The challenges faced during the design and implementation stage of Lachlan's Line Bridge

It gives a moment of pride and honor to be acknowledged and being rewarded for all the efforts and hard work that was done by our team of engineers for being part of Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia. The award was given by the Australian Steel Institute for providing structural steel detailing service from its start to its end in building up the design and drawings for Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia.

The Award and its Certification title are “2020 NSW and Act Steel Excellence Awards” and winner of Engineering Projects.

About the Company:

CAD Outsourcing Services is a renowned company in India and globally serving its clients with all types of CAD services, Engineering Services, Detailing Services, and a lot more. With the experience of over 13 years in the said field, we have been recognized as the #1 trusted outsourcing company that is always working for its clients and by its clients.

 The company is having its team of well-trained and experienced engineers, designers, drafters, and modelers who are best in their area of work and are known for providing end-to-end solutions to the clients and result-oriented services to them as per their expectations.

 Now let us proceed further and have a look at the core details of structural steel detailing work that was required in the project, and how the team of steel detailers and engineers were able to overcome various challenges that they have faced from the start to the end of the project.

Core Details about the Project

This is a fact that any project that is being discussed or need assistance will require proper planning and a process to execute them in a well-mannered way. The same is with Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia too. Below mentioned are the details of the entire project.

❖        Announcement of the Project - September 2013

❖        Company - Landcom Company

❖        Project Value - Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge project is worth $40million

❖        The tonnage of Steel Used- 335

❖        Steel Structure Developed - 170m

❖        Count of doubly- curved nodes - 164

❖        Mass transit - 5000 resident

❖        The diameter of Helix Shape - 2.3 m

❖        Required Services - Structural and Steel Detailing Services

❖        Sizing - Width - 7.8 m in diameter. Base - Slimmest as 5.5 m

❖        The uniqueness of the Project - Located between North Ryde and Macquarie Park stations

❖        Facility Provided - It facilitates two railway stations, bus transport, and the M2 Motorway

Operational work for designing effective, efficient, and sculptural design

The design of the bridge when seeing seems to be dynamic and one of its art that makes the bridge a center of attraction. Well, with this said, let us check the operational work as well as the coding that was undertaken for the said project. 

❖        The principle that was taken into consideration and turned out to be an inspiration was the parametric design principle. The very first thing that was taken into consideration was to understand the Lachlan’s Line design process. 

❖        The entire design was represented in digital form and was connected by computational code. This was including work of creative engineering, efficiencies, and along with that given opportunity to unlock the details more accurately. 

❖        The initial step and the approach of the design were considered and determined as the smallest sequence for the bridge, and this was also carried on with the process of thinking to consider the busy roads that were below it. 

❖        At the later stage, the overall work and its workflow were, later on, continued to be evolving around the designed model and the programs that are interconnected with each other.  

❖        With the parameters which were an integral part of the design, it was the engineers who were able to set the diameter and it was all available at one single modification. 

❖        These important parameters were chord rotation between piers, helix density, and helix diameter set. Considering these details sets the workflow and along with that adjusts the model on an instant basis. 

❖        Here the geometrical views of the helical were varying and for the project, it was that more than 3600 unique plates were used. Since the workflow was at its peak, so the team decided to adopt the concept of change, and instead of working on traditional means, they decided to adhere to update the details of the project every minute rather than on weekly basis, and this was the time where it was having continuous as well as the innovative stage during the entire design process. 

❖        The very first workflow created was the architectural surface. It was the engineers who have decided and defined the process that was required for analyzing and knowing the fabricating details. It had series of work, and the model to be assessed in each steel plate that was within the helix, and not only this it was also a need here to optimize the thickness of the steel and its grade. 

❖        The data and documentation that were taken into consideration were Revit and BIM models that were saved containing all-steel data. 

❖        Once the team was able to streamline the efficiency in the work, it was easy for them to focus on other parts of the project and prepare a place or construction process that can help in minimizing the use of the material and setting a goal to make the project work simple and at an easy go. 

❖       It was that the engagement from the client-side and other stakeholders were seen more interactively and with this process, the outcome of the work was showing up positive vibes and completion of the project within the given time frame, without impacting the other areas of the work and the process of Delhi road and its nearby areas.

Challenges faced during the fabricating and erecting of the structure and its design

Now let us proceed further and see what were the challenges that were faced by the team of engineers during the work of fabrication and erection of the structure. 

❖        There is no similarity in the structure of the bridge. It is only because the two pieces are not the same in the structure. The curvature is with the steel that has variation, and the other is the one to maintain uniformity in the element sections. 

❖        Another challenge that was faced was having the review of the bridge and that is concerning its sizing, which is measured in the form of its length and geometry. 

❖        To optimize the details there was a need to have the shortest length between the two landing points, and with that, there was a necessity to achieve the vertical clearances as well. The outcome of the design was entirely mentioned functionally. 

❖        The helix diameter and its width both are being shared above in the said post, which was also one of the challenges that were faced by the team of engineers. 

❖        To understand the design and details of the bridge the team of steel fabricators was required assistance and for the same for each steel piece that was produced was requiring 3D modeling services. 

❖        The overall bridge was divided into four parts and each part was having its uniqueness that requires work on each part. 

❖        The area of the bridge was 172m and the work for the same was divided in below mentioned ways

- Helix - In 4 parts

- Deck - In 7 parts

❖        The biggest challenge that came in front of the engineers was to understand the geometry of its diagonal chord. This was having high priority because the shape of it was curved and along with that, it was twisted with a fine curve shape. 

❖        The next challenge that was listed was these diagonal chord connects on one Junction called Nord in six different ways that look like an octopus spreading his legs in different ways. 

❖        These curves and twisting shapes were not just easy to model by using simple tools, with our humble request the software company has also helped to make an advanced tool for this project as per the requirement. 

❖        But this is only the beginning, for the accuracy of assembly the fabricator needs to assemble all the parts in the workshop and final the assembly going to fit on site after that process again they disassemble the parts and goes for erection on site. 

❖        The deck is having numerous services like Storm water drainage, Electrical lighting, conduit pipes, and each one of these connecting to the deck through steel supports which was quite tough as the deck is inside of helix and there is very little space to manage those things exposing out from the deck. We need to check and coordinate throughout all 7 segments for the clash to happen and need to change steel supports at every junction to remove clash.

Conclusion

CAD Outsourcing Services is having a team of well-trained engineers and steel detailers who are having experience in using the required international standards and practices that are required to complete all types of Structural Engineering Services. 

To know more about the service or to outsource your project you can simply fill in the inquiry form and the team will get back to you.