jkm@skypoint.com
This page was last updated on
|
Work was started in March 1956, after soundings had been made of the
ground on which the Atomium was to be erected. These tests showed the
necessity of driving enlarged base concrete piles moulded into the
ground to a depth of 57 ft. Hammering started in April and lasted till
June. One hundred and twenty three piles were driven, in four distinct
groups. A group of 59 piles in four concentric circles for the central
foundation supporting the central mast, which is really the backbone of
the whole Atomium; this 10.8 ft diameter column, in fact, takes
considerable stresses. Three other groups of 24 piles each carry the
foundations of the three bipods; these piles were driven inclinde
17°, which is the angle of the bipods to the vertical. After the
pile driving operation, the thick reinforced concrete sleepers were
made; they join together the heads of the piles and receive the
attachment points of the metallic structure. For the central
foundation, the sleeper was a circular slab 39 ft in diameter and 6.5
ft thick, with a 10 ft diameter hole in the center to insure passage of
the lift and its end-of-travel machinery. The weight of the concrete of
the central foundation is roughly 500 tons.
|
This page was last updated on