Product category:
Walls
News Release from: ACP (Concrete) | Subject: Prestressed concrete panels
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 October 2003
Concrete Solutions For Animal Feed
Storage
Prestressed concrete panels, manufactured and installed by ACP (Concrete) Ltd, have been used in the construction of a new animal feed storage facility at Liverpool Docks.
The panels have been used as retaining walls for two storage buildings each 220m long and 45m wide with walls 4.8m high for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company The buildings were designed to take imported bulk animal feeds by the shipload, and form the latest addition in the expansion of the Seaforth Dock operations at Liverpool
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 1 Apr 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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ACP's sales manager Jeremy Nash explains "With this type of installation people begin to really appreciate the speed of construction.
Our installation team, comprising just three men, regularly exceeded 400m2 of wall per day.
This really comes as something of a surprise to even the most experience of construction contractors".
With over 80 articulated lorry loads of wall panels to be delivered over the course of the contract, logistics also pay a vital part in the smooth running the installation.
In fact the number of lorries that a site can physically accommodate in a day is often a limiting factor in the daily output of the installation crew.
Following the successful installation, a further six new stores are now planned for cocoa beans.
The construction phase is only part of the picture.
With greater emphasis on quality control, the storage conditions for feedstuffs have come under close scrutiny.
Prestressed concrete wall panels offer durable, secure storage and are extremely resistant to damage from loading operations.
In addition, the smooth surface and sealed joints enable easy cleaning of storage areas between batches where appropriate, which minimises losses through spoilage etc Previous experience with buildings incorporating precast "L" and "T" shaped supports has not always left a favourable impression on storage managers.
Mr Nash of ACP explains "The protruding toe of these support units can lie hidden within the stored material, making them extremely vulnerable to damage from the loading shovels".
The ACP flat panels are usually supported within steel columns and therefore produce a clear run for loading operations.
According to ACP there are considerable advantages in the use of concrete panels over timber railway sleepers that have traditionally been employed in many older storage systems.
"Damage to timber sleepers and the need for constant replacement are costly interruptions to daily business" continues Mr Nash "and contamination of the feed stuffs with timber debris is obviously extremely serious, a threat which is avoided with our panel system.
The greater spans offered by concrete panels also mean fewer steel support posts".
Prestressed concrete panels manufactured by ACP Concrete Ltd are available in three load ranges in three standard widths.
The length of individual panels is almost infinitely variable to suit each application, while a tongue and groove joint system provides positive locking of one panel to another and the optional use of joint sealant prevents water ingress.
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