What Are Cyclonic Tie-down Blocks?

Unpredictable weather conditions are present throughout the nation, particularly in the Northern regions of Western Australia. Back in 2007, the massive Category 5 Cyclone George hit Australia hard. For instance, two people were killed in an East Pilbara workers’ camp when gusts of wind travelling at 50m/s swept through, lifting and pulling away some dongas from their footings.

These natural calamities resulted in over AU $8 million in damages. You can avoid such significant property loss and potential harm to workers by ensuring your business assets are properly secured onto the ground.

DALLCON’s concrete tie-down blocks are designed and engineered to withstand the harsh weather and cyclonic conditions applicable to the northern parts of Western Australia. These durable cyclone concrete blocks are specified to withstand the dangerous uplift of high wind speeds, such as in a cyclone. Reinforced concrete can withstand high winds and protect residents. Plus, you can easily place them with swift lifters.

What Can Cyclone Tie-down Concrete Blocks Be Used For?

Also known as cyclone tie-down concrete blocks, these purpose-built blocks are responsible for holding down containers, temporary housing, vehicles, equipment and more. In straightforward terms, cyclone tie-down anchors are dense, reinforced concrete blocks available in various sizes. They are placed on either side of the object you need to secure, with cyclone strapping pulled over it, joining two blocks together.

The cyclone straps are either heavy-duty ropes or chains, depending on the circumstances. It may seem like a primitive solution, but it’s a tried and tested method for keeping large objects secured to the ground in cyclonic conditions. Plus, when you buy cyclonic tie-down blocks from us, they are extremely easy to install.

While they can be used for securing a range of heavy items, such as vehicles, plant equipment and more, they are most commonly used for holding down shipping containers. Throughout the mining and construction industry, shipping containers are used for site storage and often used to house offices, toilets, and even temporary housing.

Shipping containers, even when empty, are incredibly heavy, so you wouldn’t think there would be a risk of them moving. However, cyclonic winds in the northern parts of Western Australia and elsewhere certainly have the power to overturn a shipping container. Even in floods, a shipping container can be lifted and carried away.

Cyclonic tie-downs are used to keep shipping containers (amongst other things) secured to the ground, and because of their immense weight, even extremely strong cyclonic winds won’t move them.

Tie-down Blocks — Technical Specifications

DALLCON offers different specifications required per mining companies like BHP Group, FMG,  Rio Tinto, etc. You also get to choose specs based on the various wind regions of Australia that have their own wind speeds and rates at which extreme weather events occur: (A) Normal, (B) Intermediate, (C) Cyclonic, and (D) Severe Cyclonic. This means free access to various sizes and specs of concrete tie-down blocks to fit whatever environment or requirement you may have.

Additionally, you’ll receive heavily reinforced cyclonic tie-down blocks that are engineer-approved, with corresponding certified drawings so that you can be certain of their durability and reliability.

Here are the technical specs on our standard tie-down blocks:

• Length: The standard length ranges from 600-2800 mm.
• Width: The standard width ranges from 400-1600 mm.
• Height: The standard concrete footing height ranges from 250-1000 mm.
• Weight: The standard weight ranges from 300-8000 kg.

If you are not satisfied with these sizes to cover your project needs, simply ask us to make a custom order that precisely fits your unique requirements.

Related Products

Here are some of our other products related to concrete tie-down blocks:

• Modular Floorings: These are high-strength precast concrete flooring panels prefabricated in a controlled factory environment.
• Precast Concrete Blocks: These versatile blocks can be used in many ways, such as creating temporary storage bunkers and retaining walls.
• Custom Footings: These are custom structural footings that you can match precisely to any of your unique requirements.
• Retaining Wall System: These withstand lateral soil pressure and retain materials on one side, holding soil behind them.

How to Properly Use Cyclonic Tie Blocks

Due to the incredible weight and density of our cyclonic tie-down blocks, you’ll need crane support to position them, but aside from that, they are super-easy to use. These blocks are free-standing, meaning they require no assistance standing on the ground. But, of course, you need to position them correctly.

Keeping the blocks close to the item being secured is the best technique because it allows the straps to maintain a tighter hold. The less the object can move, the more effective your tie-downs will be. Also, you need to ensure that there are an equal number of blocks placed on either side of the object being secured. This makes it much easier to tie blocks together using cyclone straps over the object.

DALLCON’s concrete tie-down blocks come with swiftlifters/fork pockets already cast into them. This makes lifting and moving them much more manageable, giving you more flexibility in where you want to use them. The beauty of these blocks is that you don’t need to dig them into the ground, but you can if you feel you need extra support.

The Benefits of Concrete Cyclonic Tie-downs

Naturally, no company wants to lose assets or, even worse, put human life at risk during cyclonic conditions. Damaging weather is already likely to slow down the project process, but at least with tie-down blocks, you can ensure all of your equipment remains where it should be.

Some of the benefits include:

• No ground penetration is needed for fastening.
• Easy to place and move around as required.
• Different weight blocks are available depending on the items that need securing.
• Swiftlifters/fork pockets are cast in for easy movement.
• Protect equipment no matter how bad the weather is.

Using cyclone tie-down concrete blocks is essential if you’re running an operation in parts of the country prone to cyclonic weather conditions.

Looking for Cyclone Tie-down Blocks in WA?

DALLCON manufactures a wide range of custom concrete tie-down pits to suit different applications. With various sizes to choose from, we are sure you will find what you need. Our range features different sizes depending on the weight of items being secured, but we’re more than happy to produce custom sizes, shapes and weights to suit your needs.

So, if you want the ultimate protection for site equipment and shipping containers, call 1300 943 663 or email sales@dallcon.com to discuss your requirements.