30,000 connecting nodes in lock gates for the Panama Canal
The sixteen lock gates of the upgraded Panama Canal satisfy extremely stringent requirements. Unlike most other lock gates, the Panama Canal’s gates must contend with a high degree of fatigue stress at many of the connecting points. Detailed calculations were made of all connecting nodes in the lock gates in order to produce the workshop drawings. No fewer than 30,000 connecting nodes were calculated in all, or 650 kilometres of welds with a weight of 500 tonnes.