PRESTRESSED CONCRETE IN SAUDI

ARABIA AND UNITED ARAB

EMIRATES (UAE)

Members:

Cuevas, John Ray

Lijauco, Adrian Lance

Manalo, Jinky Marie

Perez, Deo

Professor:

Engr. Rainiel Vinzon Maala

I. PRESENT CONDITION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRUCTURAL CONCRETE
TECHNOLOGY

According to the Saudi Building Code, prestressed concrete is defined as part of the reinforced
concrete. Although the behavior of a prestressed member with unbonded tendons may vary
from that of members with continuously bonded tendons, bonded and unbonded prestressed
concrete are combined with conventionally reinforced concrete under the generic term
"reinforced concrete." Provisions common to both prestressed and conventionally reinforced
concrete are integrated to avoid overlapping and conflicting provisions.

According to QANBAR Dywidag Precast Concrete (QDC), the leading manufacturer of precast
and prestressed concrete building components and systems in Saudi Arabia, precast and
prestressed concrete business of the industrial sector has been rapidly increasing.

John E. Dobbs, the CEO/General Manager of

QDC said that precast and prestressed
concrete have evolved as the building
material and are rapidly becoming the
solution of choice for residential, commercial,
and industrial building construction in Saudi
Arabia.

He added that the construction companies in

Middle East start to gain experiences in the
design, manufacture, and erection of
industrial projects involving precast and
prestressed concrete.

As time goes by, companies are manufacturing industrial products of prestressed concrete with
innovations and emerging technologies. Here are some of the products and services available in
some companies involving prestressed.
Precast & Prestressed Concrete Slabs

 Prestressed Hollowcore slabs

 Prestressed double T slabs/ single T slabs

 Flat Prestressed solid slabs

 Flat non-Prestressed solid slabs

 Ribbed Slabs

 Polyslabs (Concretec’s system of voided slabs).

 Plastbau slabs made of expanded polystyrene used as a permanent shutter

Prestressed Girders

 Prestressed Concrete Beams

 I – Beam Straight Section

 I – Beam Sloping Section

 Reinforced Long Span Girders

a. Precast Prestressed Hollow Concrete Slabs

Hollowcore slabs are precast prestressed concrete elements extensively used for floor,
roof slabs and wall panels. The success of this precast product is owing to the combination of
high efficiency of design, automated production technology resulting in remarkable low price,
versatility in the selection of unit depth and capacity, in addition to its ready-to-paint smooth
soffit as well as its high quality and durability.

Hollowcore is the product of choice in structures that require sound barriers between floors,
excellent fire and earthquake resistance, heat insulation characteristics, long spans, and is
therefore widely used in hotels, schools, multi-storey car parks, high rise buildings and upscale
residential and commercial complexes. Hollow core slabs are available in a range of seven
depth, 150, 200 265, 320, 400, 450, and 500 mm slabs. The longest span can reach up to 18
meters.

b. Insulated Precast Concrete Wall Panel

Insulated Precast Concrete Wall Panel is made of

rigid extruded polystyrene insulated covered by
two layers of concrete and provided with vapor
barrier. To assure the integrity of the composite
section stainless steel connecting members are
provided to maintain the section dimensions and
properties the same. Number and spacing between
the steel connecting members will be decided
according to the panel configuration. Our system
offers a wide range of insulated panels sections
varies from 210 mm thickness up to 360 mm.
c. Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UPHC)

UHPC is one of the latest advances in concrete technology and it addresses the shortcomings of
many concretes today: It provides high strength to weight ratio, high tensile strength, high
ductility, and volume stability. It has a compressive strength 2 to 3 times greater than
conventional concrete and a flexural strength 2 to 6 times greater. These mechanical properties
of UHPC make it ideal for prestressing applications. In addition to achieving high compressive
strengths in excess of 25,000 psi (sometimes greater than 30,000 psi), UHPC is also nearly
impermeable.

UHPC is a family of concretes offering a

combination of material and performance
characteristics that create products with:

 Ductility, which is the ability to support

tensile loads even after initial cracking
 Ultra high compressive strength (up to 200 MPa/29,000 psi)
 Extreme durability; low water to cementitious material (w/cm) ratio
 Self-consolidating and highly moldable mixtures
 High-quality surfaces
 Flexural/tensile strength (up to 40 MPa/5,800 psi)
through fiber reinforcement
 Thinner sections; longer spans; lighter weight
 New graceful product geometries
 Chloride impermeability
 Abrasion and fire resistance
 No steel reinforcing bar cages
 Minimal creep and shrinkage after curing
II. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Eugene Freyssinet was a French civil and structural engineer and one of the most notable
engineers in the history for his developments in research and doctrines. He coined the term
“prestressing” in 1932 and made a remarkable advantage on the Le Havre shipping terminal in
France.

In 1943, STUP(Société Technique pour l’Utilisation de la Précontrainte – Technical Society for

the Use of Prestressing) was founded by Edme Campenon. Its objective was to apply
Freyssinet’s patents, disseminate techniques and materials needed about prestressing and
deliver site technical assistance. STUP developed projects internationally which includes
Caracas viaduct in Venezuela, Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt, Montreal Olympic stadium in
Canada, Brotonne cable stayed bridge, Oldbury nuclear plant in UK and Gladesville bridge in
Australia. In 1976, STUP became Freyssinet International.

Some of STUP Projects:

Caracas Viaduct in Venezuela

 Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt

Montreal Olympic Stadium in Canada

Brotonne Cable Stayed Bridge

 Oldbury Nuclear Plant

Gladesville Bridge in Australia

Freyssinet Saudi Arabia (FSA) was founded as a liability company by Shiekh Kamal Adham in
1978. FSA finished many projects in Saudi Arabia in different field and costs to billion Saudi
Riyals. This company is known for its high specialization in pre-fabricated and pre-stressed
concrete used in hospitals, commercial centers, bridges and complexes. As of now, FSA has 6 on
going projects and finished 38 projects.

After years of application of Freyssinet’s patents in civil engineering, STUP has vast number of
projects in Middle East. Freyssinet decided to set up a company in Middle East in 2000. It is
necessary for its market developing rapidly. Freyssinet Middle East was in Dubai and its scope
of works is in Post-Tensioning for Bridges and Slabs, Construction Methods, Cable Stayed
Structures and Bearing and Expansion Joints. Later, Freyssinet expanded in Abu Dhabi, Qatar,
Oman, Amman, Riyadh, Cairo and Kuwait. As of today, Freyssinet has more than 375 building
projects on going in the Middle East.
III. EXAMPLES AND SUMMARY OF CONSTRUCTION OF STRUCTURES THAT USED
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

Ocean Heights 2 (Dubai, UAE)

Ocean heights 2 is a residential skyscraper located at
Dubai Marina, Dubai, UAE. The construction of the high
rise building started 2007 and finished year 2010. The
skyscraper residential building was to public in the year
2010. The tower is 420 meters or 1378 feet tall with 85
storey tower spiral skywards creating a dramatically
different view from every angle and the floor area.
Currently the Ocean Heights is the third tallest
residential building in the whole world and one
of the tallest in Dubai. The tower is designed by
Andrew Bromberg of Aedas and analyzed by the
structural engineer Meinhardt. It is made by DAMAC
Properties and Arabtec is the main contractor of the
tower.

The main vertical elements (column and shear

walls) are reinforced concrete, providing
stability against wind and seismic activity. The
stability of the tower is further enhanced by the
outrigger effects of typical thickened corridor
slabs that connect the outer walls and the main
central core walls of the building. CCL designed
and supplied post-tensioned slabs on this 85
storey tower.
Burj Dubai – The Residences Dubai, UAE

The Residences is a complex of 9 high-rise

buildings in downtown Burj Dubai. It was
developed by Emaar. Launched in year 2004
and completed year 2007. A water-front
community, residential building with some
retail and it has a ready 1,056 apartments.
The 9 towers have a 24-storey to 41-storey
buildings or 70 meters to 135 meters high
buildings.

The tower structures are outrigger-stiffened

cores that are jump formed ahead of the
post-tensioned concrete floors. The podiums
makes extensive use of prestressed, precast
flooring that is composite with prestressed
band beams. It has a precast concrete façade
panels and curtain walls. The foundations
consist of raft supported on bored
reinforced concrete piles.
 Capital Gate (Abu Dhabi)

Capital Gate is also known as the Leaning Tower of Abu

Dhabi because it inclines 18 degrees to the west. It is
a skyscraper that has 160 meters (524.9 feet) in height
and has 35 stories. It is one of the tallest buildings in the
city. The owner and developer of Capital Gate is Abu
Dhabi National Exhibitions Company. Capital Gate was
designed by architectural firm RMJM which also their
Structural Engineer and Al Habtoor Engineering
Enterprises as main contractor.

Project Timeline
September 2007 – Enabling works commence
November 2007 – Pile driving starts
April 2008 – Core wall construction starts
February 2009 – Façade commences
May 2009 – Reaches 100 meters in height
June 2009 – Incline starts to take shape
October 2009 – Attains final height of 160 meters
December 2009 – Completion of exterior core structure
January 2010 – First phase of splash completed
February 2010 – Interior fit-out commences
March 2010 – Commencement of link bridge to Abu
Dhabi
National Exhibition Centre
April 2010 – Commencement of atrium roof
2011 – Completed construction
21 Dec 2011 — Opening date
The construction of Capital Gate lasted for almost 4 years. The structure sits above an extensive
distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground to accommodate the
gravitational and wind forces, as well as seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building. The
core of the Capital Gate was built using jumping formwork, also known as climbing formwork. The
center concrete core had to be specially designed to account for the immense forces created by
the building's lean. The core, which contains 15,000 cubic meters of concrete, reinforced with
10,000 tons of steel, uses vertical post-tensioning and was constructed with a vertical pre-camber.
This pre-camber means the core was constructed with a slight opposite lean. As each floor was
installed, the weight of the floors and diagonal grid, or "diagrid" system pulled the core and slowly
straightened it out. The core contains 146 vertical steel tendons, each 20 meters long, which are
used for post-tensioning.
In June 2010, Guinness World Records certified Capital Gate as the world's "Farthest manmade leaning
building".The new record shows that the Capital Gate tower has been built to lean 18° westwards; more
than four times that of the Leaning Tower of Suurhusen. The Guinness World Record was given by a
Guinness-appointed awards committee in January 2010, when the exterior was completed.

King Fahd Causeway (Saudi Arabia- Bahrain Causeway)

The King Fahd Causeway is a 25 km-long series

of bridges and causeways connecting Eastern region
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kingdom
of Bahrain. The idea of constructing the causeway
was based on improving the links and bonds
between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Surveying of the
maritime began in 1968, and construction began in
1981 and continued until 1986, when it was
officially opened to the public. The $1.2bn project
on average serves about 45,000 vehicles a day that
increases to about 60,000 vehicles during weekends.
The causeway involved the installation of over 500 pre-stressed concrete cylinder piles beneath and along
the causeway. The piles are 3.5m in diameter and have been installed and grouted into drilled sockets.
In order to suit the geotechnical conditions, the length of the piles was changed from bent to bent.

Approximately 350,000m² of concrete was used along with 47,000 of reinforced steel. To avoid corrosion
of the reinforced steel a blend of blast furnace, slag and portland cement was used. A low water to cement
ratio was obtained using a high-range water reducing admixture. In the splash zone, the piles were coated
with epoxy. The dam construction involved use of five million tons of rock and broken stone and
approximately ten million cubic feet of sand, extracted from the seabed.
Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall is a shopping mall in Dubai and the 3rd

largest mall in the world by total area. It is
the 21st largest shopping mall in the world by gross
leasable area. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Downtown complex,
and includes 1,200 shops. In 2011 it was the most
visited building on the planet, attracting over 54 million
visitors each year. Access to the mall is provided via
Doha Street, rebuilt as a double-decker road in April
2009.
The mall was built by a joint venture of Dutco Balfour Beatty, Al Ghandi/CCC and Turner
Construction for Emaar Properties and was scheduled to be completed in 2006. Most of the
workers used in construction of the mall were Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan guest
workers. With a total area of 1.2 million m2, almost 50 football (soccer) pitches, and containing
more than 1200 shops, 120 restaurants, an indoor Gold Souk, an aquarium and an ice rink. CCL
designed and installed 600,000 m2 of post-tensioned slabs.

The various facade systems include lightweight precast panels, tensioned fabric, aluminum curtain
walls, canopies, cladding, point-supported glass atria, stainless steel trusses, vertical bi-folding steel
and glass doors, and extensive secondary steel support structures. Our building skin specialists
assisted with design, engineering, and technical review of numerous critical path systems, as
needed during the final stages of construction. Additionally, investigation and post-failure
engineering analysis was performed for one of the point-supported glass atria.
Other Structures

Index Building JW Marriott Marquis

Dubai - UAE Dubai - UAE

340m high tower with the typical floor 110m Two 80-storey towers with 8-level
x 25m in size comprising 50 level of podium, including 5-star hotel rooms
residential floors; 30 level of office floors and and restaurants.
5 level of underground basement.
Predominately glaze curtain walls’ façade Post-tensioned flat plate slabs.
with highly detailed precast cladding.

Prestressed concrete floors to residential

floors.
Marina Promenade Emirates Office Tower
Dubai – UAE Dubai – UAE

Marina Promenade project comprises 6 Mega trusses at 10-floor intervals have been
residential towers varying from 30 to 45 attached to the core elements using post-
levels with a 6 level podium interconnecting tensioning, greatly simplifies the truss to core
all the towers. Prestressed concrete floors to connections.
residential floors.

Vision Tower Addax Tower

Dubai - UAE Dubai - UAE
Vision tower is a slender 260m tall tower The Addax tower is a 65 level 266m tall office
with sloping façade located in the prestigious building with a 6 level carpark podium and 3
Business Bay district of Dubai. Vision tower basements
comprises a 71 level tower with 51 levels of
The tower is constructed of reinforced and
office, 14 carpark and 6 general usage. The
post-tensioned concrete and encapsulated
development includes the adjacent 14 level
with an aluminium and glass façade.
carpark.

Banded prestressed concrete floors.

References

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rise//files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf?uni=a78b1169d131a3a078ce9fc800e5e649

CCL Gulf Prestressed Concrete LLC (1938). UAE Projects. Retrieved from https://www.cclint.com/UAE

Verdict Media Limited (1996). Road Traffic Technology. Retrieved from https://www.roadtraffic-
technology.com/projects/king-fahd-causeway/

Wikipedia. Capital Gate. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Gate

Ayan, Nicola (2018). Ocean Heights 2, Dubai, UAE Retrieved from

http://www.cmecs.co/Projects?item=2

Asaker, Roland (2018) Specialized Engineered Solution for structures. Retrieved from
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Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (2018). The Skyscraper Center. Retrieved from
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