Investigation for Supporting Sprint Antennas

Apreliminary investigationwas conductedfor the adequacy of the existing trusses, columns and pile foundations to support the new four prefabricated units and their supporting system at American Airlines Hangar #1 in O’Hare Airport. Included in the scope of work for this project were the fieldinspection and evaluation, alternative studies, and recommendations.

The project is located at O’Hare Airport American Airlines Hangar #1. The hangar consists of 15 bays with typical width of 30’. Each column is supported on a pile group consisting of (16)-40 ton capacity concrete piles. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed using SAP 2000. Finite element models were developed to reflect the true geometry, stiffness and loads on the structure. Analysis of the variations of each design alternative was performed. As a result of the investigations, all three alternatives were considered viable.