Beijing Olympics' stadium construction

On 8 August 2008, the eyes of the world will be on China as the games of the 29th Olympiad begin in Beijing. This historic event will be centred on the visionary new National Stadium, dubbed the 'Bird's Nest'.

The Bird's Nest will seat 100,000 spectators and will host the opening and closing ceremonies, along with numerous events during the Olympics.

Designing and building the stadium was a great challenge to engineers, architects and contractors as it is unique. The core building systems have to match the design symmetry of the stadium and the environmentally friendly 'green' theme.

The basic components of the stadium's core building infrastructure include the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, which 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 and other geological or weather-related occurrences. In addition, the constrained timeline imposed on the massive project also required an easy-to-implement piping solution to meet unmovable deadlines.

Annular design solution

The Beijing Olympic National Stadium's striking visual effect is achieved by using annular crossing steel beams that give the impression of a strong, modern, yet natural structure. The innovative design required an equally innovative HVAC infrastructure, based on a piping system that was flexible and simple to install at the required angles. The Victaulic piping solution was chosen for the Bird's Nest HVAC system.

The Victaulic grooved piping system consists of a housing coupling, bolts, nuts and a gasket. This 'customisable' piping solution provides flexible couplings so the HVAC pipes can be installed at any of the different angles and can meet the various deflection requirements found in the Bird's Nest.

Reducing wind and seismic damage threat

Minor earthquakes are common in Beijing and the surrounding area. The National Stadium had to be reinforced to withstand serious seismic movements without significant damage.

The Victaulic system provides many mechanical design features that are useful in systems exposed to earthquake conditions, so that damage is reduced and vital services are protected. The flexibility of the flexible grooved-pipe couplings reduces the transmission of stress through a piping system, while the gasket dampens vibration.

Flexible couplings for grooved-end pipe allow linear, angular and rotational movement to occur at pipe joints, while they maintain a positive seal and self-restrained joint. Such performance is achieved through the combination of elastomeric gasket (which seals the joint) with the housing (which engages the groove without clamping rigidly onto the pipe). These features provide advantages for piping systems that allow for expansion, contraction and deflection generated by thermal changes, building/ground settlement and seismic activity.

Compressing the construction schedule

With rigid deadlines in place, building the Beijing National Stadium required innovative solutions that could reduce manpower and time costs. The Victaulic solution reportedly takes up to 50% less time to install than welding or flange set-ups.

Victaulic also supplied its Construction Piping Services (CPS) solution to produce further time savings. CPS provides three-dimensional drawings of the piping system, analyses piping system requirements and helps engineers calculate the required work hours and manpower more accurately.

Ease of installation

The system is easily installed by, firstly, rolling grooves at both ends of the pipe, and then using a wrench to engage the coupling and screw in the bolts and nuts to complete the installation.

The flexible design allows workers to install and adjust the piping system in the extremely narrow and irregular conduit environment of the Bird's Nest. Safety and 'green' procedures were also implemented to prevent fire, power or gas leakage hazards and reduce polluting gas and liquid spills during installation.