HS2 slides innovative low-carbon viaduct deck into position
HS2 engineers have moved the first part of the innovative ‘double-composite’ deck of the Westbury viaduct into position – one of five key viaducts to adopt the carbon-saving design.
The designers and engineers working on five key HS2 viaducts have succeeded in cutting their carbon footprint by up to two thirds (66%) by adopting an innovative ‘double composite’ structure which uses significantly less concrete and steel than a more traditional design.
Designed to carry the railway over the floodplain of the River Great Ouse, the Westbury viaduct will be supported by seven evenly spaced piers, each up to 9.2m tall.
It is one of 50 major viaducts on the HS2 project – which is designed to improve connections between London, Birmingham and the North while freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested southern end of the existing West Coast Main Line into London Euston.
Because of the length of the Westbury viaduct, the deck is being assembled in three stages, with each one pushed out from the north abutment before the next section is attached behind it.
This painstaking 11-hour process means that the weight of the deck will increase with each push, up from an initial 1,145 tonnes this week to 2,695 tonnes by the end of the year.
A winch is used to push the deck forward at a speed of around 9 metres per hour, sliding across Teflon pads to reduce friction – a material usually found to the surface of a non-stick frying pan.
The double composite approach – which combines the strength of steel in tension and with concrete in compression – has huge potential to cut carbon in construction by enabling more efficient bridges.
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0:00 Introduction
0:16 What’s been achieved?
0:29 How is the viaduct moved?
1:21 The plan
1:53 A carbon-saving design
2:45 Landscape challenges
3:08 What happen’s once the viaduct is complete?
3:37 Thoughts about the latest works
3:54 Outro
#HS2 #Construction #update #viaduct
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