InnoCentive Challenge Name: New Products and Materials based on Aluminium
Doc. Number: (internal use only)
My Solution:
Detailed Description of the Solution
The Solver's novel and unique idea for new products or materials based on outstanding element aluminium that can serve the current or entirely new markets and industries is the "Pre-Fabricated All-Aluminium Alloy Bridge Components".
Aluminium is widely used in construction, but very few bridges made of aluminium exist in the world, most of which are foot bridges and walkways. Thus, roadway bridges and vehicular bridges are extremely rare, mainly because the price of aluminium used to be prohibitively higher than that of carbon steel in the past. Now, these large-scale structures are both technically and economically feasible with a paradigm shift.
One such roadway vehicular bridge, Arvida Bridge in Saguenay, QC, Canada, was built in 1950 as a demonstration project. Its entire structure except the decking was designed in aluminium. The bridge did not need repair for 65 years in service. If the decking had been made of aluminium grating instead of concrete slabs, then the repair would not have been required for many more years as the main source of deterioration is the steel reinforcing bars inside concrete slabs exposed to deicing salts.
Aluminium's greatest attribute is corrosion resistance without any further treatment after it is spun, i.e., aluminium does not rust. With aluminium there is no paint or coating to wear or scratch off. In contrast, carbon steel, a conventional material of choice, usually needs to be painted or treated after spinning to protect it from rust and corrosion, especially if the steel part will be at work in a moist, damp or abrasive environment. As such, the maintenance cost of an all-aluminium alloy bridge, thus the life-cycle cost, is lower than that of a bridge made of any other conventional materials because the deck does not have to be repaired or replaced every few years.
Because of the vast market potential, standardisation of components is the key for maximizing RUSAL's profits by adding technological value.
Here are innovative features of an all-aluminium alloy bridge.
grating as bridge deck
honeycomb structure
interlocking deck construction
superstructure assembly
triangulation
Here are benefits of an all-aluminium alloy bridge.
durability
high wind resistance due to grating
light weight
longer lifetime
lower total life-cycle cost
no corrosion damage by deicing salts (NaCl)
no need to paint every few years
virtually maintenance-free
Here are possible standardized bridge components.
aluminium alloy arch, beam, cantilever, truss
aluminium alloy bikeway, sidewalk, walkway
aluminium alloy bridge rails
aluminium alloy deck grating
aluminium alloy equipment support
aluminium alloy girders
aluminium alloy guardrail
aluminium alloy leg
aluminium alloy light fixture
aluminium alloy luminaires
aluminium alloy road sign
aluminium alloy sign supports
aluminium alloy slab
Business Case of the Solution
Market size of aluminium bridge in the world is enormously huge. The longevity of the market application is practically infinite.
Technical feasibility is extremely high as proven by the Arvida Bridge.
Economic feasibility is extremely high as proven by the Arvida Bridge.
Estimated timescale and cost to implement depend on RUSAL's Research and Development to design standardized bridge components. "RUSAL Bridge-Grade I-Beam" and "RUSAL Bridge-Grade Grating" with suitable aluminium alloy should be developed quite rapidly with 3-dimensional computer-aided design/engineering (CAD/CAE) and multiphysics simulation (ANSYS, COMSOL, etc.).
Conclusion
The proposal is a paradigm shift of the conventional idea for new products or materials based on outstanding element aluminium that can serve the current or entirely new markets and industries. The Solver believes that the novel and unique Pre-Fabricated All-Aluminium Alloy Bridge Components will meet all of the Seeker's Technical Requirements and Desirable Properties.
