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The dike reinforcement of the Markermeer dikes involves the construction of six structures, including inflow and outflow basins, suspended culverts and deck gaps. On behalf of the Alliance, Spanberg Wapening and Staalis Engineering are providing the integral design of the reinforcing steel for the structures. The latter company is a partnership between engineering firm Clafis and reinforcement supplier Spanberg. According to Dennis Knaap, director of Spanberg and Staalis, this offers the necessary advantages during execution, especially on a project like this.
“Staalis” ambition is to optimize the process from design to concrete reinforcement application by integrally designing and pragmatically modeling the reinforcement,“ says Knaap. ”We already include the most practical way of execution in the design, thinking mostly in prefabricated parts so that production time on site is limited. Especially the thinking along at the front is appreciated by our clients. The Staalis modellers therefore maintain offices at our reinforcement and bending plant in Uitgeest. This ensures short lines of communication for any feedback from the factory."
The reinforcement for the structures on the Markermeer dikes was drawn by Staalis entirely in 3D. “It involves two inflow and outflow basins, two suspended culverts and various deck gaps on a sheet pile wall,” lists Stijn Springer, project manager at Staalis. “With 160 tons of reinforcement, it is not a very large project for us in terms of quantity, but it is mainly the details that make it just that little bit different. The different shapes and angles make the reinforcement technically just a bit more complex. We also have to take into account the tolerances of parts (sheet pile walls) that have to go into the ground. It is up to us to design the reinforcement in such a way that it can be adjusted quite easily in practice. From the 3D model, the 2D reinforcement drawings are then generated for the people outside.” The reinforcement drawings are similar to the manual for an Ikea product, Knaap adds. “The people outside are explained step by step how the reinforcement should be applied.”
Initial contacts for this project were made as early as 2018, according to Knaap. “In 2019 we started the drawing work and in 2020 we put in the reinforcement for the first structure, some 30 tons of reinforcement steel for structure Westerkogge. We will be involved in the project until the end of 2022, albeit in phases, following the Alliance's schedule. As I said, it's not a very complex project for us, but if you don't approach it in a practical and integral way, these are projects that can be quite overwhelming.”
