Our brief was to design and create multiple structural frames at a global pharmaceutical HQ. The frames were vital to support both high and low grade, water pipework for air handling units. Where possible, frames were suspended from the soffit to enable the floor to be left clear for coil replacement and other maintenance.
MIDFIX’s challenge was to propose a solution taking into account the building’s existing structure. Our specialist team undertook multiple site visits and used a Navisworks model for BIM collaboration to enable us to produce a design fitting with the building. Due to time constraints on the project our pre-fabrication team had to manufacture the supports in two days.
We provided a design solution that took the pipework structure, fluid weight, and clash checks into consideration for multiple areas of the building.
Designing support frames for LTHW, CHW, HTHW, steam and medical gas pipework that would be light enough to be suspended from a ceiling, with little margin for error, was a challenge, but one that was overcome.
Our Senior CAD Engineer Tom Smith recalls the challenges faced with this design:
“Taking into consideration the confined space, and the potential for clashing with the many other services overhead, there was little to no margin for error, from the design to the pre-fabrication. In some areas we were coming through gaps in other services with only millimeters to spare each side, this gives a sense of the layout we were working with.
To ensure there was room for servicing and maintaining the equipment, we had to suspend as much of the structure from the soffit as possible. This meant designing a frame that was lightweight yet had high torsional strength, and of course, when dealing with high temperature and steam pipework, thermal expansion and transmission must be considered.
We designed bespoke pipe slides and anchors to control the effects of expansion and contraction, and carefully selected the necessary clamps and fixings to ensure they were capable of coping with the extreme temperatures”.
In the end, we designed and pre-fabricated over 50 structural frames for one of the largest M&E projects in the UK and still to this day, a project our team are proud of. All supports were validated by our stress analysis, calculations and reports.
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