17 Jul Peikko’s design for dismantlability and reusability pre-cast concrete solutions a first in South Africa
17 July 2024: Why Design for Disassembly?
The design of a structure to facilitate future changes and dismantlement (in part or whole) for recovery of systems, components, and materials, thus ensuring the structure can be recycled as efficiently as possible at the end of its lifespan.
In what is thought to be a first in South Africa, Peikko SA has turned precast concrete construction techniques on its head by providing an innovative design for an air plant for the mining project, that combines the advantages of concrete construction with the ability for the concrete elements to be dismantled and reused at a different location on demand.
“We were approached by Genet Mineral Processing (Pty) Ltd., the Witbank-based customer who designs, fabricates and erects mineral processing, crushing and screening plants and related equipment for the mining industry, to submit a design for an air handling plant,” states Winston Visser, Project Engineer at Peikko SA.
“Upon receiving the customer design brief we reviewed further and proposed a sub-frame and superstructure for the air plant; in a precast concrete frame with Peikko bolted connections for easy assembly with the added advantage of dismantlability. This design approach and proposal were value-engineered by the customer engineering team against existing design proposals and other possible design solutions including:
Structural steel frame (including surface treatment) – this proposal proved not satisfactory responsive to dynamic loading / vibration and overall, more expensive; and
Cast in-situ on-site option – this proposal proved to be time-consuming, subjected to high-level health and safety requirements and also more expensive.
The Peikko SA design proposal was reviewed by third-party independent structural consulting engineers and approved as suitable for this specific project application.”
“Sustainable construction can be divided into two timeframes. In the short term, it’s crucial to minimize emissions related to materials and actual construction, which have an immediate impact. In the long term, the reusability of materials is significant. In this project, we have considered both perspectives as effectively as possible”, states Daniel Petrov, Managing Director at Peikko SA.
Peikko Approach to Sustainability
“The Peikko approach for the customer project specific project application has many advantages for the mining sector,” advised Visser:
Bolted connections enable dismantlability.
Bolted connections are key to dismantling. The load-bearing precast concrete elements were connected by bolts instead of welding. A bolted connection can be easily opened and closed as long as it remains accessible. “Once the connection is secured by threads, it can be opened because the grout outside the structural element (e.g. column, beam, etc.) can be lightly chipped away from the connection steel surface, revealing the threaded joint. The structure remains intact and can be easily reassembled” explains Daniel Petrov, Managing Director at Peikko SA.
Time and Cost Efficiency – Bolted connections with special built-in components such as anchor bolts, column shoes, beam shoes and hidden corbels (specified and used on this project) were developed by Peikko more than 30 years ago to produce engineered and cost-effective, bending-resistant connections between precast concrete elements. These bolted connections have many competitive advantages, including fast execution, high accuracy due to the lowest tolerances, high fire resistance and high quality
Air Handling Plant Mock-Up, June 2024
Low-emission materials in focus
Peikko’s greener option, bolted connections, was a natural choice for the sustainable construction of the mock-up unit given of all the air handling plants scheduled to be constructed in 2024 and beyond. The carbon footprint is 50% less compared to conventional connections allowing for a high environmental rating regardless of this specific or other project applications. Renewable energy was used for the manufacture of Peikko products used for this and other projects. The estimated life span for these mining structures is approximately 20 years. After their required service life, these structures can be dismantled, relocated and reassembled to wherever needed, eliminating unnecessary structure manufacture and thus contributing to CO2 emissions reduction and increasing the environmental sustainability of the structure” says Winston Visser.
ENDS
About Peikko Group:
Peikko Group Corporation is a leading global supplier of slim floor structures, wind energy applications and connection technology for precast and cast-in-situ. Peikko’s innovative solutions offer a faster, safer, and more efficient way to design and build. Peikko has sales teams in over 33 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America, with certified manufacturing in 12 countries. Peikko generated a turnover of EUR 262 million in 2023. Peikko is a family-owned and managed company that globally employs over 2,000 employees. Peikko is a family-owned company founded in 1965. It is headquartered in Lahti, Finland. Peikko South Africa was founded in 2018 with an office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Further information: www.peikko.co.za
Media Contact:
Charles Poulter, Account Director
Tel. +27 0768128429
charles@swmcommunications.co.za
Contact:
Daniel Petrov, Managing Director
Tel. +27 83 608 5534