Navy Yard Roof Truss and Water Tower Demolition

Acting as an explosives subcontractor, Controlled Demolition, Inc. (CDI) successfully felled a 138’ tall, 90’ diameter, structural steel water tower. A risk analysis performed under the strict safety protocols at the site indicated that the piecemeal dismantling of the water tower was a far less attractive means of removing the structure than felling same remotely via explosives. The number of legs under the tower and their distribution as to the weight about the ring beam made it difficult to mathematically justify design of a mechanical tripping plan as required by OSHA engineering standards for the demolition of structures.

The water tower presented project-specific challenges for CDI given the radius to which shaped charges had to be bent to match the twelve (12), 30” diameter legs of the tower. Shaped charges were used in combination with a kick charge to displace one (1) leg in a test shot to pre-remove one (1) leg to confirm CDI’s plan.

CDI’s work was coordinated through the main contractor to meet the fast-track Philadelphia Shipyard site redevelopment for Kaeverner Engineering.

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Copyright 1998
Controlled Demolition, Inc. &
Loizeaux Group of Companies