Moveable fabric building on the right track

Rubb provided a moveable environmental building to provide shelter for testing and evaluating equipment. The mobile 8m span x 18m long moveable fabric building features a clear height to apex of 10m and is secured to ground level rails measuring 48m long. It covers and protects mechanical plant and equipment from the environment. The storage fabric building can then be moved along the rails to reveal the equipment for testing procedures. Rubb Structural Engineer Dale Robinson explained: “The building incorporates a specifically designed roller system which allows the smooth transportation of the building to and from its permanent location. The rollers attach to the underside of the building footplates and the top of the foundation rail. “The rollers are designed to prevent the building from lifting off the track or sliding transversely. The movement of the building is carried out manually using a four-wheel machine, which attaches to the building gable end. There is a simple locking device using pins to secure the building longitudinally when it isn’t in transportation. The building has a strict transportation routine to ensure the safest possible operation.” The BLE type fabric structure was located in an exposed location which is susceptible to some of the highest wind loads in the UK. The design wind speed was this building was in excess of 110mph. This comes with great challenges for a building with a low depth to height ratio. The co-ordination and design of the roller system was critical to ensure it could safely transfer the high lateral forces into the foundation. Each gable incorporates a 5m wide x 7.5m high roller shutter door with two pedestrian access doors in each sidewall. Both sidewalls features clear PVC panels to allow monitoring and to assist in the transportation of the building. Rubb Technical Sales Engineer Grant Davidson said: “This was a very interesting project from start to finish. Liaising with the client and understanding the operations the building would be supporting was a critical factor in the design process. I believe we provided a bespoke moveable building that will successfully perform in line with onsite operations in a remote location that is subject to severe weather conditions.”

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