Sandwich Plate System (SPS) is the name of a patented structural composite material comprising two metal plates bonded with an

elastomer An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''elastic p ...

core. SPS was created in partnership with chemical manufacturer

BASF BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The ...

incorporating Elastocore ® as the core material. The SPS material is a direct replacement for stiffened steel and reinforced concrete in heavy engineering projects. SPS is an unlicensed technology used globally in various engineered structures including maritime ships, offshore assets, buildings, stadiums and arenas, bridges and other special applications.

History

SPS was invented by

Dr Stephen Kennedy Stephen Kennedy (born 1956), Technical Director of Intelligent Engineering, is responsible for the development of Sandwich Plate System (SPS) technology and has a distinguished career in applied engineering research. He was previously a Professor ...

following primary research in the field of ice-strengthened structures at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and first patented in 1996. Intelligent Engineering UK Limited was founded in April 1996 to commercialise the technology and later formally dissolved. The first recorded project involving SPS was carried out on the P&O Pride of Cherbourg, a

Lloyd’s Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

approved vessel in 1999.

Notable Projects

Civil engineering projects incorporating SPS include: *

Resorts World Arena The Resorts World Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 months of const ...

, at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...

(NEC), Birmingham, United Kingdom *

The O2, Dublin The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008. It was built on the site of the former Point Theatre, a smaller musi ...

(formerly The Point), Dublin Ireland *

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

, London United Kingdom *

London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two swimming pools and a diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olymp ...

, London, United Kingdom *Cannelville Road Bridge, Muskingum Country, Ohio *Berlin U-Bhan Bridge, Berlin Germany *Lennoxville Bridge, Quebec Canada *Ceder Creek Bridge, Texas USA *

Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare The Grand Pier is a pleasure pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, situated on the Bristol Channel approximately southwest of Bristol. It opened in 1904 and has been Listed Grade II since 1983. It is long. The pier's pavilion has been ...

, Weston-Super-Mare UK * Dawson Bridge,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Canada *

Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge The Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge (, , ) is a road bridge in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It carries the N51 across the Alzette, connecting ''Avenue John F. Kennedy'', in Kirchberg, to ''Boulevard Robert Schuman'', in Limpertsberg ...

, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg *

Principal Place Principal Place is an office development at the eastern end of Worship Street, Shoreditch, London. The main entrance is approached from Shoreditch High Street. It is a 15-storey office block designed by Foster and Partners. In July 2014, it ...

Pavilion, London, United Kingdom *

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...

, Seattle, Washington, United States in its 2017 renovation *

PayPal Park PayPal Park (formerly Earthquakes Stadium and Avaya Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in San Jose, California, San Jose, California, United States, and is the home of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes. The stadium is located on the ...

, formerly Avaya Stadium, home

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

Philippine Arena The Philippine Arena is the world's largest indoor arena. It is a multipurpose indoor arena with a maximum seating capacity of 55,000 at Ciudad de Victoria, a 140-hectare tourism enterprise zone in Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippin ...

north of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines *

Colman Dock Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington, United States. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferry system, is still called "Colman Dock". ...

footbridge, Seattle WashingtonArchived a
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and th
Wayback Machine
*

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August a ...

, Flushing Meadow, New York *

Tynecastle Park Tynecastle Park is a football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). It has also hosted Scotland international matches, and been used as a ...

Edinburgh, Scotland Vessels and assets incorporating SPS include: *''MV Golden Bell'', Bulk Carrier *''MV Star Ypsilon'', Bulk Carrier *''MV Docebay'', Bulk Carrier *''MV Hansaland'', RoRo *''MV Edco Star'', Bulk Carrier *''

Solitaire (ship) ''Solitaire'' is a large deep-sea Pipe-laying ship, pipe laying ship. It was at the time of conversion the world's largest pipe-laying ship at long (excluding pipe-laying apparatus) and . When fully operational she has a crew of 420, a pipe carr ...

'',

Allseas Allseas Group S.A. is a Swiss-based offshore contractor specialising in pipelay, heavy lift and subsea construction. It was founded in 1985 by owner and president Edward Heerema, employs 4,000 people and operates worldwide. The company is headqua ...

' deep sea

pipe-laying ship A pipelaying ship is a maritime vessel used in the construction of subsea infrastructure. It serves to connect oil production platforms with refineries on shore. To accomplish this goal a typical pipelaying vessel carries a heavy lift crane, used ...

*'' Glen Lyon (ship)'' a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), owned by BP and stationed in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

*''

Queen Mary 2 RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding '' Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...

'' a transatlantic

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

References

{{reflist Composite materials Canadian inventions