Project ‘Shaft Trestle’, calculated with Diamonds

“Be-MINE is the name of the repurposing project for the former Beringen coal mine that was closed in 1989. As part of that project, a large part of the site has been redeveloped into an “experience site”. For example, an old mine terrace now serves as an “adventure mountain”, and the ventilation building located in the former power station has been converted into a climbing hall.

Our assignment revolved around two questions

Two shaft trestles are still present at the be-MINE site. A shaft trestle is a structure built on top of a mine shaft to enable the transport of miners, materials and coal. It typically consists of two elements: the supporting structure and the elevator shaft.

The supporting structure of shaft trestle I next to the former power plant is a freestanding frame with two pairs of angled legs and a cabin on top. The shaft’s legs do not only bear the weight of the cable wheels installed in the cabin but also have to resist the horizontal component of the cable pulling forces.

Before the restoration project kicked off, the elevator shaft was still present in between the shaft trestle’s legs. That elevator shaft was a steel frame extending, as it were, the mine shaft above ground level and guiding the elevator cage, providing several vital safety mechanisms as well as the stairways needed for maintenance purposes. Although the elevator shaft was connected to the shaft trestle’s supporting structure, it most likely had no load-bearing function.

View of shaft trestle I at the be-MINE site in Beringen, before the start of the restoration (© Koplamp Architecten)

In the scope of this restoration project, we were asked the following questions:

     • How much does the elevator shaft contribute to the overall stability of the shaft trestle? Can the elevator shaft be removed without compromising shaft trestle stability? And what about the stability during restoration?

     • Besides, is it possible to install an outdoor climbing wall on one of the shaft legs, as an extension of the existing climbing hall in the adjacent power plant?

Read more on the project ‘Shaft Trestle’

This project has been calculated with the structural engineering software Diamonds. Learn more about Diamonds