Wellington’s Carillon Tower Bell on the crossbar is at risk of twisting

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and was republished with permission.

The largest bell in the Carillon Tower at the National War Memorial in Wellington – the 12.5-ton Rangimārie Peace Bell – is on a beam at risk of twisting the earthquake.

The tower also contains a third part exposed to earthquakes.

This was revealed in the new detailed seismic assessment report.

Read more: * Eight years to verify the National War memorial after an earthquake warning * Dozens of heavy bells make Carillon vulnerable to earthquake * The National War memorial has been found vulnerable to earthquakes, and Carillion’s bells are silenced

The third weakness makes the top of the country’s most valuable tower spiers – in addition to the bottom, and bell tires.

The late assessment of vulnerabilities – first noticed nine years ago – comes two years after completing the $ 3 million job promotion and closing the tower and memorial hall behind him for long periods.

According to the new assessment, “Bells and bell tires represent a potential danger to life safety” and the tire may fail in various ways, in a tower close to the Wellington error of 45 m height.

The Peace Bell (Rangimārie) is the largest bell of this kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Ministry of Culture and Heritage warned yesterday that bells or “other materials” may fall on a person in the Carillon foyer.

VIPs and the public used the lobby for about two years from when the tower was reopened in mid-2018 to February this year when it closed again.

The ministry was first warned of the risk of bells in a “simplified assessment” in 2011 by the same engineers, Donning Thornton.

The company asked the ministry to conduct a full evaluation of the bell frame, but has yet to do so.

Things

Carillon Memorial dedication to the National War. Every observation post in the city and on the nearby hills was occupied when the memorial war ammunition in Wellington was allocated on Anzac Day. 1932.

Full evaluation recommended

This new report, which is based on stricter evaluation rules and greater computing power, says the beam supporting the Peace Bell can move away – it classifies 15 percent of the earthquake code.

Moreover, three other parts of the bell frame may bend, at the fifth and seventh levels.

The bell frame was “very sensitive” to movement in the tower, which could be rocked in an earthquake because it was not installed on its foundations which it believed was a good thing to reduce pressure on the tower itself.

In addition, reinforced concrete pavements between Level V and VI are now found at 30 percent of the new construction standard – below the 34 percent threshold.

All in all, the tower is an E-class or “very high-risk building”: it poses 25 times more risk to occupants of a building than in a new building in the same location.

It is a historical place of the first category.

Engineers have also found two other minor elements at earthquake-prone boundaries:

Precast concrete screens – ornate screens in the center of the tower – will “start crushing” at 34 percent shake with little to prevent them from falling.

Wellington’s city council called the tower “The Sound as a Bell” in 2018, when it knew it was prone to earthquakes.

The ministry said yesterday that there is no indication that the tower, which is 45 meters high, is located on anyone outside, but added: “In the event of an earthquake, people are advised to stay away, drop, cover and keep.”

The new report states that it is not a complete reassessment of the tower.

She said the full assessment should be completed “as part of any strengthening work.”

This is a problem at the right time: The Ministry has less than years to go until the deadline to fully support the tower – May 2022 – and without a full assessment, it does not know how much it needs to do.

This comes nine years after the Christchurch earthquake which led to the Royal Commission full of recommendations to improve seismic safety. Four years after the 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura earthquake, the alarm rang for more than 80 concrete buildings in the capital, and other buildings were demolished.

The concrete of the tower is weaker than that assessed in 2011.

“The current reinforced concrete structure requires continuous reforms to reinforce the reinforcement,” the new report said.

“Any reinforcement must match the remaining life of the concrete structure. The repetition and cost of repairs required to keep the structure’s sound will continue to increase over time, so a short-term solution may be more practical.

“Alternatively, stiffening works may provide an opportunity to extend the life of the structure.”

Monique Ford / stuff

At work between 2016 and 2018, the Carillon Tower reinforced part of the bell frame.

Peer review is in progress

Even this new detailed assessment has not yet been reviewed by counterparts – a vital process in which engineers differ greatly with each other.

“The peer review is under way and we expect a response by the end of the month,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The peer review is not expected to change Carillon’s current seismic classification.”

The ministry started six years of promotions at the memorial and the zodiac in 2012.

This included strengthening the Chevron steel trusses at the top in 2012; But it did not strengthen the lower part, although it was advised, the lower part should be much stronger than the upper part, for safety.

At work between 2016 and 2018, the bell frame was boosted – but only part of it.

The Ministry’s CEO repeatedly refused to conduct an interview, which advised RNZ to focus on project management so far and here.

“No interviews are conducted, however, we welcome you to send your written questions,” the ministry said.

In response to a written question from the RNZ asking whether the average person’s summary of what it would take to fix weaknesses in the lower tower would be included, he said: “The detailed seismic assessment does not contain a summary for the average person.”

Grant Robertson, co-minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, was contacted for comment.

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and was republished with permission.

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