ZAYED INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

ABOUT THE AIRPORT STRUCTURAL SYSTEM AND LOAD BEARING ANALYSIS

● Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Emirates
● Opened: Terminal A officially opened in
2023
● Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox
4. Special Structural Features
Associates (KPF)
● Engineers: Arup, Robert Bird Group, and ● Cantilevered
others canopies and roof
overhangs for
● Significance: One of the largest airport
shading
terminals in the world, capable of ● Roof grillage system
handling up to 45 million passengers with curved trusses for
annually visual lightness and
support
● Use of vibration
damping and
acoustic insulation for
comfort

1. Structural System Overview 3. Types of Loads Considered

MATERIALITY
● X-shaped terminal plan allows for centralized ● Dead Load (DL): Weight of structural
1. Structural Steel load distribution elements, roofing, floors, and permanent
● Combination of reinforced concrete cores and installations
● Over 75,000 tonnes of structural steel used, much of it recycled steel superstructure ● Live Load (LL): Passenger movement,
● Primary material for roof trusses, long-span beams, and framing ● Long-span steel trusses in the roof reduce the baggage handling, retail spaces. Designed
● Allows large, column-free spaces like the check-in halls and need for internal columns for high occupancy in terminal and
concourses ● Vertical cores (with elevators/stairs) act as concourses
● Designed to withstand thermal expansion in desert climate structural spines ● Wind Load: Critical due to large roof span
2. High-Performance Concrete ● Composite floor slabs used for strength and and façade exposure. Wind tunnel testing
efficiency used during design phase.
● Used for foundations, cores, slabs, and some support columns
● Seismic Load: Minimal but considered per
● Engineered for durability, thermal resistance, and load-bearing
UAE building codes
strength 2. Load-Bearing Elements - Primary Load-Bearing ● Thermal Load: High temperature
● Includes admixtures to combat saline soil and high temperatures Components: fluctuations in desert climate require
3. Glass and Façade Materials a) Steel columns and trusses: Support the roof and expansion joints and flexible steel
● High-performance glazing used for natural light and energy wide-open spaces connections
efficiency b) Reinforced concrete shear walls and cores: Provide
● Triple-glazed, low-emissivity (Low-E) glass reduces heat gain lateral stability
PLAN ● Façade cladding combines aluminum panels, glass, and steel c) Pile foundations: Transfer heavy loads into deep soil
layers
mullions

BUILDING STRUCTURES V Faculty CHIRANTHANA MD

Semester l 6 - Batch l 2022
STRUCTURAL STUDY ON Zayed International Airport Manjunath R 4CM22AT011
 ZAYED INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM AND LOAD BEARING ANALYSIS

Overall Structural Strategy:

This structure uses a long-span truss and

column system to create wide, open interior
spaces (ideal for terminals) while efficiently
transferring heavy loads through a hierarchical
system:

Roof → Truss → Columns → Foundation

● These large V-shaped or tree-like trusses are the main

load-bearing elements.
Principal and Secondary Arches:
● They span from the foundation to support the roof structure.
The large curved roof elements are key structural
● Their inclined members help in distributing vertical loads both
components. These are likely long-span steel or
vertically and horizontally.
concrete arches (or trusses) that bear vertical loads and
● The wavy roof is supported primarily by the trusses.
transfer them laterally toward the supports.
● Loads from the roof (dead loads + live loads like snow or
maintenance) are transferred through the trusses to the
Columns:
supporting columns and foundations.
The load path continues from the arches into the
● Secondary framing members or purlins may distribute load
Y-shaped and vertical columns, visible throughout the
across the roof and feed it into the main trusses.
section. These columns channel loads downward into
● Some trusses transfer load directly downward, but others are
the foundation.
supported by vertical or Y-shaped columns.
● These columns channel load vertically to the ground.
Foundation:
● All vertical loads end at the deep foundation system — seen
Loads ultimately get distributed into the ground through
here as piles or caissons penetrating into the earth.
the foundation, as shown at the base of each column.
● These support the large spans and distribute structural loads
over a wide soil area.
Load Paths:
● Red arrows in the annotated image trace the flow of forces:
The red arrows reflect the logical gravity load paths —
from the roof to the arch ribs, then to the columns, and
○ From the roof to the trusses,
finally to the foundation. The distribution seems
○ From the trusses to the columns or central support
consistent with a shell or arch-supported system.
shafts,
○ And finally down to the foundation.

BUILDING STRUCTURES V Faculty CHIRANTHANA MD

Semester l 6 - Batch l 2022
STRUCTURAL STUDY ON Zayed International Airport Manjunath R 4CM22AT011
 TSING MA BRIDGE
Hong Kong, China

ABOUT THE BRIDGE

The 2,160m long Tsing Ma Bridge, a prestigious landmark of Hong Kong, is the most
● Name and Location:, Tsing Ma Bridge, outstanding element in the Lantau Link which provides a direct access to the Hong Kong
Hong Kong, China
International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.
The principal foundations of the bridge are the tower piers and the massive gravity
● Structure category: Suspension bridge
anchorages for the main cables. These are all on land except for one tower foundation,
(two main suspension cables)
located in relatively shallow water off Ma Wan island, for which concrete caissons were
● Main span: 1377 mm (two high-strength
floated into position and sunk onto the seabed rock, and then protected by an artificial
concrete towers)
island.
● Overall length: 2.2 km Materials used are high-strength steel for cables and truss deck, reinforced concrete for
● Main cable: 1.1 m in diameter towers and anchorages and corrosion-resistant materials due to the marine environment.

● Bridge towers:
Overall Bridge Length 2,160m Deck
○ 206m high, taller than many CBD buildings in Hong Kong (e.g.,
Main Span 1,377m Weight of structural steel 49,000 tonnes Hongkong Bank HQ at 178m).
Height of Towers (to saddle) 206m Weight of deck/metre 22.7 tonnes ○ Constructed using slipforming in 3 months.
○ Heavy steel saddles were lifted onto the towers using strand jacks.
Anchorages Towers
Tsing Yi: Weight of concrete Ma Wan: Weight of concrete Weight of concrete per tower 52,000 tonnes ● Cable construction:
200,000 tonnes Maximum Movements
○ Catwalks installed along the main cable profile from anchorage
250,000 tonnes Vertical : at mid-span 6.0m to anchorage via tower tops.
Cables Lateral : at mid-span 4.4m ○ 1.1m diameter cables constructed using aerial spinning.
○ Used 27,000 tonnes of 5.38mm galvanized steel wires.
No. of 5.38mm wires (main span) 33,400 Longitudinal : at Tsing Yi abutment ±0.74m ○ Total wire length: 160,000 km (enough to circle the Earth 4 times).
Total length of wire 160,000km Traffic Speeds ○ Cable spinning and adjustment completed in 9 months.

Total weight of wire 26,700 tonnes Road 100 km/hr ● Deck structure:
Load in each cable (main span) 53,000 tonnes Railway 135 km/hr
○ Fabricated overseas (Britain, Dubai, Japan).
Tower Saddle Weight 500 tonnes each ○ Assembled into 50 sections (each 36m long, ~1,000 tonnes) in
Dongguan, China.
BRIDGE OVERVIEW ○ Transported by barge and erected in 8 months.

BUILDING STRUCTURES V Faculty CHIRANTHANA MD

Semester l 6 - Batch l 2022
STRUCTURAL STUDY ON TSING MA BRIDGE Manjunath R 4CM22AT011
 TSING MA BRIDGE
Hong Kong, China

● The Tsing Ma bridge was designed by consulting engineers Mott

MacDonald. As well as having to cope with heavy loads, the structure STRESS ANALYSIS Loads Considered:
had to withstand Hong Kong’s seasonal storms and typhoons. ● Dead Loads: Self-weight of bridge components.
● Designers at Mott MacDonald took inspiration from the 2,467m Forth ● Live Loads: Traffic (road and rail).
railway bridge in Scotland and the motorway suspension Severn Bridge ● Wind Loads: Crucial due to the bridge’s height and
between England and Wales. coastal location.
● Engineers built two support towers for the structure. One is on Wok Tai ● Seismic Loads: Hong Kong has low seismic activity, but
Wan, a bay on Tsing Yi Island. The other is on a man-made island off the basic seismic provisions were considered.
coast of Ma Wan. Both towers are 206m above sea level and founded ● Thermal Effects: Expansion joints and bearings
on bedrock. accommodate temperature changes.
● The support towers are two-legged. Project workers used high-strength Aerodynamics:
concrete to construct the legs. ● Wind tunnel testing was performed.
● The bridge is kept upright by cables anchored in large concrete ● Truss deck helps reduce wind resistance and vortex
structures on either side of the crossing. Engineers used 200,000 tonnes of shedding.
concrete for the Tsing Yi anchorage and 250,000 tonnes for the Ma Wan ● Tuned mass dampers and aerodynamic profiling
side. improve stability under typhoons.
● Engineers built rock seawalls at the base of each bridge tower. The safety Unique Features:
structures can stop a 220,000 tonne ship moving at 8 knots (14.8km/hr). ● Dual-purpose design: combination of road and rail in
a suspension system is rare.
● Emergency lanes on the lower deck ensure
functionality during strong typhoons when the upper
Inspiration: Forth Man made deck is closed.
railway bridge island ● A finite element model (FEM) of the Tsing Ma Bridge was
and severn developed for structural health monitoring (SHM).
bridge Support towers two STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR
● The model focuses on the bridge deck, allowing direct
legged high strength
concrete stress analysis.
● Two types of stress analyses were performed:

○ Buffeting-induced stress analysis (due to wind

loads).
○ Train-induced stress analysis (due to railway traffic).

Tsing Yi ● Findings:
Anchorage
200,000 tons
of concrete Rock Safety against ○ A critical section of the bridge deck was identified
Seawall Cables 220,000 ton ship at Safety against
anchored in 8 knots 220,000 ton ship at near the Tsing Yi tower.
large concrete 8 knots ○ High stress levels were observed at the bottom
structures
chords of the bridge deck cross-section.
○ Six critical elements were identified as stress
hotspots:
HOW THE WORK WAS DONE Element Nos. 34417, 38417, 40903, 48917, 39417, and
39917. TYPICAL DECK SECTION OF TSING MA BRIDGE

BUILDING STRUCTURES V Faculty CHIRANTHANA MD

Semester l 6 - Batch l 2022
STRUCTURAL STUDY ON TSING MA BRIDGE Manjunath R 4CM22AT011