Hydro Extrusion’s solutions for the support structure

In our previous posts, we introduced you to our Hydro project and the design of the casting pits that form the backbone of the technology. This time we present some exciting solutions for the support structure.

The aluminium billets produced during the casting process are lifted out of position with 20 t cranes, so we had to size the pillar rows next to the casting pits to take these loads. In addition, a 15-ton crane is located on the other side of the pillar line for the other steps of the technology. And the personnel supervising the casting process and technology had to be located in a confined space close to the casting lines, from where they could quickly intervene in the processes if necessary.

This created a complex situation from a structural point of view that we had to deal with. Some of the piles around the casting pits reach down -5.00 m to the bottom of the shafts next to the casting lines, from where they rise to a height of +18.00 m, while they are loaded on both sides with overhead cranes, the access passages of which lead through the reinforced concrete piles. In between these piles, we built a building the size of a family house, which house a kitchenette and the toilets, as well as a control room, while the floor slab had to be sized for a payload of 1t/m2. Since the foundations and the casting pits were already close together, this small building could no longer be separately founded, so the load was placed partly on the process shafts and partly on the diaphragm walls that delimit the working space of the casting pits. This was not only a demanding design task, but also a challenge for the contractor, who had to reconcile the accuracy of the underground engineering and the prefabrication.

You can find our previous posts on this topic here:

Hydro Extrusion’s new aluminium recycling plant

Hydro Extrusion’s aluminium recycling plant: the casting pits