HIGH PRESSURE
THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS
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BUILDINGS SUCH AS the 101-storey, 509-metre-high, Taipei Financial Centre use stainless steel pipe for
fire protection and hot and cold water supply.
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THE AURORA will be Brisbane's tallest residential tower when it is completed in 2006. S31600 stainless
steel pipe will supply water throughout the building.
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VICTAULIC'S PRESSFIT SYSTEM (three photos above) provides economy, reliability and fast
installation.
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Urban water distribution systems are evolving toward stainless steel. By Virginia Heffernan
Nickel Magazine, March 2005 -- The piping systems that deliver potable water and fire-fighting
capabilities in tall buildings have unique requirements. They must be able to withstand not only high
pressures but the motion of the building caused by seismic and wind forces. Speed and ease of assembly are
also important during the construction phase as builders grapple with tighter deadlines and a more fluid,
less skilled workforce.
As buildings grow ever taller, engineers are turning to stainless steel piping systems ( S30400 and S31600) to meet these needs. Three of the newest and tallest buildings in the world, the Taipei Financial Centre in Taiwan, the Aurora tower in Brisbane, Australia and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, are prime examples of this shift to high-pressure stainless steel piping systems in certain circumstances.
The Taipei Financial Centre, a 101-storey, 509-metre-high building completed in 2004 uses the Victaulic grooved stainless steel system for fire protection and plumbing, and Victaulic valves and stainless steel pipes up to 318 millimetres (mm) in diameter for hot and cold water supply.
The Victaulic grooved system provides the flexibility to withstand any seismic activity, up to the strongest earthquake in a 2,500-year cycle. The system, designed especially for standard or light-wall stainless steel, is also less costly than traditional methods of welding, flanging or threading; that’s because it can be installed quickly using less skilled labour and is easy to clean and maintain.
In the Taipei Financial Centre, the pipes for domestic water supply are made of Japanese standard JIS 3459 schedule 10S stainless steel for corrosion resistance. These pipes range in diameter up to 318 mm and can withstand pressures of 2,065 kilopascals (kPa). Both hot and cold water can run through the system because the couplings are flexible enough to handle thermal expansion and contractions and the gaskets are rated from -34°C to 100°C.
In addition, the stainless steel valves are designed to handle one and a half times the system pressure and have a "dead-end" shut-off service to isolate equipment for maintenance. An absorber in the system prevents water hammer.
S30400 stainless steel pipes and Victaulic couplings are also used in the Petronas towers, the tallest buildings in the world, to accommodate high pressures and vibration.
For smaller diameter piping systems that do not require ready access, Victaulic’s Pressfit system (also marketed as the Mapress system) provides economy, reliability and fast installation. The system uses S31600 or S30400 stainless steel pipe with fittings that can be permanently attached using a handheld electric tool, eliminating the risk of fire and the need for welded or threaded joints.
This type of system is being installed in Brisbane’s tallest residential tower, the Aurora, scheduled for completion in January 2006. According to Blucher Australia, which supplied the 108-mm piping, the S31600 stainless steel pipe has a wall thickness of 2 mm for pressures of about 2,490 kPa. The pumps are electronically controlled by the water reservoir level at the top of the building for a slow startup, which prevents water hammer.
"No other pipe systems can withstand extreme changes in water temperatures and the clean-in-place routines as well as stainless steel," said Mogens Jensen, managing director of Blucher Australia in a recent article for ferret.com.au, an on-line information source for suppliers in Australia.
Virginia Heffernan is a Toronto-based science writer.
PHOTOS: Australian Stainless Steel Development Association / CCIF Taiwan
Kirk C Davis |
