The bobsleigh project may be a Winter Olympic event that the public is not so familiar with. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, bobsleigh competitions will be held at the "Snow Dragon" - National Bobsleigh Center.
The National Bobsleigh Center is located in Yanqing Racing District, which belongs to the Xiaohaituo Mountain area, with a planned area of about 16 square kilometers and a maximum altitude of 2198 meters.
Recently, a reporter from the Beijing News visited the National Bobsleigh Center to understand the unique structure here.
National Bobsleigh Centre. Beijing News reporter Tao Ran photographed
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The fastest track at the Beijing Winter Olympics with a top speed of 135 km/h
Zhao Beiting, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Major Project Office, introduced that as one of the three major competition areas of the Beijing Winter Olympics, yanqing competition area is located in the southern foothills of Xiaohaituo Mountain, with an altitude of 2198 meters, which is the most difficult competition area for the construction of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Yanqing Has built a total of "two halls and one village", namely the National Alpine Ski Center, the National Bobsleigh Center and the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village. Construction of the venue began at the end of March 2017 and was completed in December 2020.
National Bobsleigh Centre Grandstand. Beijing News reporter Tao Ran photographed
The National Bobsleigh Center is located on the southwest side of the Yanqing Race Area, with a total length of 1975 meters and a vertical drop of more than 120 meters. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the National Bobsleigh Center will undertake all the competitions in the three sports of bobsleigh, steel frame bobsleigh and bobsleigh, resulting in a total of 10 gold medals.
The snowmobile originated in Switzerland and was included in the competition at the first Winter Olympics. The average speed of the snowmobile is about 100 kilometers per hour, up to 160 kilometers, and high-speed driving is the biggest attraction of snowmobiling competitions. The track used in the bobsleigh race is the same as that of the bobsleigh and the steel frame snowmobile, and shares a starting point with the steel frame snowmobile, the track is 1200 meters to 1650 meters long, and the drop is between 100 meters and 150 meters.
Sledding originated in Switzerland and northern Europe and was listed as an official sport at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. The track used for bobsleigh races is the same as for bobsleighs and steel-framed bobsleighs, but with different starting points. The race route is 1000 meters to 1350 meters long for men and 800 meters to 1200 meters for women, with a maximum width of 1.5 meters and 11 to 18 curves. The slope of the track needs to be specially designed, with a drop of between 100 meters and 150 meters. After the athletes start at a distance of about 250 meters, they are able to reach a speed of 80 km / h.
The steel frame snowmobile, as the name suggests, is a sled made of metal. Because it was too thrilling, he was twice disqualified from the Winter Olympic Games, and it was not until 2002 that he stabilized in the Winter Olympic program. The steel frame snowmobile has one event for men and one for women. The main difference between it and the bobsleigh race is that it needs to slide head forward. The track used in the steel frame bobsleigh race is the same as that of the bobsleigh and the bobsleigh, and shares a starting point with the bobsleigh. The track is between 1200 m and 1650 m long, with a drop of between 100 m and 150 m.
National Bobsleigh Center, where athletes train. Beijing News reporter Tao Ran photographed
It is understood that the National Bobsleigh Center is the first bobsleigh track in China, which is composed of 16 curves with different angles and different inclinations, including the very rare 360-degree slalom. From the air, the National Bobsleigh Center is like a giant dragon lying across the foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain, affectionately known as the "Snow Dragon" by netizens.
The National Bobsleigh Center has a maximum design speed of 135 kilometers per hour, making it the fastest track at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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The "Terrain Climate Protection System" creates the most stable track on the ice surface in the world
The National Bobsleigh Center, known as "Snow F1". There are only 16 bobsleigh tracks worldwide, far fewer than F1 racing tracks.
Bobsleigh tracks are built in the open air, and the hardness of the ice surface varies with the change of the sunshine temperature in different seasons and at different times. Other tracks around the world are located on the north slope, and the National Bobsleigh Center is geographically constrained and is the only track on the south slope, with greater challenges on the ice. In such a situation, how to ensure the quality of the ice surface has become a major problem for the design team.
In response to this problem, the design team of the National Bobsleigh Center has developed a unique "Terrain Climate Protection System", which not only overcomes the impact of meteorological conditions on the track, but also plays a role in energy conservation and emission reduction.
The Terrain Climate Protection System is a system that reduces the impact of solar radiation on the track through terrain, awnings and sun blinds. Among them, the awning of the steel and wood combination structure is installed above the track, which integrates insulation, waterproofing and natural anti-corrosion functions. Compared to other international circuits, the National Bobsleigh Center has a larger awning area and is of different lengths at different locations on the track, avoiding a waste of resources.
The sun blinds are suspended on both sides of the track, and the length of the sunshades has been extended, with a layer of reflective material on the outside, and there are some tiny holes on it to improve light transmittance and permeability. The sun blinds can be fully pulled open during the game, without affecting the audience's enjoyment of the game.
Through the "Terrain Climate Protection System", the National Bobsleigh Center Circuit has become the most stable track on ice in the world. At present, this technology has been patented. It is understood that the National Bobsleigh Center has obtained 73 authorized patents.
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"Embroidered" out of the bobsleigh track
The National Bobsleigh Center is a new venue with the highest design difficulty and the greatest construction difficulty among the Beijing Winter Olympic Engineering Competition Venues.
The National Bobsleigh Center Circuit is a semi-U-shaped concrete pouring structure with condensation tubes buried in the concrete that cannot exceed 5 mm, and the track is finally formed by making ice on the surface. Although the whole process may not seem complicated, the 1975-meter-long track was poured in one go, and it was difficult to form it in one go. Track construction should be fine to every angle, every surface, every millimeter of subtlety.
"It can be said that the National Bobsleigh Center was not built, but 'embroidered'." Liu Lifeng, director of the Yanqing Venue Construction Division of the Beijing Municipal Major Project Office, said.
In terms of concrete blasting, the 179-meter-long slalom track is divided into 4 refrigeration units, the curve curvature is large and all are high wall sections, and each refrigeration unit needs to be sprayed continuously for more than 20 hours, which is a double test of the physical strength and skill of the concrete sprayer. Under high-intensity and difficult construction conditions, the sprayer must ensure that the track spray is formed once, and the accuracy must be controlled at 10 mm.
Under such difficulties, in order to build this three-dimensional distortion of space, can withstand repeated refrigeration, melting of the concrete track, the builders developed a new concrete material, after unremitting efforts, finally achieved the success of the track one-time pouring.
Beijing News reporter Xu Meihui photojournalist Tao Ran
Zhou Bohua video report
Edited by Fan Yijing Proofreader Liu Jun