Zero tolerance
Review 2021.3: We were faced with an unusual construction task in Hall 181 (Hall Max) of the former Sulzer site in Winterthur. In cooperation with Oberli Ingenieurbüro, Lüchinger+Meyer’s civil engineers planned the construction of a new clamping floor for component tests at the ZHAW. Only a few such facilities are available for experimental testing throughout Switzerland.
56 steel clamping points, staggered in a square grid of 1.50m, have a maximum tensile force capacity of 500 kN and can support horizontal forces of up to 200 kN. A highly reinforced concrete slab with a thickness of 1.0 m supports the steel components.
The extraordinarily high demands on the positional accuracy of the clamping points due to the specific use presented a particular challenge in the design of the structure. For example, construction tolerances of only 1 mm per 1.5 m were permissible for the center distance of the clamping points. The planning took this unusual requirement into account, for example by the two-part design of the steel components, the staged concreting of the reinforced concrete body and the precise specification of the installation steps. In this context, the executing companies SENN AG (steel construction) and Weilenmann AG (concrete construction) should be emphasized. They carried out the work with great care and competence under the overall coordination of ROBAUEN. The photo stream illustrates the numerous work steps for the production of the high-precision component.
(Photos: ROBAUEN AG)
