GEWI ^® Steel used with distinct advantages

Spain: Expansion of the "Santiago Bernabèu" football stadium, Madrid

By increasing the number of seats in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium but without reducing its total capacity the football club Real Madrid accomplished technically demanding expansion of their stadion. For this, part of the existing roof structure had to be raised to accomodate two additional spectator levels. The basic concept for the design was to strengthen and extend the existing reinforced concrete columns. They were lengthened by 12.5m high steel columns with steel trusses cantilevering to 32m and anchored by dia. 40 GEWI ^® reinforced steel bars.
On top the old roof was placed again.
The use of GEWI ^® steel was chosen for several important reasons, mainly:

• excellent bond properties
• safe control by the threaded anchorages
• compared to solutions using high strength steel, the Engineer appreciated the good behaviour of the GEWI ^® steel under alternating tension and compression forced caused at the anchorage by wind loads.

For that reason, six GEWI ^® bars dia. 40mm were anchored in each foundation, four on the tension side of the column and two in the front.
This arrangement carries the uplift forces from wind loads on the roof.

DSI S.A. supplied for the project - contractor was Gines Navarro - not only materials and equipment, but also personel.