Structural Engineering Developments Associated with Australian Antarctic Buildings over the Past 60 Years

Australia has three permanent bases on the Antarctic continent that are occupied year round: Casey, Davis, and Mawson stations. For the expeditioners at these stations, adequate shelter is essential to survival, and these buildings must be engineered to withstand the extreme weather conditions that Antarctica generates. The design of these buildings needs to address not only the severe climatic conditions, the large variation between the internal and external temperature, and the annual freeze/thaw of the permafrost, but also construction limitations at such a remote site. The structural approach of buildings has evolved over the years due to improved understanding and developments in technology. The original post-tensioned buildings were based on a series of prefabricated huts (surplus WWII stock) that were trialed at the sub-Antarctic outposts established at Macquarie and Heard Islands in 1948. The station rebuilding program that commenced in the 1970s addressed many of the constraints that faced the designers of Antarctic buildings and resulted in the distinctive, large steel-framed, cool-room panel style AANBUS buildings. Containerized buildings have also been used over the past 30 years, providing an alternative, more cost-effective approach to the AANBUS buildings. Most recently, a large fiber composite building was commissioned at Davis to provide living facilities for up to 120 personnel. This building uses the inherent strength within large fiber composite panels to minimize the steel framing requirements. This paper details the various building approaches and the motives for the structural improvements undertaken at the Australia’s Antarctic stations over the past 60 years.