Question

1) What would be the technical and engineering challenges during the stages of i) design ii) construction and materials iii) maintenance of structures in Antarctica? Consider the challenges of exposure and environmental conditions.2) What legal, economic, environmental, and societal issues can be linked with building structures in Antarctica?

Answer 1

(Note: I am just mentioning a brief idea of what and all challenges are to be faced in such an extreme conditions)

1)

i)Design:

In construction, there are mainly two types of design 1)Structural 2)Strength.

Coming to the structural design, the design is effected by wind speed, exposure to the climate, lighting, soil conditions. In a continent like Antarctica the wind speeds are not predictable and sometimes they are so extreme, so it differs from the usual design.Lighting is a major problem as smog,mist and fog occurs regularly. The design of footing depth and dimensions are also included with a high risk. Many factors are needed to be considered for such a design because of freeze thawing.

Strength design mainly depends on the load carrying capacity of the structure.

It's not that structure and strength are different they are related to each other, I mean to say is structure is about the shape and exposure.

ii)Construction and materials:

The main key materials in construction is Concrete and Steel. Coming to the concrete the workability is effected more in such a region as the water freezes. Some additives are to be added though it may effect the strength. Workmanship is effected as the temperatures are very low, special care is to be taken for all such workers. Wear and tear of machinery is high. More Electricity is consumed because of poor sunlight and laborious work. Laying a foundation is dfficult.

iii)Maintenance of structure:

It needs special maintenance as the temperature variations can cause the frozen water to melt cause corrosion. The settlement issues also arises in such cases. In case of structure that are designed for a very long life, they are to be repaired for wear and tear regularly than a structure at nominal conditions. Apart from these based on the structure appropriate maintenance reqires with atmost care.

2)

The construction is not an easy process in Antarctica, so it costs quite higher than usual but since we can not compromise over economic issues for research work we can't stop by giving up. There are people working on to find better and economic ways of construction. These constructions effect the environment resulting in the melting of polar ice caps and effecting the ecosystem there. The legal issues might be the illegal land occupation, constructiong structures by not following the guidelines.