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PDC’s Structural Department provides analysis and design services for a broad range of structures. Every year we work on a large number of industrial and architectural projects. Examples include schools, offices, museums, bridges, power plants, shops, and material handling facilities.
Our location and unique analytical abilities have resulted in requests for assistance on a wide cross section of facilities. This has given us exposure to conditions and situations that are atypical in the consulting world. Alaska’s demanding environment, and the market’s unique challenges, have provided us with a rich blend of analytical work. The result is our growth into one of the largest and most sophisticated structural design offices in the state.
Technical sophistication in the use of cutting edge design software and state-of-the-art analytical methods has always been a trademark of our practice. The level of integration between the analysis and graphic presentation software is a hallmark of our expertise. All steel designs are prepared in 3D. The aid this service provides in visualizing the structure has a significant payback in the coordination with the architectural and mechanical system designs. We also now offer services to produce BIM models that we use to prepare steel shop drawings directly from our finite element software. By working with selected detailers and fabricators, we are able to cut four to six weeks out of the normal steel delivery time.
PDC has an excellent track record of providing practical analysis and cost-effective designs. Our reputation for responding to compressed schedules and completing complex projects in an efficient and complete manner is unsurpassed. Credit for that goes to a staff, 70 percent of whom have graduate degrees, that has taken the time to continually stay abreast of current design methods and apply them to meet our clients’ needs.
Structural analysis and design for architectural projects is a major component of the structural service work we do at PDC. We enjoy the challenges presented by challenging atypical buildings and work with our architectural clients to find creative solutions to their needs. We are dedicated to the goal of making the architecture work given the visions of the designer and client. That goal extends to the more typical projects as well. We are always conscious of the impact of our designs on cost and schedule. Whether your need is for a landmark museum, or a canopy over an entry, we are ready to meet it.
Early in our career, our clients began asking us to provide services on industrial projects. Our response to those requests has gained us valuable skills with equipment and industrial facility support. An outgrowth of that work is PDC’s development as a prime consultant for multi-discipline projects.
The types of projects we work on include conveyor belts, vibration analysis, heavy pipe racks, dynamic force analysis, materials handling systems, and piping analysis. Our client base covers work for gold mine operators, equipment shops, fueling systems, oil field facilities, transmission facilities, power plants, and refineries.
Bridge design is a unique specialty offered at PDC. Our experience ranges from the atypical, one-of-a-kind design for long-span pedestrian bridges to the more typical concrete deck bulb tees. We enjoy the challenge of designing unconventional bridges but also work hard to design simple, easy-to-construct bridges for communities that are distant from the Alaska road system and that have limited budgets.
> Chulitna Bridge Concept (pdf)
Working for artists is always a pleasure. It gives our engineers a chance to assist on projects that are highly visible and become very much a part of the community. We have had many occasions to work with artists from across the country on the support of statues and suspended works of art.
The design of oil and gas facilities in Alaska requires knowledge about the design codes and procedural guidelines that have been developed by the major oilfield owners such as BP, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon, and Alyeska. In addition, one must be aware of the environment in which the facility resides, whether that be the North Slope or the Cook Inlet.
Our engineers have extensive experience on oil field facilities and understand the importance of reliability in arctic environments, review and approval methodologies, quality control procedures, and workplace safety. We work on both site-specific designs and designs for turnkey, truckable modules. We are very familiar with the importance of checking pipe stresses, vibration interactions, hydraulic forces, blast loads, and transportation loads.
Oil and gas project examples:
- Alyeska 48-Inch Pipe Excavation Planning Analysis for Corrosion Repairs
- Alyeska Pipeline Pump Station 9 Pump Module Vibration Analysis
- Alyeska Pump Stations Pressure Relief Manifold Piping Analysis
- Alyeska Relief Header Vibration Analysis
- Aurora Energy District Heat Pipe Analysis
- Bassett Army Hospital Pipe Analysis
- BP Milne Point Compressor Building
- Elmendorf AFB Hydrant Fueling System Fatigue Analysis
- Flint Hills Refinery Metering Station Pipe Analysis
