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AHUs & Ductwork for Crossrail
London, UK 
At a Glance
Project
Custom Frames, HD Beams and HD Cubes
Roof Finish
Ground mounted
Supported
AHUs & Ductwork
System
Big Foot’s products support ventilation equipment and ductwork which was needed during the construction of a new railway line. It required large amounts of support in a tight space and unique project involved the largest and heaviest units Big Foot had ever supported.
Big Foot Systems has supplied HD Cubes, HD Beams, Bespoke Frames and Custom HD Frames to support large amounts of ventilation equipment being used during the construction of a prestigious infrastructure project. Big Foot’s products support ventilation equipment and ductwork which was needed during the construction of a new railway line. Big Foot became involved in the project once the tunnels for the line had been bored. The fit out and track laying was taking place but there was no ventilation.
Very large air handling units (AHUs) and hundreds of metres of ducting all required support in order to provide fresh air to the tunnels and underground stations during construction before the permanent infrastructure was installed.The chosen solution was to fit enormous AHUs at either side of the central section, requiring very specific supports. Custom Heavy Duty frames supported two 100m3/s AHUs that were installed in the old rail tunnels with extremely limited clearance both underneath and above the units. Hundreds of metres of 3x3 ductwork were supported by Custom Heavy Duty to connect the AHUs to the outside.
The biggest challenge was supporting a 60,000kg, 25x8x5m 200m3/s AHU sited outside, with a 6x6m duct rising 10m to the building entry point. Dozens of Big Foot’s HD Cubes and Beams made up the ground level support, with a custom steel structure holding the high level ductwork, for which a full FEA analysis was carried out to ensure stability.
HD Custom Frames are project specific nonpenetrative support frames for large, heavy, irregular shaped or unevenly loaded plant. With the aid of technical surveyors, a highly skilled engineering team and use of engineering tools such as ANSYS (FEA/CFD) etc. Big Foot Systems can design and manufacture complete one-off solutions. Solutions include frames similar to a standard LD product but utilising larger and longer sectional bars; a custom arrangement of HD Cubes or HD Beams; or, for more complex applications, a frame can be designed and fabricated specifically for the project requirements.
The biggest challenge was supporting a 60,000kg, 25x8x5m 200m3/s AHU sited outside, with a 6x6m duct rising 10m to the building entry point. Dozens of Big Foot’s HD Cubes and Beams made up the ground level support, with a custom steel structure holding the high level ductwork, for which a full FEA analysis was carried out to ensure stability.
HD Custom Frames are project specific nonpenetrative support frames for large, heavy, irregular shaped or unevenly loaded plant. With the aid of technical surveyors, a highly skilled engineering team and use of engineering tools such as ANSYS (FEA/CFD) etc. Big Foot Systems can design and manufacture complete one-off solutions. Solutions include frames similar to a standard LD product but utilising larger and longer sectional bars; a custom arrangement of HD Cubes or HD Beams; or, for more complex applications, a frame can be designed and fabricated specifically for the project requirements.
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