During the sandflow phase under the tunnel element of the metro station Amsterdam, the tunnel element will be supported by a suspension structure, which keeps the element to a fixed location. The main reason we designed these supports was because of the floor construction underneath the metro station element. By using conventional methods, the pressures occurring in this phase could damage the concrete floor underneath the element.
The supports exists of 4 mechanical struts which are fixed on the deck of the tunnel element and will be hoist up when the element is immersed. The supports will be connected to the reinforced floor of the central passage way of the train station. These supports can under go axial rotation, this rotation can be managed by the hydraulic jacks in the system. These hydraulic jacks are also used to measure the process of the sandflow, by calculating the reaction force given by the new foundation of the element.