Video showing the change of cables on a wrecking ball is far better than it sounds.
When someone sends you a link to a video that purportedly shows the changing of the steel cables from which a wrecking ball is suspended, the immediate reaction i not normally one of great excitement. I mean, how exciting can that be, right?
However, when the video comes from one of the foremost video camera crews serving the demolition industry, you know it’s likely to be something a bit special. So her,in all its glory, is that video which shows Testa Corp’s Gridiron Artisans changing the cables on a 1971 HC238 Link Belt truck crane. Watch as a team of four changes everything out and has the Wrecking Ball back in action in just 28 minutes.
Demolition contractor enlists help of NASCAR’s Jeff Burton at Michigan International Speedway.
Michigan International Speedway is currently in the process of redesigning its infield. To assist in the demolition of the current buildings, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Burton used some equipment from his sponsor Caterpillar to tear down the old suite building at MIS.
NFDC Convention chairman recovering after being swept out to sea.
Back on dry land
The National Federation of Demolition Contractors Convention Chairman Patrick Williamson is recovering after a terrifying ordeal in which he was swept out to sea by a freak wave while fishing from rocks close to the venue for the 2009 NFDC Conention which starts today.
Williamson, who has fished from the same spot for more than 20 years, says that a freak wave caused a geyser effect between the rocks, the force of which swept him into the sea. Thankfully, he was rescued after a terrifying (and extremely cold) 90 minutes in the water.
But in typical style, he is back on duty today, welcoming guests to the 2009 Convention, apparently untroubled by his ordeal. “I was in intensive care for a while but the hospital staff took incredibly good care of me and, thankully, I am now back on my feet and able to take part in this Convention,” he says. “The only downside is that I am on a course of antibiotics to protect against any infections that I may have picked up, which means I am currently unable to drink alcohol. Mind you, there are plenty of people here that will gladly have my share.”
A well-known Australian contractor is teetering on the brink of liquidation today.
The Deen brothers, Brisbane’s most notorious demolition firm, boast: “All we leave behind are the memories.” But they may become memories themselves after creditors applied to have one of their debt-ridden companies wound up and liquidators appointed.
The Deens have a long history in Brisbane and were responsible for destroying some of the city’s best-known and loved buildings, including the grand Cloudland ballroom in 1982 and the Belle Vue hotel in 1979.
However, the Australian Business newspaper reports that creditors Timms Contracting Pty Ltd have applied to the Queensland Supreme Court to have Deen Bros Contracting Pty Ltd wound up.
A look back at the implosion of the Newcastle Brown brewery in 2008 and the use of 3D modeling software from ASI to predict and control the implosion.
This contract took place just over a year ago. But with the recent passing of former England football manager Sir Bobby Robson, the man who “pressed the button”, we thought the time was right to look back at this fascinating use of 3D modeling software.
On June 22nd 2008, Sir Bobby Robson, pressed the button to detonate the explosive charges that brought down the old Newcastle Brown brewery building. The 1960s reinforced concrete brewery structure was 60 metres square by 40 metres high.
Controlled Group, the Yorkshire based Demolition Company collaborated with ASI for the first time in the UK and, the results were great. “The similarities between the predicted collapse and the actual collapse were impressive” said Controlled Structural Engineer, Rob Clarke.
The designed collapse mechanism focused around the columns in the centre of the building being destroyed first and then the floor slabs, with their vertical support gone, sagging like a heavy net and pulling the sides of the building into the centre.
Selected internal columns were detonated in a delayed sequence that forced one end of the roof to hinge at the external face and drop into the centre of the building footprint. This collapse mechanism was essential to avoid structural damage to the flats and offices that were built only 10 m away from the Brewery. It was also important to avoid any unexpected issues, such as rogue columns falling away from the building and potentially damaging the neighbors.
ASI created a 3D model of the whole structure after estimating the hidden design parameters, such as reinforcement details and joint stiffness. All the weakening details for joints and columns were added to the 3D model.
“It was comforting to see the results of the simulation were as we expected’, says Rob, ‘The software Extreme Loading developed by ASI calculated the freefall trajectory of each structural element and the interface forces between adjacent elements, both connected and separated, something which Finite Element Analysis is just not capable of.”
After the dust had cleared the debris spread was seen to be just as predicted by Controlled and ASI. Studying the videos afterwards showed that the collapse had worked just as planned although there were some subtle differences. The speed of the drop was a little faster than expected. This was probably due to the fact that there were no internal walls left in the building to slow the collapse.
Speaking about his future plans for cooperation with ASI Rob Clarke says: “We will definitely be using the Extreme Loading software again. It can provide a very useful check against collapse mechanism designs, although as with all design software, the results can only be as accurate as the data input. It is great to be able to show a client and interested parties what you expect to happen on the day of the blowdown. The next stage for us will be to use the software to refine the designed collapse mechanism by tweaking the model and trying out different delays and collapse scenarios.”
Demolition News will be reporting LIVE from this weekend’s NFDC Convention in Ireland.
This weekend, the elite of the UK’s demolition contractors will journey to the Europe Hotel in Killarney, Ireland for the 2009 Convention of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors.
And (technology allowing) Demolition News will be there, and reporting live.
The most regular updates will take place via our Twitter feed which you can follow at www.twitter.com/demolitionnews and which also appears on the left of this page. However, if we can obtain a decent and reliable Broadband connection, we will also be updating the website with news and views as they happen.
In addition, we’re hoping to return from Ireland with lots of new and exclusive audio and video so be sure to check back early next week for further updates.
In the meantime, we wil be monitoring our emails and Twitter accounts. So if you have any questions you’d like us to put to NFDC President David Darsey or any of the NFDC’s senior officers, please let us know.
Online magazine Sustainable Building follows our What Price Sustainability discussions.
It’s always nice to read your words or reference to your own work elsewhere, so it was particularly pleasing to hear that the online magazine Sustainable Building has picked up on our “What Price Sustainability” discussions from a few weeks back.
You can read their take on things by clicking here. We thanks them for the coverage.
A new range of demolition pulverisers unveiled by US manufacturer Steel Unlimited.
The equipment industry might be in the doldrums and demand for new machines might be down, but that hasn’t prevented the research and development guys at Steel Unlimited from introducing a new range of pulveriser attachments.
Designed for use on carriers in the 16 to 72 tonne operating weight range, the new attachments certainly look the part. But don’t take our word for it – Hit the link below to check out the company’s new product brochure too.
Demolition of landmark “Big E” hotel latest to become embroiled in low pricing saga.
No sooner do we publish our article on the incredibly wide spread of pricing on the contract to take down the Texas Stadium than another high profile US demolition contract becomes the latest to show what appears to be scarily low pricing.
The “Big E” Executive Inn Rivermont in Kentucky, which once hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, is earmarked for demolition and the contract has attracted interest from across the US. But while some bids have come in close to the $3 million mark, at least one bid has valued the job at less than half that amount.
The contract has yet to be let (although a decision is expected soon), but at a time when President Obama’s stimulus package funding is starting to percolate down to the country’s demolition contractors, this latest round of low bidding shows that the trend shows no signs of abating.
For the full story, please click here and remember to leave us a comment below.
Seeking rock-bottom prices, clients entrust demolition to non-professional companies.
In the past few days, Demolition News has heard talk of demolition contracts, some of them major in nature, being let to building, construction and even landscaping companies. Setting aside the fact that this is stealing work and much-needed money from the pockets of legitimate demolition contractors who have rightly invested in the right equipment and the correct training, the fact that clients are willing to allow (even encourage) unqualified and unprofessional contractors to try their hand at highly demanding and complex, technical work simply beggars belief.
And we’re not the only ones that have noted this worrying trend. In an excellent post (in a highly readable blog) Terrence O’Rourke of US contractor Champion Environmental Services, Inc makes the following statement:
“…public bids are attracting many companies who express little credibility as a demolition contractor. Everything from landscape companies to remodeling firms and local residents who may possess a piece or two of equipment are bidding demolition work. The diversity of those who tender proposals reflects that business owners are attempting to diversify and/or make use of available equipment/personnel in order to keep business going. The downside is that local entities who fail to scrutinize the capabilities of contractors are placing unqualified workers in dangerous situations…”
Trade bodies such as the US’ National Demolition Association, the UK’s National Federation of Demolition Contractors, and the broader European Demolition Association have worked tirelessly over the years to encourage and cajole clients and developers to use only qualified, competent demolition companies to carry out this potentially dangerous work. But in the face of a global credit crunch, any such commitments from clients and developers have, in many cases, vanished faster than a teenager’s pocket money.
My question, therefore, is: What can be done to combat the influx of unqualified companies into this business?
I look forward to reading your thoughts in the Comments area (below).
Michigan International Speedway is currently in the process of redesigning its infield. To assist in the demolition of the current buildings, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Burton used some equipment from his sponsor Caterpillar to tear down the old suite building at MIS.
This contract took place just over a year ago. But with the recent passing of former England football manager Sir Bobby Robson, the man who “pressed the button”, we thought the time was right to look back at this fascinating use of 3D modeling software.
