The third-largest mosque in the world, featuring the highest tower built in Africa, and all that in an area with earthquake risks: To make this structure as safe as possible, the responsible construction company has assembled earthquake bearings with the electric torque multiplier alkitronic EFCip and delivered these to Algeria.
INITIAL SITUATION
The third-largest mosque worldwide was being built in Algiers. In this vast complex, planned by a German team of architects, there is enough space for 30,000 worshippers in the main prayer hall. Still, there are residential units, parks, a cultural center, and much more – in short, a completely new suburb for the city of Algiers was constructed. With 256 meters (840 ft) in height, the minaret is now one of the tallest buildings in Africa. However, this construction was carried out in areas where earthquakes are frequent.
SOLUTION
To keep the mosque damage-free during possible earthquakes and mitigate the risk to human beings, the company Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG has found a solution: The steel builders from Munich delivered and installed 250 seismic isolation bearings underneath the mosque and the minaret.
“These earthquake bearings consisting of several parts provide for a destruction-free motion of the structure,” says Manfred K., Head of Bearing Construction at Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG.
The individual components of the bearings must be bolted together to ensure this earthquake protection level. “Especially suitable is our electric torque multiplier alkitronic EFCip,” says one of the alkitronic area sales managers.
This assessment is shared by Manfred K. of Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG. "Considering the quantity of 1,000 bolts that had to be tightened in a row on 250 bearings, the strain reduction on workers and the increase of quality were significant." His evaluation of the alkitronic service is positive: All bolting issues have been successfully addressed and resolved; the bolts have been securely tightened to withstand impacts from earthquakes and even bombings."
More information on the latest models of electric torque multipliers of alkitronic can be found here: https://www.alkitronic-na.com/electric-torque-multiplier