The Korea Times reports that Korean steel-maker POSCO has recently developed a lightweight pad for takeoffs and landings at vertiports.
“POSCO made its pad with corrugated metal sheeting called form deck, which is much lighter and corrosion-resistant than conventional helipads made with road deck panels,” said the newspaper report. “During a month-long demonstration done in June by Lotte E&C at the Goheung Aviation Test Center in South Jeolla Province for the construction firm’s urban air mobility (UAM) project, POSCO’s pad was not deformed by repeated use, according to the steelmaker.
“POSCO emphasized that its pad is modular and does not need concreting, enabling easier assembly and disassembly.”
In 2023 POSCO signed a partnership agreement for Joint Research of Strategic Technology Development for Future UAM Construction Market with the Korea Airports Corporation and Hanwha Corporation/E&C.
According to a company press release:
“Through the joint research, the three companies agreed to establish a standard UAM vertiport model that integrates POSCO’s expertise in developing steel structure utilization technology, the Korea Airports Corporation’s aviation sector expertise, and Hanwha’s design and construction expertise and consider applying it to vertiports at Jamsil MICE and Suseo Station. POSCO plans to develop optimal steel materials needed for UAM vertiport construction and secure steel structure technology to be used in UAM vertiports in the future.
“First, considering the characteristics of the building-type vertiport, which is installed on the rooftop of a building and performs repeated aircraft takeoffs and landings, POSCO plans to detail the steel structure design and utilization technology using lightweight steel materials. Moreover, it plans to consider applying the modular steel structure to support the increased number of operating aircraft and expanded terminal space and using the BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic System) exterior materials to increase the eco-friendliness of vertiports.”
For more information
https://newsroom.posco.com/en/posco-to-participate-in-joint-research-to-build-future-mobility-uam-infrastructure/
(Image: UAM Vertiport Conceptual Drawing (Source: Korea Airports Corporation)