Mechanical Engineering, bridge bearings, structural engineering Specialists In Structural Movement Control
Mechanical Engineers Specialising In Structural Movement Control
Supplied: 56 no. EN1337 Pot Bearings
M6 New Link Road - Budapest to South West Hungary
The 65.1km M6 Tolna Motorway connects the towns of Dunaújváros and Szekszárd and forms part of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) program of the Hungarian State in order to connect the cities Budapest and Pécs. Following the construction the awarded concession includes the operation and maintenance of this motorway section until 2038 which will guarantee the users a safe and comfortable ride to the Cities situated along the Danube.
The M6 motorway consists of 8 No. intersections, 58 No. structures, 4 rest service areas and 1 No. Operation Centre to manage the road on a 24hr basis. Many of the structures were designed as integral bridges. Bridge 993 is the largest structure on the project designed as two reinforced concrete box sections carrying the north and south bound carriageways. The bridge was launched over 14 piers a total of 630m. The design utilized slipform technology to produce and push sections over the piers.
Job Brief
Background Information
Project Team
Client: Hungarian Government
Location: New M6 Link Road from Budapest to South West of Hungary
Structure: Bridge 993 – 630m launch
Main Contractor: M6 Tolna Consortium (Bilfinger Berger/Porr/Egis)
Project Value: €520 million
Completion Date: 2008 – 2010
The bridge is curved in plan and has a longitudinal fall which creates technical issues that need to be overcome with respect to transferring both static and dynamic loads to the supports. Ekspan reviewed the loading data and aided the engineer in providing a solution to the supports that met the designers requirements.
Ekspan designed 56 No. EN1337 Pot bearings which have vertical load capacities from 500 ton to 1200 ton. With the designer, Ekspan had to design for movements in excess of 0.5 metres to accommodate the initial installation movement and the normal in service movement. It was critical to accommodate these movements due to the nature and time of installation of the pot bearings.
After discussion with the engineer and contractor it was clear that the best method of installation for the free bearings was with the use of chemical
mortars to bond the free pot bearings to the super/sub structures. All fixed and guided bearings used socketed connections embedded into the super/ sub structure.
Ekspan's Solution
Bridge bearings were delivered in two stages to meet a tight deadline where the fixed bearings were required in 4-6 weeks and the balance followed shortly after. Ekspan produced the bearings at it’s manufacturing facility in Sheffield UK under strict production control conditions.
Ekspan provided a full set of calculations and drawings of the proposed bearings to the engineer. Ekspan also prepared and supplied bespoke articulation diagrams of the structure and bearing positions to aid in the onsite installation works. Ekspan’s installation supervision ensured that the bearings were installed correctly specifically with the need to use special grout and mortar during the cold installation period.
