Skip to main content

Wirtgen machines at Beijing’s new airport

Slipform pavers from Wirtgen have played important roles for the Beijing New International Airport project. The four Wirtgen slipform pavers have been used for the construction of the apron area for the new Chinese airport.
June 10, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Designed for over one flight movement per minute: the traffic areas need to withstand high loads

The airport is scheduled to start operations on September 30th, 2019 and when it is complete, Beijing New International Airport will become be the world's largest airport. The huge new facility will play a key transport role as Beijing is a major air passenger hub for Asia. The new airport is located 67km from China’s capital city, along the border to Hebei province. It will relieve pressure on the existing airport northeast of Beijing, currently the world’s second-largest in terms of passenger volume. The new airport is expected to handle 45 million passengers at first but will have a total capacity of 100 million.

W_photo_SP500_01227_PR.jpg
A fleet of Wirtgen slipform pavers has been used at Beijing New International Airport in Daxing to construct the apron area, with a parking capacity of 268 aircraft

Low temperatures of around 0°C during the cold winters in Beijing were one of the challenges the Beijing Sino-Aero Construction Engineering Co, team faced during the construction period of the large apron area. A total of four 2395 Wirtgen SP 500 slipform pavers were used for paving single-layer concrete slabs 5m wide and 420mm thick over fixed forms. Levelling and steering parameters were communicated to the Wirtgen machine control system using string-line sensors. To withstand the high aircraft loads, the concrete slabs have been reinforced by means of steel dowels. High productivity and machine availability meant that the strict daily production targets were achieved, allowing the tight timeline to be met.

Cost factors are important for large projects and when choosing an equipment fleet, a contractor has to consider several factors. Minimising manpower was one of the main criteria considered by Sino-Aero Construction Engineering. The firm concluded that the Wirtgen slipform pavers would meet the demands of the automated concrete paving work to be carried out.

The paving work was carried out within the necessary parameters, as scheduled. The paving mold slipformed the concrete, exceeding the required specifications. Electrical vibrators were used to provide the high-frequency vibrations needed for optimum compaction of the concrete during the slipforming work. And the oscillating beam and super-smoother then provided the required finish for the new pavement.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Concrete paving success with Power Curbers
    August 31, 2022
    A concrete paving contractor in Florida reports success in a range of projects. Brevard Concrete Paving started small, with one truck and trailer, and the firm’s initial projects were jobs such as the installation of residential kerbs, pedestrian walkways and driveways. Soon, the firm had branched out to a wide range of duties such as paving filling station areas and work for the Florida Department of Transportation.
  • Vögele MT 3000-2 for Austria A2 motorway
    May 14, 2014
    Road construction work with moving traffic always represents a major challenge. This is especially true when only one lane can be closed, consequently leaving little space for working and manoeuvring. That was exactly the case for a rehabilitation project on the A2 motorway in Austria between Vienna and Graz near Schäffern. However, the job was further complicated by another factor: all access roads to the job site were roughly 1km apart. Ensuring an uninterrupted supply of mix to the paver under these
  • New concrete construction technology at World of Concrete
    January 22, 2020
    New concrete construction technology is being unveiled at the upcoming World of Concrete exhibition in Las Vegas
  • Increasing climate change resilience through effective maintenance
    January 30, 2020
    IRF spoke to Valerio Molinari from Ecogest SpA about maintenance as an effective means for increasing infrastructure resilience.