ACS Frees Up Crane for 3 Day Cycle
on Core of Philadelphia‘s Tallest Building
The 55 level Comcast Center in the heart of Philadelphia will eventually be 970 ft (296 m) tall with large floor to floor heights ranging from 15 ft to 17 ft (4.60 m - 5.20 m).
Madison Concrete Construction chose the ACS (Automatic Climbing System) for the massive 48 ft by 120 ft (14.60 m by 36.60 m) concrete core being built ahead of the surrounding steel structure.
The core comprises of 54" (1.37 m) thick walls and each floor has numerous steel embeds and carefully located formwork anchors.
The walls of the core requires 730 yd³ (558 m³) of fresh concrete for each lift. The self weight of the concrete causes a 5/64" (2 mm) compression of the core for every level. Also, special hinged boxouts had to be de-signed by PERI to form the openings that could also easily retract during the climbing process.
Madison is comfortably maintaining a 3 day pour cycle. The ACS unit has been so successful in maintaining its construction sche- dule that it has been purposely shut down so that the structural steel work can catch up.
Robert Ferguson
Vice President Operations
“With over 10 years experience with PERI, we decided to use them for the formwork on this high profile job. This was my first experience with ACS but the design and engineering support we received from PERI has ensured that we have performed better than expected on this project.”
Contractor:
Madison Concrete Construction, Malvern, Pennsylvania
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