Ice making at the curling court. Courtesy of Beijing State-owned Assets Corporation
Beijing, February 9 (Xinhua) -- "Water Cube" has transformed into "Ice Cube", highlighting "Chinese wisdom". So, during the Beijing Winter Olympics, how to ensure that the ice used for the game does not melt and the spectators are not cold? Today, the reporter learned from the Beijing State-owned Assets Corporation, the owner unit of the National Aquatics Center, that the venue has an intelligent "hub", and the sensing equipment is set up at different points in the competition hall, which sense the changes in the temperature and humidity, sound and light environment in the hall, and timely feedback these data to the "nerve center" to realize the partition regulation of the indoor tall space temperature, which not only meets the needs of the curling competition environment, but also creates a comfortable viewing environment for the audience.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the National Aquatics Center "Water Cube" was the main venue for swimming, diving and synchronized swimming competitions, and was well known for its unique shape and beautiful appearance created by its membrane structure. In the construction and transformation of the Winter Olympic venues, Beijing State-owned Assets Corporation adhered to the concept of sustainable development of the Olympic bid, creatively proposed the sustainable use and transformation plan of the venues of "water ice conversion", and completed the renovation project of the National Aquatics Center venues in November 2020, realizing the gorgeous transformation of the "water cube" to the "ice cube".
A pair of "skeletons" support the curling ice surface
To set up a curling track on the pool, drain the water in the pool and then set up a convertible frame in the pool. "Erecting a shelf" in a swimming pool may seem simple, but the design considerations and installation accuracy of this ice rink's convertible steel structure are precise.
Ice making at the curling court is complete. Courtesy of Beijing State-owned Assets Corporation
How to ensure that the ice surface is stable and firm while still meeting the requirements of the Winter Olympic Games? The secret is hidden in the convertible steel structure that supports the ice surface. It is made of 2600 thin-walled H-beams of 3 m high and 2 m long, each beam and column is equipped with a column foot, and each connection point is equipped with removable high-strength screws to ensure that the steel frame is strong and strong. The test results show that the load of 1 ton per square meter is increased, and the maximum deformation of the steel structure is only 1.6 mm, which meets the design requirements of less than 3 mm.
As part of the "skeleton" that supports the ice surface, the construction of the ice foundation layer is also very important. First of all, a layer of PE film should be laid on the surface of the concrete precast panel, and then two layers of extruded insulation board should be laid, and a layer of PE film and anti-slip layer should be laid on top of the insulation board, and the top layer is the ice pipe rack. The seemingly simple process requires extremely high construction quality.
Two "systems" create the event environment
"Water Cube" becomes "Ice Cube", and the key link is ice making. In order to ensure that the game is foolproof, the venue adopts the "dual use and one preparation" scheme of the ice-making unit.
There are now two sets of pipes next to the arena, one entering and one looping to form a circuit, just like the arteries and veins of the human body. The densely packed and orderly arrangement of ice pipes on the ice-making base layer is connected to arterial veins like capillaries. The outdoor refrigeration unit is the "heart", which opens the ice-making unit to make it run, and transports the refrigerant through the pipeline circulation to the ice-making rink to ensure the smooth progress of ice-making in the arena.
"Water Cube" as a swimming and diving and other water sports competition venues, the environment during the game is high temperature and high humidity, to the "Ice Cube", the curling competition field environment requirements are low temperature and low humidity. The secret of achieving and ensuring a low temperature and low humidity environment in the huge competition hall lies in the dehumidification system of this venue renovation. The dehumidification system of the venue is like the respiratory system of the human body, continuously sending dry and cold air into the competition hall and bringing out the hot and humid air in the hall.
An intelligent "hub" enables real-time tuning
How to ensure that the ice used for the game does not melt and the spectators are not cold, which involves a major difficulty in the transformation of the venue - the temperature partition control of the venue.
In order to ensure the low temperature and low humidity environment of the competition field, the air tightness of the competition hall should first be transformed.
If the venue is not effectively sealed, then hot and humid air will enter the arena, causing the ice to fog, which in turn directly affects the curling game. To this end, the National Aquatics Center has physically modified the entrances and exits of the first floor of the competition hall and the pool shore layer, increased the indoor and outdoor air isolation facilities, and also blocked the gaps between the roof membrane structure and the wall panels.
The renovated venue not only increases the function, but also realizes the intelligent upgrade. The new system is like the nerve center of the human brain, adjusting the operation of the relevant equipment in the stadium in a timely manner according to the changes in the environment in the venue to meet the needs of the venue.
In the competition hall, sensing devices are set up at different points according to the needs, and these sensing devices are like the human eyes, ears, skin and other sensory organs, sensing the changes in the temperature and humidity, sound and light of the competition hall, and timely feedback these data to the "nerve center", and the group intelligent system of the venue will automatically adjust the actual situation. Through a series of measures, the curling stadium competition hall is finally realized to ensure that under any heat load conditions, the ice surface temperature of the curling track reaches -8.5 °C, the temperature at 1.5 meters above the ice surface is maintained at 10 °C, the relative humidity does not exceed 30%, and the grandstand temperature is 16 °C to 18 °C, which realizes the partition control of the indoor tall space temperature, which not only meets the needs of the curling competition environment, but also creates a comfortable viewing environment for the audience.
At present, the curling competition of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games is being staged in this "double Olympic venue". After the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice cubes will continue to hold curling competitions for the Paralympic Games, and are one of the venues with the longest running time in this Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
It is worth mentioning that the newly built "Ice Cube" Ice Sports Center in the South Underground Square of the National Aquatics Center will focus on national fitness after the game, become the experience base of the Curling Project in the Olympic Central Area, hold ice project competitions and performances at all levels, and widely carry out mass ice sports training and experience activities. (End)