in the region and worldwide.

Under construction for an investment of 32 billion Euro, the Doha Metro, operated by Qatar Rail, will be one of the most advanced metro systems in the world. 300km long and comprised of 98 stations, this world-class transportation network will be ready to support a world-class tournament, FIFA World Cup Qatar, in 2022.

Red Line South

ArcelorMittal WireSolutions signed a contract with a consortium led by QDVC* to supply 7520 tonnes of HE++ 90/60 premium steel fibres for the production of tunnel lining segments for Doha Metro’s Red Line South.

Red Line North

ArcelorMittal WireSolutions also supplied 7500 tonnes of HE++ 75/50 steel fibres for the production of tunnel lining segments to Doha Metro’s Red Line North in a contract signed with precast manufacturer SMEET. A consortium led by Italian company Impregilo** is responsible for construction of this line.

Golden Line

The third contract, signed with Qatari construction materials supplier CCI (Commodore Cement Industries), involved the supply of 6400 tonnes of HE++ 90/60 steel fibres to Doha Metro’s Golden Line, also for the production of tunnel lining segments. This line is being constructed as part of a joint venture led by Aktor***. ArcelorMittal’s DSTC offices in Dubai and Qatar worked closely with ArcelorMittal WireSolutions to fulfil project delivery requirements.

Tunnelling specialists

Steel for all three projects was produced at ArcelorMittal WireSolutions sites in Bissen, Luxemburg, Sheffield, UK, and Syców, Poland.

“These are…excellent examples of our leading position in the steel fibre business, demonstrating how we offer our customers best-in-class service and support for their projects. ArcelorMittal WireSolutions remains a strong solutions provider and a reliable partner to all our customers in the tunnelling industry. With this success, we have strengthened our team of tunnelling specialists in the company,” says José Ramón González, Steel Fibre Manager.

*Consortium led by QDVC, a joint venture between Qatari Diar & VINCI Construction Grands Projets. Includes GS Engineering & Construction and Al Darwish Engineering.
**Consortium led by Italian construction company Impregilo. Includes South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction and Qatar's Galfar Engineering & Contracting.
***Joint venture led by Athens-based Aktor and comprised of Larsen and Toubro, YapiMerkezi, STFA, and Al Jaber Engineering.

The London Underground, nicknamed "the Tube," is a great way to travel and discover London and its hot spots. Londoners and London lovers, you will soon be able to explore parts of the city on ArcelorMittal rails as ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products Rails & Special sections has secured the contract to supply rails for the Northern Line Extension (NLE).

A great addition for the area and for the commuters

The Northern Line Extension (NLE), part of TFL/LUL*, will bring great benefits to the areas of Vauxhall, Nine Elms, and Battersea. Transit time from Nine Elms or Battersea to the West End or the City could be, in some cases, less than 15 minutes and up to 25 000 jobs and 20 000 new homes could be created.

Ferrovial - Laing O`Rourke (FLO) JV are the principal contractor completing the 3.2-km extension that also involves the construction of two new stations at Nine Elms and Battersea. These will be completed in 2020.

Rails from our state-of-the-art mill in Gijón

As part of the tender award, ArcelorMittal is supplying rails manufactured at our state-of-the-art rolling mill in Gijón, in Northern Spain. All will be delivered on a just-in-time basis to construction sites across London on specialist rear steer vehicles as access/egress is limited.

The mill has recently benefited from a 30 million Euro investment with new rolling mills and a mill extension allowing rails to be rolled at 108m.

ArcelorMittal manufactures rails and special sections from mills in Spain, Poland, Luxembourg, and the United States, and is the world's leading steel and mining company. ArcelorMittal is proud to work with FLO JV towards the completion of the track installation in 2019.

*Transport for London/London Underground Limited

Good news for astronomy enthusiasts: the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will be located in Chile, is currently being built with ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products’ steel plates produced in Gijón, Spain. Once in service, this powerful telescope, equipped with a 3.2-billion-pixel camera, will make a survey of the universe in 3D.

10 years studying the universe

Thanks to its dry atmosphere, Chile has become the site of choice for many astronomy observatories with 70% of the world’s astronomical infrastructure planned to be in the country by the 2020s.

This is where the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), developed by AURA (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy), is currently under construction. The project has been funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and aims to produce the deepest, widest image of the universe night after night for 10 years.

The LSST uses a three-mirror design, which offers a wide field of view and is able to survey the entire sky in only three nights. It will deliver sharp images taken by a 3.2-billion-pixel camera, the largest digital camera ever constructed.

A robust structure made with our steel

In 2014, a Spanish consortium formed by Asturfeito and GHESA won the offer for the design, construction, and testing of the Telescope Mount Assembly.

ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products’ mill in Gijón supplied customer Asturfeito with steel plates for the construction of the telescope’s structure. Our plates in grade S355J2 + N provide the necessary toughness for an application such as this one.

The competitiveness of our offer in terms of price and technical requirements convinced Asturfeito to opt for our steel solutions. Regarding logistics, the location of our mill was an added benefit due to its proximity with the customer’s facility (also in the region of Asturias).

Coming in 2020

Asturfeito fully assembled the LSST in its production site and carried out control and performance tests in collaboration with GHESA. The telescope will be disassembled and the parts will be transported from the port of Avilés to Chile this autumn before being installed at 2600 metres of altitude in Cerro Pachón. LSST will see “first light” with a commissioning camera in August of 2020 and begin the ten-year full science survey in October of 2022.

About Asturfeito

Our client, Asturfeito, is a leading company in the engineering, manufacturing, and commissioning of capital goods with more than 20 years of experience in the scientific, nuclear, petrochemical, renewable energy, industrial, and steel industries. The company currently employs 220 people and has three production sites in Asturias: in Tabaza; in the Principality of Asturias Business Park (PEPA), very close to the port of Avilés (facilities where the skeleton of the telescope has been built); and in Silvota.

Fact & figures about the LSST

•    16 metre-diameter
•    375 tonnes
•    8.4-m mirror - the width of a singles tennis court
•    3200-megapixel camera
•    Each image the size of 40 full moons
•    37 billion stars and galaxies
•    10-year survey of the sky
•    10 million alerts, 1000 pairs of exposures
•    15 terabytes of data...every night

ArcelorMittal has won two Steelie Awards highlighting our excellence in sustainability, as well as in lifecycle assessment. The winners of the 9th Steelie Awards were announced at the Annual Dinner of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) on 16 October 2018.

Excellence in Sustainability

ArcelorMittal Brazil won the Steelie Award in the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ category for their water master plan, which reduced the company's water intake by more than 6 000 000 m3/year despite a 17% increase in production. This award distinguishes the sustainability initiative which has made the greatest contribution to all three areas of sustainability – economic, environmental, and social value – while garnering significant community engagement.

Also shortlisted in the same category was ArcelorMittal Saint Chély d’Apcher, France for their construction of a heat network which recovers energy from the steel mill to heat the municipality of Saint Chély d’Apcher cutting CO2 emissions by more than 4000 tonnes a year.

Excellence in Life Cycle Assessment - Steligence®

ArcelorMittal has also won the Steelie in the ‘Excellence in Life Cycle Assessment’ category for our Steligence® concept. Steligence® goes beyond relying on steel’s excellent recycling credentials and low embedded carbon content to earn a construction project its sustainability designation. It offers developers, architects, engineers, and contractors a whole new way of thinking about construction – life cycle assessment – to enable them to build a truly circular economy. This award recognises the best use of life cycle thinking for overall environmental improvement in marketing and/or regulatory influence, project application, and new product development.

ArcelorMittal Europe was also shortlisted in the same category for an economic study conducted to better forecast the behaviour of the global scrap market and validate the allocation of recycling credits and burdens in the life cycle assessment of steel products.

Version 3.49 of ABC: ArcelorMittal Beams Calculator is available now for free downloading.

For the design of steel structures

ABC: ArcelorMittal Beams Calculator is a free pre-design tool for use in designing a variety of steel and composite structures such as portal frames, beam and column structures, trusses, and column-beam connections. This tool allows for the calculation of steel, partially encased, composite, or integrated beams (SFB & IFB types A and B), in cold and fire conditions.

Version 3.49 is now available for download. We update our pre-design software regularly to ensure is assists you smoothly. This software complies with Eurocodes 3 and 4.

More tools are available for download

The whole range of ArcelorMittal pre-design and calculation software is available free of charge to registered Constructalia users. Click here for all of the details.

ArcelorMittal Europe delivered 60 000 tonnes of rails and 1000 tonnes of sections and flat bars for the 450-km Haramain High Speed Rail project also known as the “Mecca-Medina high speed railway" inaugurated on 25 September 2018.

A 300 km/h alternative

Located in Saudi Arabia, this new rail line connects the cities of Medina and Mecca. It was planned to provide safe and comfortable transport at speeds of 300 km/h, and it will help to relieve traffic congestion on the roads.

ArcelorMittal, a worldwide reference in high speed rail supply

To build the electrified double-track line, ArcelorMittal España supplied 60 000 tonnes of 25-metre-long 60E1 – R260 rails.

ArcelorMittal steel was chosen as we are a worldwide reference in high speed rail supply. We also have five facilities around the world for rail supply, of which four are located in Europe: Rodange (Luxembourg), Dąbrowa Górnicza, Chorzów (Poland), and Gijón (Spain).

A further contribution from Distribution Solutions Iberia

The rails are not the only contribution of ArcelorMittal Europe. Downstream Solutions Iberia provided (via its long-term customer, Dicome) 1000 tonnes of sections and flat bars produced in Olaberria and Bergara to realise the overhead power cable posts between January 2014 and April 2015.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe
Photos: Saudi Railways Organization

Flying over Germany's highest mountain

At 2962 metres, Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain and highest ski resort. There, you can enjoy powdery ski slopes in the winter and hiking trails in the summer. To transport visitors to the summit, a new cable car was installed. Its construction involved HD profiles supplied by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products and ArcelorMittal Downstream Solutions in Neckarsulm.

The world's highest structural support for aerial tramways

After three years of planning and construction, Zugspitze’s new cable car started its ascent last winter. For this unique project, our colleagues at ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products, together with ArcelorMittal Downstream Solutions, delivered HD profiles in steel grade S355 J2, which were used to build the structure of the cable car. The beams were produced in ArcelorMittal’s Differdange mill in Luxembourg, where they were cut to length, and the team at ArcelorMittal Downstream Solutions in Neckarsulm sold the final products to the customer.

Zugspitze's cable car holds three world records:

1. First, the particularity of this cable car is that instead of using two supports, it only has one support measuring 127 metres high making it the tallest tramway support in the world.
2. Then, the distance between the support and the mountain summit station is 3213 metres.
3. Finally, another unique feature is the height difference of 1945 metres between the valley station and the mountain summit station.

A new era

The modern cable car is a strong investment marking the beginning of a new era for the Zugspitze mountain.The 50-million-euro project has been providing visitors with maximum comfort and giving tourism a boost throughout the region.

So far, around half a million visitors are transported annually, but the historic Eibsee cable car from 1963 reached the limits of its transport capacity on peak days. The new cable car should attract about 10 percent more passengers, which means an increase for the entire, predominantly touristy, region.

The two new cabins with a sparkling new and elegant design can carry up to 120 passengers each with the floor-to-ceiling glazed open-plan cabins offering grandiose panoramic views of Germany's highest peak. They now guides alpinists, summer hikers, winter sports enthusiasts, and tourists from all over the world to the mountain top.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
    
Photos: ©Victor Maschek / Shutterstock.com  ©Trey Waggener / Shutterstock.com

These best practice design manuals consist of a series of technical guides for engineering offices, steel fabricators, and architects that aim at facilitating the application of the Eurocodes in the design of single-storey and multi-storey steel buildings.

The presented design manuals consist of a series of technical guides facilitating the application of the Eurocodes in the design of single-storey and multi-storey steel buildings.

These design manuals are helpful for steel fabricators and engineering offices, but the presentation of the advantages and possibilities of the use of steel also applies to architects. They provide a useful source of knowledge for designers in accordance with the Eurocodes and include topics such as numerous design details, fire engineering issues, member and connection resistance calculators, etc.

The design guides 'Single-Storey Steel Buildings' and 'Multi-Storey Steel Buildings' were produced in the framework of the European project 'Facilitating the market development for sections in industrial halls and low rise buildings (SECHALO) RFS2-CT-2008-0030', which was carried out with a financial grant from the European Union's Research Fund for Coal and Steel.

The design guides were prepared under the direction of ArcelorMittal, Peiner Träger, and Corus. The technical content was prepared by CTICM and SCI, collaborating as the Steel Alliance.

ArcelorMittal Projects, ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products Sheet Piling, and Global R&D participated in a project financed by the Dutch government to improve the design of dikes and keep the Netherlands safe from flooding.

Exploring economical and innovative solutions for safety

The Netherlands is a low-lying country protected from the sea by dikes and dunes. For decades, dike reinforcements have been installed to keep the country dry and prevent floods from happening. Due to continuously increasing safety demands and loads, one third of Dutch dikes do not meet safety requirements.

Macro-instability is one of the most common causes. It can occur when a high water level pushes against the embankment. This causes saturation of the soil and loss of stability resulting in large parts of the dike body sliding away.

When there is a lack of space due to cultivation around the dike, reinforcements to prevent macro-instability are utilised. Dikes with steel sheet pile walls are very strong and do not have to be widened thus reducing objections from residents and time-consuming judicial procedures.

Given the Dutch safety challenge, the need for cost saving has risen over the last couple of years. The government is making a tremendous effort to search for innovations that will allow for the necessary cost saving.

Taking part in the governmental study team

To investigate how the sheet pile design standards can be optimised, the government decided to finance dike tests in Eemdijk in the province of Utrecht.

The tests focussed on gaining a better understanding of the interaction between the soil and the steel sheet piles. A team consisting of ArcelorMittal Projects, ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling, and the R&D department contributed to the design process. ArcelorMittal also provided GU8N and AZ26-700 sheet piles for the tests. They were produced by ArcelorMittal's sheet piling mills in Dabrowa, Poland and Belval, Luxembourg.

The choice of the sheet pile profile in combination with the steel quality was crucial for a successful test. All dimensions of the sheet piles were extensively tested to ensure an accurate mapping of the profile characteristics. Additional tensile tests were performed to determine the exact mechanical features.

This testing program was part of the Project Transcending Exploration Macro stability (POV-M)*, which is under the Flood Protection Program (HWBP)*. The tests even gained attention at the international level from the US Army Corps of Engineers to delegates from South Korea and China.

*The sheet pile tests were executed in cooperation with Waterboard Vallei and Veluwe, Deltares, Witteveen+Bos, Fugro, and ArcelorMittal.
**A cooperation between Rijkswaterstaat (The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment) and the water boards.

Test setup and process

At the Eemdijk test site, an oval shaped dike of 5m high, 60m long, and 40m wide was constructed in six months’ time. The dike was fitted with measuring equipment and was only used for this experiment which helped to increase knowledge of soil-structure interaction. After the tests, the dike will be completely removed. A total of three tests have been performed at the site with our sheet piles produced in Dabrowa and Belval.

Full Scale Test Green Dike: This part of the dike was constructed with a sand core and an outer cover layer of clay. The groundwater level inside the core of the levee was slowly raised to +2.80 metres, at which moment a sliding plane occurred and the dike collapsed. This test acted as a baseline measurement which was used as reference for the final test.

Pull Over Tests: Four different sheet pile configurations were installed 14 metres into the ground after which they were pulled over with a hydraulic cylinder. The objective was to see at which force level (with a maximum of 100 tonnes for AZ26-700) and which deformation the sheet pile wall would collapse. Additionally, the four configurations gave insight into the differences in the behaviour of a continuous wall and loose panels and between the elastic and plastic behaviour of the steel sheet piles.

Full Scale Test Blue Dike: This part of the dike was built similarly to the green dike apart from the reinforcement, which was over 60 metres with GU8N sheet piles. These piles were placed as triplets and staggered with lengths of 18 and 9 metres. This test was a combination of the above-mentioned tests and was the main test of the research.

A 2-metre-deep ditch was dug at the bottom of the blue dike. The groundwater level in the dike body was slowly raised and the filling of the water basin behind the levee was carried out over time. This led to a water level at the crest of the dike located at +5 metres. In addition, seven containers filled with water were placed on top of the dike, creating an extra load of 40 tonnes per container. Despite the combination of the huge loads, the steel sheet pile reinforced dike refused to give way.

By infiltrating the landward slope of the levee and lowering the water level in the ditch, the dike finally collapsed. Two million litres of water flowed out of the basin into the hinterland highlighting the success of the tests.

Saving 20-30% of steel

The dike, reinforced with steel sheet piles, finally collapsed but only after putting an extreme load on it; not collapsing the dike would have resulted in a less successful test.

Results of the different tests were in line with realistic predictions which are even more favourable than current calculation rules. This concludes that steel sheet pile walls are an extremely strong and practical solution for dike reinforcements.

Existing dike reinforcement projects cost an average of 15 million Euro per kilometre of dike. It is estimated that with these updated design rules, 20-30% of steel can be saved in new projects. With this cost savings, it is anticipated that the market share of the “innovative” steel sheet piles will increase in future dike reinforcement.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communication

Copyrights: © POV Macrostabiliteit

In Italy, the Fondazione Promozione Acciaio and ArcelorMittal are very active in promoting steel as the best alternative to reconstruct damaged buildings after earthquakes.

Since the middle ages, Italy has recorded almost 100 earthquakes of varying severity. Recently in L’Aquila, in Abruzzo, Umbria and Marche the country has suffered from earthquakes that have caused hundreds of fatalities and extensive damage to constructions.

Reconstruction is therefore an imperative for the Italian community. It encompasses various challenges in terms of speed of construction, cost, versatility and of course seismic resistance.

While historically Italian architects and engineers have been taught to build with concrete, the Fondazione Promozione Acciaio (FPA) and ArcelorMittal are actively promoting steel, which offers outstanding advantages over concrete, particularly in seismic environments.

In September 2016 in Bologna and in October in Firenze, Marco Tognoni, CTS coordinator and Luca Collavoli, account manager at the Milano agency gave 2 lectures on this theme to an audience of dozens of architects and engineers.

Easy to construct and deconstruct, resistant to fire, 100% recyclable, steel is the material of choice for designing buildings that cope with earthquakes because it is inherently ductile and flexible - flexing under extreme loads rather than crushing or crumbling. Furthermore, many of the beam-to-column connections in a steel building are designed principally to support gravity loads. Yet they also have a considerable capacity to resist lateral loads caused by wind and earthquakes.

As Françoise Carrara, construction market coordinator for the South-West region points out, “these awareness initiatives towards architects and engineers are very important to contribute to the development of a culture for steel in Italy”.

Indeed, our Italian teams carry out events on a regular basis to promote steel in construction in Italy, in parallel to the training sessions that FPA organises in the regions recently affected by earthquakes.

Venice, the Jewel of the Adriatic, has been suffering from floodings for decades. To protect this UNESCO world heritage site, 7 entities of ArcelorMittal Europe contribute to the M.O.S.E. project, estimated at € 5.5 billion, which consists of the installation of 78 floodgates to protect the city.

The Acqua alta: Venice’s main threat

The Acqua alta is the exceptional tide peak that occurs periodically in the Northern Adriatic Sea. In 1966, due to this phenomenon, 80% of the city was flooded as water rose 1.94 m above its usual level, causing huge damage to the historic city and leaving thousands of people homeless. The regular floods striking the city pushed the government to find an effective solution.

ArcelorMittal comes into play

In 1984, the Italian government introduced the M.O.S.E. (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) project. The aim was to install 78 floodgates at the Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia inlets which will temporarily isolate the Venetian Lagoon from the sea during the annual high tides. The same year, a full-size prototype of a mobile gate was tested.

The main challenge for the M.O.S.E. project was to guarantee a very long life time to the works. Thanks to the support of ArcelorMittal Global R&D from Esch-sur-Alzette, ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling has been able to supply a tailor-made solution for Venice, representing the optimal solution in terms of durability, cost-efficiency and on-site feasibility as well as complying with the project’s requirements.

In 2004, 150,000 tonnes of sheet piles and tubes up to 50,3 m long were ordered from Long Products’ Belval and Differdange sites. ArcelorMittal’s AZ and HZ/AZ sheet piles were found to be the fastest and most cost-conscious option for this project.

They were used to build:

• retaining walls,
• quay walls
• dry docks (to build the caissons for the foundations),   
• and to protect the foundations of the sluices built at each inlet, allowing boats to enter and leave the lagoon when the gates are up.
  
  

Sheet piles have also been used for temporary structures as they can be extracted easily and reused.

BD Projects delivered 500 spirally welded foundation pipes produced in its Dintelmond mill in The Netherlands. All pipes have been delivered in one piece over 40 meters to meet the highest retaining requirements. All hot rolled coils specified in high steel grades and thicknesses above 22 mm., are coming from the ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products mill in Bremen, Germany.                                                                                                     

To communicate on its involvement in the project, ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling invited 21 European journalists for a Belval-Venice press trip in 2010. After a visit to the Belval mill to understand how sheet piles are produced, they had the opportunity to visit the site in Venice, where 135,000 tonnes of the sheet piles had already been delivered at the time.

ArcelorMittal Ringmill and Industeel put the finishing touches to the project

The impressive gates, measuring 20 m high, 20 to 30 m wide and with a 5 m thickness, were successfully tested in 2013. ArcelorMittal Ringmill delivered the 254 rings, essential part of the system, as they help the gates to lift. The rings are rolled by ArcelorMittal Ringmill in Seraing (Belgium) and are made of superduplex F53, produced by Industeel in Le Creusot, from steel blocks with a 500 mm diametre.

The M.O.S.E. system is operational since 2016, protecting the city for the 100 coming years. Thanks to ArcelorMittal, your grandchildren will be able to appreciate the beauty of Venice.

Visit our Product page on Sheet Piles!

Be it in the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, or another European country, ArcelorMittal’s steel is used to build many bridges throughout Europe and across its borders. This time, it is in France that a bridge was built with our steel, with all the beams provided by ArcelorMittal Eurostructures Beam Finishing Centre in collaboration with ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions.

From old to new

Next to Dunkirk, the gateway linking the towns of Petite-Synthe and Fort Mardyck to Saint Pol sur Mer has been closed to traffic for 5 years. The old bridge, made of reinforced concrete, was built in 1977 and demolished in 2011 for safety reasons due to one of its supports being damaged.

Connecting people

Since April 2016, the new “Triangle bridge” made with our steel has been opened for traffic. This gateway is a major traffic route for the Dunkirk area as it helps connecting 4 public transport lines which had to be removed during construction. Measuring 116 metres long, the new bridge includes:

• A double lane for cars
• A “green” lane for bicycles
• A pavement for pedestrians

Steel and concrete

To build the new Triangle bridge, the best solution was to opt for a concrete-steel mixed structure. The new bridge is composed of a weatherproof concrete floor slab with acoustic insulation. Steel was chosen for the support beams due to its efficiency and for its aesthetic and economical properties. S460M steel is economically beneficial for that type of application. Indeed, the weight of the structure can be reduced with a low price increase, its carbon rate is very low and welding doesn’t require pre heating.

Hand in hand collaboration

Eurostructures in Luxembourg was chosen by the customer Eiffage TP to provide 32 metre-long HEB and HEM 600 beams. Eiffage TP is well-known for realising prestigious civil engineering structures (the Millau Viaduct, the Montparnasse tower, the Channel Tunnel …).

For the assembly, Eurostructures partnered with the team of Distribution Solutions (DSI) in Yutz, France. This Distribution Solutions team was in contact with the customer’s supervising office, checking compliance with the specifications:

• Accordance with the EN1090 standard (specific to steel structure/bridges)
• Accordance with EXC4 execution class (specific to special structures such as nuclear power stations and large-span bridges)
• Accordance with  the ISO3834 standard which specifies the level of quality required for fusion welding
• Traceability

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communication

Pictures:
© www.lavoixdunord.fr and
© ArcelorMittal