Keeping Kids Off

[Engineerd]

I am designing approx. 5000 feet of above-ground utilidor (3' wide x 1.5' tall out of 1/8" aluminum with 4" of board foam insulation) and one of the concerns is to keep kids from playing on it. The utilidor is anywhere from 0-5 feet above the ground. My first thought was to fabricate a sloped/angled lid, making it impossible to walk on. This weakens the "box beam" design of the utilidor and wastes materials. I am looking for creative solutions to keep kids from turning the utilidor into an elevated walkway.

 

[bridgebuster]

It seems like you have an attractive nuisance. You could run fencing along both sides or put sections of fence diagonally across the utilidor. I think in either case it would look ugly. Can you place bollards in a staggered fashion on the top? One thing to keep in mind is that however you secure the corridor make sure you're not creating another hazard.

Another thought, talk to a landscape architect. They deal with these types of things.

 

[dik]

Since the aluminum is insulated from the utilities, have you considered electricity! <G>

zzzzzzzzzz Dik zzzzzzzzzzz

 

[MikeHalloran]

You might as well top it with diamond tread plate and reinforce it for bicycle traffic. You won't keep kids off it.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[dik]

Good call Mike... bike tires can be insulators...

Dik

 

[DaveVikingPE]

Plant poison ivy all around it.

 

[dik]

Getting a little more serious, is it possible to back the aluminum with OSB material? just to provide some degree of toughness.

Dave, PI is seasonal... <G>

Dik

 

[MikeHalloran]

I suppose you could rotate the axis 45 degrees, so it wouldn't have a flat top but would still have four sides.

I'm guessing that would add a lot to the cost for supports and such.






Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[dicksewerrat]

My first thought was 'How long before some crackhead cuts it up and sells it for scrap to support his habit'? what is in this thing? can the utlities be buried?

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[dik]

I don't know about this application, but the utilidors that I've used are for permafrost areas... might be that he only has to wait a couple of decades...

Dik

 

[FACS]

Maybe you can make it round. Something round and off the ground is hard to climb.

We had large diameter pipes (made of wood) that housed components, and it was nearly impossible to climb on top; yet it was large enough to get inside when needed.

Charlie

http://www.facsco.com

 

[civilperson]

Fabricate a semi-cylindrical containment: flat bottom and half circle top. Should have better strength to weight than the box shape for the same material cost.

 

[Engineerd]

Here is a little more information. This aluminum utilidor will house two 6" HDPE water lines and one 6" HDPE vacuum sewer line. It will be installed in a small village in western Alaska. It will be supported by helical piers driven into the permafrost and 6" angle iron cross members. The village expressed concerns that they don't want their children falling off and hitting their heads on the supports or anything. The angled or semi-circle top seems to be the best option right now but that wastes a lot of space in construction and in shipping, which is always a concern in Alaska. Thanks for your replys

 

[dik]

Can you ship the aluminum curved and fitting several inside each other to conserve shipping space and fabricate them in place by pop rivetting them to the angle base? Do you need to easily access the piping? If not, can you foam the interior of the curve with the PE piping within. This will add considerable strength to the aluminum sheeting.

Dik

 

[mitchelon]

Tell the parents that the insulation contains asbestos. Put signs that read “Asbestos Containing Material.” If that doesn’t work, tell them that they need to keep an eye on their kids.

 

[rconner]

First of all, I must emphatically state this post is intended to be merely an observation, not any sort of engineering nor any other kind of recommendation for this or other cases. I believe however I have seen a few strands of barbed or razor wire etc. erected on top of, around, or along many types of engineering structures over the years. While I have no experience in public, private, nor military/penal etc. barricading businesses, I have felt these strands were probably intended by the designer or somebody else to act as at least a deterrent to keep folks out of, inside, or off etc. the structure involved. In the case of exposed pipelines, I believe I have have seen the strand barricades sometimes take the basic form of say spider web-appearance framed ring girders, bolted or otherwise attached around the pipe close to where it goes in and out of the ground or approach onto a bridge etc. (to prevent tightrope walkers etc.!) This stuff at least has deterred me and perhaps at least a few other kids, as I learned at an early age back in farming country that barbed wire is normally tougher than my flesh and can rip one up pretty good!; however, I believe the strands could probably be cut by someone really intent on thwarting the systems, and of course at least by some experience with fences the structures could/can also arguably wreak some pretty good accidental damages to perpetrators, or maybe even some arguably even more innocent folks, as evidenced by some decapitations or near decapitations in high speed snowmobile, motor bike, or horseback riding accidents etc.!

 

[MikeHalloran]

Guards that resemble fan-shaped trellises laced with barbed wire used to adorn both ends of water pipes where they were kicked up to cross canals here in SoFla. I have seen kids cross the canals on the pipes anyway, but the guards slowed them down some.

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sort of like this





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA