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These Tubes were Bent for Walking
The Angle Ring Company Limited undertook the
bend forming of tubular steelwork used in the construction
of the James Joyce Bridge in Dublin. The bridge which
spans the Liffey between Ellis Quay and Ushers Island,
features twin pedestrianised walkways and viewing areas
on each side of a central four-lane section carrying road
traffic.
Tubes used for the main arches of the bridge, together
with other tubes of varying diameters, for handrails,
car rails and the lower support rails of the bridge were
all cold formed by Angle Ring.
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The main arch steelwork was formed on a large hydraulic
press (thought to be the largest horizontal open press
in the world), to produce complex multi-axis bends as
specified for this uniquely designed structure.
The manipulation of three-dimensional points from CAD
drawings were used to develop the bend geometry for individual
tubes, with specialist tooling also used to maintain the
integrity of the tube cross section and smooth form of
the bends. Cold forming was selected as the most efficient
method of production, being less costly and time consuming
than other bending methods.
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The main arches were constructed using two thick
walled tubes of different sizes being 368mm and
177.8mm diameter with wall thicknesses of 80mm and
60mm respectively. These were supplied by the main
contractor Irishenco Construction, a Mowlem Group
Company, in straight lengths of four to five metres.
Two or Three of these were then welded together
by Angle Ring to achieve suitable lengths for cold
forming. Owing to the three dimensional curvature
of this unique bridge, created by international
architect / engineer Dr Santiago Calatrava Valls,
multi-axis bends were required in each formed length.
The two main parabolic arches of the bridge were
constructed by joining the sections of thick walled
tubes together with connecting fishplates to create
to continuous, tilted, tied arches as the support
spans for this unique structure. The final welding
fabrication and assembly work was undertaken at
the Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff, to
create a bridge with a span of 40 metres, having
an overall width at the centre of 40 metres, reducing
to 27 metres at each end.
Finished in gleaming white, the prestigious James
Joyce Bridge has proved to be a worthwhile addition
to the many attractions of Dublin s
fair city . |
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Bloomfield Road | Tipton
| West Midlands
DY4 9EH | UK | Tel: +44 (0) 121 557 7241
Fax: +44 (0) 121 522 4555 |
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