New Rental Car Facility at Atlanta Airport Guarantees Mobility

During the recent expansion of the Atlanta Airport, a new rental car facility was built. The rental center offers passengers a quick and easy way to rent cars while simultaneously increasing the number of parking spaces in the airport area.

The Consolidated Rental Car Facility (CONRAC) offers space for parking on an area of 185,500m² (1,996,800sq ft) as well as approx. 8,100m² (87,000sq ft) of space for the new rental car facility. The owner requested especially large bays of approx. 18x18m (60x60ft) for the parking decks to provide increased flexibility in use after completion. Due to the size of the bays, the DYWIDAG Monostrand Post-Tensioning System was used.

In comparison to other structural systems, framing systems that utilize the DYWIDAG Monostrand Post-Tensioning System offer the advantage of longer spans with shallower floor system depths. In addition, the durability of the finished structure is increased due to a reduction of cracks in the concrete.

Work was very challenging because the very large floor plates without pour strips had to be subjected to complex analysis. During the analysis, factors such as elastic shortening due to post-tensioning forces, initial shrinkage of the concrete, long-term creep and temperature effects had to be considered.

For post-tensioning the parking decks and the customer service center building, DSI USA supplied approx. 1,330km (4,365,880lf) of unbonded DYWIDAG Strand Tendons with encapsulated anchors. DSI also provided the post-tensioning installation drawings as well as technical assistance on site.