Engineers develop world's longest 'flat pack' arch bridge 

23 January 2015

Civil Engineers at Queen’s, in collaboration with pre-cast concrete specialists Macrete Ireland, have developed the world’s longest ‘flat pack’ arch bridge.

 

Based on the ‘FlexiArch’ system, the bridge is unique in that it will be transported to site in flat-pack form but when lifted, will transform under gravity into an arch.

 

The bridge is due to be installed near Portsmouth in coming months and will span 16 metres (53 feet) over the Wallington River in Waterlooville, Hampshire. Made up of 17 units (1m wide) of pre-cast concrete, each weighing 16 tons, the bridge will take less than a day to install using a 200-300 ton crane in association with a lifting beam also designed and built in Northern Ireland.

 

A conventional arch would take months to construct and is much costlier. A FlexiArch bridge requires little maintenance and should last 300 years, compared to the projected lifespan of up to 120 years that accompanies a conventional bridge. It is the result of 10 years of research from the early 1990s in the School of Civil Engineering at Queen’s.

 

There are now over 50 FlexiArch bridges in the UK and Ireland, including three footbridges in parkland surrounding Newtownabbey Council building.

 

Three times Queen's graduate Professor Adrian Long (BSc 1963, PhD 1967 and DSc 1984 in Civil Engineering), from the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering at Queen’s, who patented the FlexiArch concept in 2004, said: “This is a real milestone which has been reached as a result of the hard work, effective collaboration and the combined expertise of the Queen’s and Macrete team. We are delighted with this latest development and of how successful the FlexiArch system has become.

 

“The award-winning FlexiArch system is attracting international interest and this project is a reflection of the world-leading research being undertaken at Queen’s and the effectiveness of our collaborations with industry and business.”

 

Macrete project manager, Abhey Gupta said:  “This innovative system is exceptional as it is easily transported in flat pack form and then rapidly installed on site. It is also unique as its strength does not depend on corrodible reinforcement, thus it should have a lifetime of at least 300 years whereas conventional bridges seldom achieve their design life of 120 years.”

The FlexiArch system has seen continuous investment by Macrete since they were granted exclusive licensing rights for the UK/Ireland in 2006. This plus the additional investment by Invest Northern Ireland has allowed Macrete to provide 70 person years of employment at the company’s headquarters in Toomebridge.

Queen’s was recently placed in the Top 10 of research intensive universities in the UK, and Civil and Construction Engineering at the University was ranked third in the UK for research intensity.

Images and information can be found on the Macrete website and video of a FlexiArch bridge being installed can be viewed on YouTube by clicking on the image (left).

For further information on FlexiArch, email Professor Long on a.long@qub.ac.uk

Media inquiries to Una Bradley (Wed) 028 9097 5320 or Michelle Cassidy (Thurs/Fri) 028 9097 5310 at Queen’s University Communications Office, or email comms.officer@qub.ac.uk

Main photo courtesy of Emma Martin at Story Contracting Ltd.

 

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