Mr. Clause Mirna (Putzmeister), Dr. Aldred (Concrete Future), Mr. Santosh (Unimix)
The Burj Khalifa stands at 828m high and is currently the world’s tallest structure in all categories. Developed by Emaar Properties and designed by renowned architect and engineers SOM from Chicago. The Burj Khalifa is one of the greatest concrete structures ever built.
The critical Independent Verification and Testing Agency (IVTA) role on the 160-plus storey Burj Khalifa was led by concrete specialist Dr James Aldred who is now the Technical Director of Concrete Future. Dr Mohamad Nagi, who is a consultant with Concrete Future, was also part of the specialist team.
GHD’s IVTA team was involved in concrete mix development as well as quality control and assurance on materials used throughout the project. One of the major challenges posed by the project was the high temperatures experienced in the Middle East, where temperature can reach 50°C in the shade.
A decision was taken to do all concreting for the vertical elements of the tower at night and the concrete’s water content was made up almost entirely of flake ice during the summer months. The highest temperature recorded by James during concreting on site was 40°C at midnight! Getting the concrete mixture right was also crucial to success with a range of different mixtures tested during initial trials.
The Concrete Institute of Australia (CIA) recognised significant contributions to the development of concrete technology and practice made by the IVTA. The IVTA team was the winner in the Technology Category of the prestigious Award for Excellence in concrete for its ground-breaking work in pumping concrete to a height of 601m during construction.
“The pumping of high quality concrete on the Burj Khalifa to 600 metres was an exceptional achievement in concrete technology, and one of which our team is very proud,” Dr Aldred said.
“Our team is well known for its technical skill, and we are building a reputation for innovation in solving technical challenges for our clients.”