What is The Giant?
The Giant (also called the Emerging Man) is an impressive new sculpture at the Yas Bay Waterfront Development in Abu Dhabi. The Giant is a concrete sculpture consisting of a head and two hands emerging from the water. The diameter of the bronze-colored head alone measures 8 meters.
The sculpture is fully reinforced with Mateenbar™, which was placed in situ, and then sprayed with shotcrete on-site. A minimum concrete coverage of 40mm was specified as less concrete coverage is required when using GFRP (glass fiber-reinforced polymer) rebar. Corrosion protection is unnecessary when using Mateenbar™ due to its corrosion-resistant and highly chemical-resistant properties.
Environmental Considerations for the Composite Reinforced Sculpture
The sculpture and the structural elements needed to be highly durable and with no need for maintenance or repair during its life cycle.
Environmental factors are taken into account when selecting Mateenbar™ as the best reinforcement material for the project:
- The high salt content of the Arabian Gulf ocean.
- Wind and high humidity.
- Hydrodynamic loads from waves, sea level rises, and storm surges.
- Sea temperatures in the gulf range from 68ºF to 104ºF (20ºC to 40ºC).
- Air temperatures from 50ºF to 140ºF (10ºC to 60ºC).
Durable concrete reinforcement for marine environments
Mateenbar™ was selected as the ideal reinforcement solution to eliminate the risk of corrosion and extend the design life cycle with no need for maintenance. Mateenbar™ provides a design life cycle of 100 years. Concrete additives such as silica fume are not needed when using GFRP reinforcement. Bends were manufactured in our factory and delivered on-site.
The total weight of Mateenbar™ used was around 6 tons. If steel reinforcement was used for The Giant project, the total weight would have been around 20 tons. The lightweight advantage of using Mateenbar delivered labor and transportation savings.
It is not the first time Mateenbar™ has been used in Yas Island. The Yas Island Formula 1 Racetrack uses Mateenbar™ concrete reinforcement at its finishing line. The non-magnetic and non-electromagnetic properties of Mateenbar™ ensure there is no interference to sensitive timing equipment.
The Giant sculpture is a good example of engineering excellence from a team of designers, engineers, and concrete specialists.
