Victaulic piping is put through its paces at Olympic stadium
The use of Victaulic’s grooved joint pipe system is improving seismic stability and saving time in the construction of the Beijing Olympics’ National Stadium.
The flexibility and ease of installation of Victaulic’s grooved joint system for pipes is being used to good effect in the Beijing Olympic National Stadium in China. Known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’, the stadium’s systems and construction are unique. The core building systems have to perfectly match the design symmetry and visual look of the stadium. In particular the project required a customised and flexible piping and joint solution. The piping system had to meet the irregular structural requirements imposed by the architectural design and stringent safety regulations to account for seismic, wind or other natural or weather-related occurrences. In addition, the constrained timeline imposed on this massive project also required a piping solution that is easy to implement so as to meet tough and unmovable deadlines. The Victaulic grooved joint system consists of a housing coupling, a nut and bolt and a gasket. This highly customisable piping solution provides flexible couplings so that HVAC pipes can be installed at different angles and meet the various deflection requirements. Indeed, the pipework can move with the building to reduce damage and protect vital services during earthquakes. The key to the pipework being able to move with the building is the special gasket in the grooved joint. Designed to expand and contract as the pipe’s temperature changes, the gasket allows the sections it joined to move as the stadium moves. The flexible design allows workers to install and adjust the piping system in the Bird’s Nest’s extremely narrow and irregular conduit environments. The Victaulic grooved joint is said to take up to 50% less time to install than welding or flanged joints. Victaulic also supplied its Construction Piping Services (CPS) solution to produce further time savings. CPS provides 3-dimensional drawings, analyses piping requirements and helps engineers calculate the required work hours and manpower more accurately.
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