Giving structure to Romanian stadiums

Sport has a very important place in Romania, especially football. ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Europe recently contributed to the construction of two stadiums in the country: the Craiova stadium, inaugurated in November 2017, and the Targu-Jiu stadium which will open this year. Steel produced in Romania was used for both projects with Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) produced in Iasi and made from coils produced by ArcelorMittal.

About the stadiums

Craiova stadium:

Architect: Dico and Tiganas architecture and engineering
Contractors: CON-A S.R.L., ACI CLUJ S.A., and NISAL S.R.L.

Targu-Jiu stadium:

Architect: Dico and Tiganas architecture and engineering
Contractors: ACI CLUJ S.A. and CON-A S.R.L.

100% Romanian steel from ArcelorMittal

Two football stadiums were recently built with ArcelorMittal steel, in Craiova and in Targu-Jiu. For both projects, ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Europe supplied HSS (in EN 10219 standard) to KonigFrankstahl, which were used to build the tribunes and the structure of each stadium.

The HSS were produced by ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi, part of ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Europe. The sections were produced through the Electric Resistance Welding process, which consists of forming a tube with a steel strip by heating the edges and forming them together. The name of the process comes from the heat necessary for welding that is generated by electric currents passed through the steel strip prior to the weld being forged.

Quality, communication and just-in-time delivery

KonigFrankstahl is one of ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Europe’s most important distributors for the Romanian market. KonigFrankstahl has a long-term and strong partnership with one of Romania’s largest
construction companies CON-A (general contractor of these two projects) which demands punctual deliveries to be able to meet project deadlines. KonigFrankstahl received the HSS based on CON-A’s specifications in full bundles from ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi to its warehouses in Bucharest and Sibiu and was able to deliver the material in the exact quantities, even cut pieces, to the different requested locations.

Three main factors convinced KonigFrankstahl to opt for ArcelorMittal products:

• the quality of the products, supported by certificates

• ArcelorMittal’s ability to ensure just-in-time delivery

• excellent communication with ArcelorMittal

Moreover, the collaboration with ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi was very good due to the high support provided from production to logistics despite the high pressure regarding deliveries.

The Craiova stadium, inspired by modern art

The Craiova stadium located in the city of Craiova has a capacity of 30,000 seats and replaces the former Ion Oblemenco Stadium built in 1967. The new stadium was designed by the architects Dico and Tiganas architecture and engineering who took inspiration from the work of art “Mademoiselle Pogany,” carved by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi. The iconic building offers a modern touch that will boost the development of the local area.

The building envelope has an elliptical shape, which protects the spectator seating area against adverse weather conditions while ensuring that the natural light hits the pitch and closes the secondary spaces under the stands. The volume of the bowl is enhanced thanks to the semi-open roof and the structural "ribs" wrapped with transparent and translucent materials.

The Targu-Jiu stadium comes into line with UEFA standards

Work at the new stadium in Targu-Jiu (in the south of Romania) is nearing completion; the tribune roofs are partially mounted, as well as the two scoreboards. The project involves the reconstruction of the Targu-Jiu Stadium to make it more modern and in line with the UEFA standards. Once completed, the stadium – which should be officially named Pandurii Arena - will have 12,500 seats and will also include an underground car park and a 40-room hotel. In the near future, the area around the stadium will enter into a modernisation process.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communication

Copyrights: ©Laurentiu Nica, ©ArcelorMittal Iasi

Located in Chorzów, the Silesian stadium (or Stadion Śląski) is one of the most recognisable stadiums in Poland. Inaugurated in 1956, the stadium was recently completely renovated and reopened in October 2017. ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products contributed to the project and provided sheet piles, used to secure the foundations.

A popular place for sports and music

First opened on 22 July 1956 and described as a symbol of Polish football, the Silesian stadium served for many years as a national stadium. Until 2009, It hosted 55 football matches involving Poland’s national football team, and welcomed many international football stars such as Pele, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Silesian stadium was also a popular place to organise concerts and many rock bands performed there such as U2, the Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park.

325 tonnes of sheet piles from Dabrowa to secure the foundations

Recently a major overhaul of the stadium was completed to bring it up to modern standards. For this renovation, ArcelorMittal Poland supplied to customer, PPI Chrobok SA, 325 tonnes of GU16-400 sheet piles in grade S355GP and measuring between 8 and 12 metres. 

The sheet piles, produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products in Dąbrowa, were used to secure the foundation trench in the area of the pitch plate. The long-term relationship between Dąbrowa and the customer, as well as the proximity of the mill and the availability of the stock were determining factors in winning this contract. Our sheet piles solution is quick to install, even in hard soil conditions.

After modernisation, the Silesian stadium can now welcome 54,378 spectators during games and 85,000 people during concerts.

It is currently the biggest athletics stadium in Poland.

Facts and figures about the Silesian stadium

•  54,378 places
•  85,000 places during concerts
•  7,500 m2 of turf 9
•  athletics tracks

Fly over the Slaski Park

ArcelorMittal Construction is another entity of our company who participated in this project. While our sheet piles were used for the construction of the stadium, ArcelorMittal Construction Polska also supplied curved steel profiles for the roof of three cable car stations located next to the stadium. The curved steel profiles in green 1018 were supplied to customer Mostostal Zabrze, who built the stations.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Copyright images: Archiwum Stadion Slaski sp. z.o.o., Huang Zeng/Shutterstock.com

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Eurocodes - Common rules for the design of construction works

The EN Eurocodes are a series of European standards which provide a common series of methods for calculating the mechanical strength of elements playing a structural role in construction works, i.e. the structural construction products. They make it possible to design construction works, to check their stability and to give the necessary dimensions of the structural construction products.

They are the result of a long procedure of bringing together and harmonizing the different design traditions in the Member States. In the same time, the Member States keep exclusive competence and responsibility for the levels of safety of works.

A series of background documents have been published to provide technical inside

The so-called background documents on Eurocodes are established and collected to provide technical insight on the way the NDPs have been selected and may possibly be modified at the national level. In particular, they intend to justify:

– The theoretical origin of the technical rules,

– The code provisions through appropriate test evaluations whenever needed (e.g. EN 1990, Annex D),

– The recommendations for the NDPs,

– The country decisions on the choice of the NDPs.

Collecting and providing access to the background documents is essential to the Eurocodes implementation process since they are the main source of support to:

– The Member States, when choosing their NDPs,

– To the users of the Eurocodes where questions are expected,

– To provide information for the European Technical Approvals and Unique Verifications,

– To help reducing the NDPs in the Eurocodes when they result from different design cultures and procedures in structural analysis,

– To allow for a strict application of the Commission Recommendation of 11 December 2003,

– To gradually align the safety levels across Member States,

– To further harmonize the design rules across different materials,

– To further develop the Eurocodes.

This joint ECCS-JRC report is part of a series of background-documents in support to the implementation of Eurocode 3. It provides background information on the specific issue of design rules affected by the toughness of steel. In its various parts, EN 1993 – Eurocode 3 currently addresses steel properties essentially with regard to strength. The toughness properties are also dealt with in Part 1-10 and Part 1-12.

Toughness properties: A area not so well known

The interrelation between toughness properties and the safety of steel structures is not commonly known, and therefore EN 1993-1-10 does not explicitly address this issue. The background material to EN 1993-1-10 presented in this report provides the necessary explanations on the underlying principles and their application rules. It also opens the door to the application of these principles to situations not yet fully covered by EN 1993.

Due to its rather innovative character, some of the contents of this joint ECCS-JRC still needs to be complemented through additional research likely to be carried out in the context of the further development of Eurocode 3.

The European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) has initiated the development of this commentary in the frame of the cooperation between the Commission (JRC) and the ECCS for works on the further evolution of the Eurocodes. It is therefore published as a Joint Commission (JRC)-ECCS-report.

ArcelorMittal Europe has been a member of ECCS for more than 20 years