As we join forces with our clients to meet the challenges of a complex world that has to reconcile economic growth with sustainable resource management, accelerating urbanisation with the fight against climate change, and convenience for users with the energy transition, innovation is driving our performance.
Expertly blending field experience with leading-edge digital technologies, our teams strive to imagine and design new solutions to meet the challenges faced by our clients.
These are some of our solutions for…
Optimising dam costs and safety
Reducing the construction costs of dams requires an in-depth knowledge of their mechanical behavior in order to guarantee a state-of-the art safety level. This is a key aspect which may influence the economic feasibility of a project.
The issue of heat generation from cement hydration is usually managed prior to the first impounding of an arch dam. This requires the designer to implement complex construction provisions that are poorly suited to the new materials and new construction methods for concrete dams.
The new modelling methodology recently developed by ARTELIA on Janneh dam in Lebanon provides a means of estimating the impact of the dissipation of this hydration heat, depending on the environment temperature conditions, over the entire lifetime of the dam. It is hence possible to ensure that this process does not threaten the long term dam’s stability.
This methodology is now paving the way to a new generation of arch dams that are less complex to build and less restrictive in regard to the bedrock quality, as well as being more economical than gravity dams.
Creating a 3D mock-up of a structure in a matter of minutes
Building a 3D mock-up of a structure can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Thanks to ArteDrones® it is now possible to obtain one quickly, after flyings drones over the structure.
The drones film and photograph the structure’s envelope during their flight, and photogrammetry is then used to produce the mock-up.
The mock-up can subsequently be used in the framework of BIM and building design.
More generally speaking, our teams provide a complete array of services from helping project owners with preparatory tasks (identifying and analysing needs, selecting the most suitable solution and service providers, calculating costs and handling statutory procedures), through to overseeing and supervising the technical aspects of operations in the field.
Managing the logistics of major urban construction sites
GELITRA, which was tested on the redevelopment project in Les Halles district of Paris – one of the most complex in Europe – is a system for organising deliveries and maintaining traffic flows around construction sites.
GELITRA was designed to provide construction site users with an extremely simple means of recording a delivery and then organising its transfer from an off-site location.
This digital system for the spatial management of construction equipment significantly reduces environmental nuisance and makes the entire delivery process smoother.
Société du Grand Paris spotted the solution in 2016, and is considering deploying it on all of its construction sites in the framework of its development schemes across the Greater Paris area. The system may also be extended to other aspects of urban logistics.
With GELITRA, Artelia is inventing hassle-free deliveries to urban construction sites.
Overcoming strong technical constraints in urban settings
In the framework of the upgrading of the Lille metro, Artelia was asked to provide expertise in the following areas:
- Supplying logistical support facilities
- Overcoming the absence of test tracks
- Rationalising maintenance operations
To keep the footprint of the facilities to the strict minimum while adjusting to a larger volume of tests (assessment and inspection of VAL automatic metro vehicles), a solution was found enabling train operation to be reproduced and all of the usual track-based tests (requiring several hundred metres of tracks) to be performed in a workshop. This solution is the dynamic test bench for automatic metro trains, and it is a world first.
In 2016, this dynamic test bench won Artelia the Industry Prize at the French National Engineering Awards. This prestigious prize crowns our teams’ leading-edge skills and expertise in rail transport systems, both urban (trams, metros) and suburban (trains).