Gulf Construction Online - Canam Asia scores with long-span structure

Steel

The hangar structure being raised

Canam Asia scores with long-span structure

01 July 2009

CANAM Asia and Zamil Steel’s Pre-Engineering Building (PEB) division have in a joint effort completed a unique long-span arch structure featuring open web joists to accommodate an aircraft hangar in Saudi Arabia, under a subcontract from Saudi Oger.
The hangar comprises primarily of a roof and enclosures with multiple spans of 90 m and 58 m, rising to 25 m and 18 m consecutively from the ground, and having a span thickness ratio equal to 35.
“Through our joint efforts, we were able to provide a complete and detailed fabrication design and our engineers assisted our fabricators to produce the supporting structure, connections and membrane surfaces of the aircraft hangar structure,” says Dr Wafik Ajam, technical and marketing manager of the Dammam-based Canam Asia.
Canam Asia is a joint venture between Zamil Industrial (ZI) of Saudi Arabia and Steel Plus – an affiliate of the Canadian Canam Group (CG).
The project utilised the expertise of ZI in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa and the reputation of CG as one of the leading manufacturers of steel joists and structural steel components in North America and Europe.
Elaborating on the project, Dr Ajam says: “To meet the technical challenges of fabricating and installing the aircraft hangar structure, our professional engineers provided the temporary bracing plan and supervised the erection process.
“A long-span truss can pose a great risk to installers because its dimensions and weight can create instability and buckling and it can collapse if it is not handled, installed and braced properly. Such trusses require more meticulous safety and handling measures than short span types to be installed safely and efficiently.”
“Such special structures are a prototype by themselves and are landmarks and testimonials to the achievements of the civil engineering profession. They make us proud of our profession and bind us together with the architects, structural and construction engineers in appreciation of the art of civil engineering,” he adds.
Canam Asia is a supplier with the most comprehensive range of steel construction products, which includes open web joists (OWJs), roof trusses, Hambro composite floor system (HCFS) and steel decks (standard and composite) certified by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
OWJ arches offer a number of advantages associated with the strength and economic structural elements, Dr Ajam points out.
This is because:
• OWJs are lighter than the full web beams of the same depth;
• OWJs can be used to facilitate the installation of ventilation ducts and plumbing as compared to a W-profile beam;
• The steel used in OWJ has a yield strength higher than that used in beams (380 MPa or 55 ksi as compared with 350 MPa or 50 ksi for shaped or welded beams);
• The OWJs provide longer spans, which is preferred as this reduces the number of columns inside a structure;
• The steel used in OWJs is more cost efficient with regard to material purchases (such as angles) compared with the beam or HSS sections; and
• The speed and ease of erection improves jobsite co-ordination.
Canam Asia’s products meet steel building needs and are manufactured in its own plants in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, to ensure consistently high quality standards at a competitive price.
Canam Asia is a division of Zamil Steel, a global leader in the steel manufacturing industry. It claims to be the only company in the region that custom-designs, fabricates and supplies open-web steel joists and has an annual capacity of 14,000 tonnes of joists, and 10,000 tonnes of metal deck panels per shift of operation.
Apart from Saudi Arabia, Canam Asia has also completed a number of projects in the UAE, Bangladesh, Romania, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.