18 May 2021 - Aerodynamic Behaviour and Structural Safety of Tower Cranes

Online Event 18th May, 4pm

https://www.ice.org.uk/events/aerodynamic-behavour-of-tower-cranes-webinar

The Lothar and Martin winter storms of 1999 were a wake-up call for the French construction industry : two particularly violent winter storms swept the country in the space of several days causing multiple tower cranes to collapse.

This led to a long-term research project at the CSTB and a new methodology for the study of dynamic stability of tower cranes including desk study and wind tunnel analysis methods to identify and mitigate the risk of crane autorotation due to surrounding buildings and to quantify dynamic loads on the crane and its foundations. This method is underpinned by the national site-safety certification and insurance system.

This talk will cover the main technical considerations, the different techniques used as well as the legal framework in which it operates.

Graham Knapp

Graham Knapp is a senior wind engineer at the CSTB in France with two decades of experience of studies into structural loading and dynamics for tall buildings, bridges and other major structures around the world. He is based in the climatology, aerodynamics, pollution and purification team at the CSTB Nantes and works in the atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnels and Jules Verne climatic wind tunnels.

He is a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and formerly worked at Buro Happold in the UK.

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