Transport of Mosque in Saudi Arabia
Customer Project
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a 2400-ton mosque has been moved in its entirety over a distance of 394 ft. This was the first time in Saudi Arabia that an entire building was to be moved to a different location.
Structural Engineering |
Techniek en Methode B.V. Netherlands www.tenm.nu |
Construction |
Contractor Nesma Trading Co. Ltd., Saudi Arabia www.nesma-trading.com Subcontractor Mammoet Middle East www.mammoet.com |
Investor | Saudi Arabia National Guard (SANG) |
Model
The following data relate to one floor slab.
Length: 92 ft | Width: 92 ft
Number of Nodes: 109 | Surfaces: 2 | Finite Elements: 27,695 | Materials: 1
The operation was meticulously engineered and realized by two Dlubal customers. Techniek en Methode B.V. Netherlands was in charge of the structural analysis of the floor slabs and the tracks which supported the whole building during the transport phase. Mammoet lifted the mosque, moved it in its entirety over a distance of 394 ft to its new location and set it down again in less than 48 hours.
Rescue of Mosque from Demolition
The original instructions were to demolish the beautifully designed mosque and build an identical mosque at a new location. At its original location, the mosque was blocking the new construction and extension of a hospital.
This process of rebuilding would have taken about ten months. The operation took only three months including preparations and reworking. The client thus not only kept the area clean and peaceful but also saved seven months of construction time.
The operation was executed without incidents. After just a short time, the visitors of the mosque could continue their prayers.
An animated video of transporting the building on skid is available here: Mosque Relocation
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Designing Surfaces Using Internal Forces Without Rib Component in RF-CONCRETE Surfaces
For the design of concrete surfaces, the rib component of the internal forces can be neglected for the ULS calculation and for the analytical method of SLS calculation, because this component is already considered in the member design. To this end, select the check box in the ‘Details’ dialog box. If no rib was defined, this function is not available.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Is it possible to design bidirectional ribbed plates, unidirectional ribbed plates, or hollow core slabs in RFEM?
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- When determining internal forces in RFEM, I obtain compression axial forces that do not arise in the design internal forces in the design in RF‑CONCRETE Surfaces. Why, what is the reason?
- Is it also possible to reduce the shear force on a support or perform design with the shear force at a distance d to the support in RF‑CONCRETE Surfaces?
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