Durability, strength and low mainteÂnance costs are just some of the reasons that make stainless steel an ideal material for use in bridge construction.
India is a huge country with a variety of landscape. The Indian coast is 7,517 km long and corrosion is the biggest problem in this area. We can learn from Hong Kong Stonecutter Bridge. The maritime locaÂtion and the hot, humid climate of Hong Kong combine to make the environment at the Stonecutters Bridge highly corrosive. The bridge engineers selected Duplex 2205 owing to this grade's proven qualities for such an environment.
Outokumpu is the world-leading suppÂlier of duplex stainless steels and operates the world's largest stainless hot-rolled plate mill, located in Degerfors, Sweden. The success of many of Outokumpu's bridge proÂjects is also explained by Outokumpu's capÂability to supply ready-to-assemble bridge components, with plates cut to size and bent at the plant at Outokumpu plate serÂvice centres, with all required openings in place and edges prepared for welding.
The Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong is a masterpiece of modern engineering. The bridge's upper towers are made of Duplex 2205 plate and offer not only mainÂtenance-free longevity, but also a visual appeal to echo the city's international image. The piers have stainless steel rebars. Such amaÂzing infrastructure is something to replicate in India in all coastal areas.
Outokumpu offers the technology whiÂch will take India ahead. Another excÂellent international example is the Helix Bridge, Singapore world's first double-helix pedestrian bridge: two helÂixes, built from stainless steel pipes, spiral around each other to form the core of the 280-m long structure. Indian metro cities must have such beautiful bridges which simply enhÂance the beauty of the city and remain for generations without any maintenance.
In the hot and humid maritime climate of Singapore, this highly corrosion resistant grade ensures low maintenance costs and continued good appearance during a serÂvice life of at least 100 years. The high streÂngth of Duplex 2205 also enables the devÂelopment of a cost-efficient design.
To develop the infrastructure of beaÂutiful and yet not polluted Indian hills material selection is very important. Another bridge is from the 'country of midnight sun', Norway. The Likholefossen Bridge, spans a stretch of falls and rapids in a freshwater river in mountainous terÂrain far from major population centres and in an area where roads are closed durÂing winter making maintenance difficult and costly. Since the river has special environÂmental protection, any maintenance operÂation such as painting bridge, would have to take special precautions in order to avoid any detrimental effect on the river environment. This will further complicate any mainÂtenance operation by requiring more materials to be transported to the bridge site and adding additional time to erect and dismantle the barriers that would ensure that the debris from blasting and painting operations did not enter the environment.
LDX 2101® was chosen for Likholefossen Bridge in Norway because it is highly corrosion-resistant and does not require painting, which would have been difficult in a hard-to-access environÂmenÂtally-protected area akin to our vast Indian hilly areas in north. The bridge was light enough to be installed by helicopter.
India deserves to have world-class infraÂstructure and should invest to replicate the world's best applications to derive mainteÂnance-free long life and low life cycle cost.
Outokumpu being the oldest and techÂnically sound, is here not just to offer staiÂnless steel but to provide total custÂomer focus, all the way from R&D to deliÂvery. “You have the idea. We offer the world-class stainless steel, technical know-how and support.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.