"Lachlan Line’s bridge" Very easy to pronounce yet very hard to build.

It is a proud moment for Silicon Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd to be a part of such a prestigious award, where the engineers of the company are being rewarded for their hard work and efforts. The nominations as well as being the winner of the award was for the project Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia.

The award-winning moment and its appreciation were given by the Australian Steel Institute to us, and this indeed turned out to be a happy moment for each engineer and the organization too. The work that was submitted by us in the project was for providing assistance in structural steel detailing services. Moreover, the detailing services delivered were from the start of the project to its end. Also, the core assistance was in building up the design and drawing for the most-awaited project that was announced by the Australian Government and Landcom Company. Indeed the name for the project is Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia.

The Award and its Certification title are “2020 NSW and Act Steel Excellence Awards” and winner of Engineering Projects.

About Silicon Engineering Consultants Pvt Ltd.

Silicon Engineering Consultants Pvt Ltd. is recognized as the leading steel detailing services provider across the globe. With having experience for over 13 years the company is well-equipped and well-versed with the use of all the latest tools, technology, and software that are required for any type of engineering services, CAD services, Detailing Services, and a lot more.

It is that because of the experience we hold and 100% success ratio in the delivery of the project, we are the no #1 trusted and most recommended engineering outsourcing consultant who understands the needs and requirements of the clients and suggest them with the best possible outcome along with the competitive rates.

The company is having a team of more than 150+ staff who are qualified, capable, and well-furnished in their area of work. The organization has a team of leading engineers, designers, drafters, and modelers who provide end-to-end solutions, as well as information that is best suited for their project and also that, is data-driven and result-oriented that is as per their expectations and needs.

Taking it further, today we are here to discuss with you the challenges and difficulties that the team of steel detailers and engineers faced while putting their efforts into creating the design of the said project “Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian Bridge, Sydney- Australia”.

Challenges faced in understanding the entire structural design and its layout.

Helix, Deck, Pier, and abutments are the four parts that define the Bridge.

The project Lachlan Line’s Bridge is having a length of 172mtr so we divided the Bridge into four parts for the helix and 7 parts for the deck for ease of installation and transportation.

The image shared below is showing the parts in which the team of steel detailers and the engineers had worked so as to understand the overall process and take it further with the work.

Let's see each one from the perspective of a detailer.

Helix :

Helix is the outer frame of our bridge and also the main center of attraction of the bridge.

The construction of the helix part of the bridge was done in four engineered lifts/segments. Helix was a spiral outer structure that consists of parts like nodes, chords, and diagonal chords.

As all attractive things have some well-finished complexions, Helix has also so many.

• To understand the geometry of Helix we should have known of the diagonal chord which has curved shape in more than one direction makes it very twisted with fine curves, these diagonal chord connects on one Junction called Nord in six different ways looks like an octopus spreading his legs in different ways. (Refer to the image as shared below)
  
• Bending of the hot-rolled member in the required curve was not possible thus the member was made of four plates which were then welded together. This modeling was not possible by using only simple components thus additional plug-ins and software were used. (Refer to the image)
• These curves and twisting shapes were not just easy to model by using simple tools, with our humble request the software company has also help us to make advanced tools for this project as per our requirements.
• To create something unique also have spent more than 8-hour job and more than a standard pattern, we also had to think from the perspective of a fabricator. A single drawing of a Helix contains efforts of hours to finalize; we have used different tools with more than one software to make a single drawing.
• But this is only the beginning, for the accuracy of assembly the fabricator needs to assemble all the parts in the workshop and final the assembly going to fit on site after that process again they disassemble the parts and goes for erection on site.

Deck :

• After Helix we have taken a bit of rest thinking the deck will be a bit easy but as we say all attractive things have some well-finished complexions.
• The deck must need to go with slopes of the helix and also need to give the easiest way to people for a walk that's why maintain curves of the deck with high requirements of infrastructure was not that easy.
• The deck is divided into 7 segment due to its complexity, each segment was created as a single assembly as per client requirement which was very hard to cover each and every detail in assembly drawings, to cover the one segment detailing we need to create 10 numbers of A1 sheets for only 1 assembly. Mainly Deck is made from floor plate, balustrade, mesh frame, top, and handrails
• The very hard part of the deck was its floor plate due to its slope, curve, and twist, after lots of efforts by using ultra-advanced tools and plug-ins we did finalize 1st segment floor plate as per client requirement as it was not as simple as its looks.
• The deck is having numerous services like Stormwater drainage, Electrical lighting, conduit pipes, and each one of these connecting to the deck through steel supports which was quite tough as the deck is inside of helix and there is very little space to manage those things exposing out from the deck.
• We need to check and coordinate throughout all 7 segments for the clash to happen and need to change steel supports at every junction to remove the clash.
• It was very hard to provide supports to the rail with a standard height from deck also maintaining the slope of the helix that's why we have to change the balustrade geometry and also need to take care that the pattern must not be forgotten for the balustrade arrangements and the homogeneous pattern looks so unique.

Case Study of the Project :

Another important aspect of the entire service that needs to be shared. In short, we can say that this is a small case study of the entire project to deliver the information at one single go.

• Announcement of the Project - September 2013
• Company - Landcom Company
• Delivery Timing: 2015- 2025
• Location: Bounded by Epping Road and the M2 Motorway, 15km from Sydney
• Project Value - Lachlan’s Line Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge project is worth $40million
• The overall tonnage of Steel Used- 335 tonnes
• Developed Steel Structure- 170m
• Number of doubly- curved nodes - 164
• New Residents - 5000 resident
• The diameter of Helix Shape - 2.3 m
• Service Undertaken - Structural and Steel Detailing Services
• Sizing - Width - 7.8 m in diameter. Base - Slimmest as 5.5 m
• The uniqueness of the Project - Located between North Ryde and Macquarie Park stations
• Facility Provided - It facilitates two railway stations, bus transport, and the M2 Motorway

Conclusion :

The article shared clearly shows up the challenges that were being faced by the engineers and the steel detailers to understand the entire concept of the project. But as there is a saying unless you accept any challenge how can you know what is the capability you hold with you. The same was with us and our engineers too.

It is that because of all the hard work, and the capabilities on which our company and engineers were tested were all successful and this is why we were being recognized, appreciated, and awarded for the project that indeed made us realize our capabilities beyond our expectations.

By adhering to all the necessary codes, international standards, and practices we are committed to delivering the work that our customer demands from us and with this said no matter how complex or easy the project requirement is we are the leading consultants when it comes to engineering services or steel detailing services.

Connect with us to know more about the services or to outsource your project. Email us at - info@siliconec.com or can also fill the inquiry form and the team will reply to you with respective detail.