Construction of the new satellite terminal at the Franz-Josef Strauss Airport in Munich started in 2012. Scheduled for completion in 2015, the extension of Terminal 2 is designed to handle approximately 11 million passengers per year. The new construction and building expansion measures approximately 126,000m2 and is being built on top of the existing baggage handling hall – a sensitive area that will remain in operation throughout the entire construction period.
Since May 2013, the Munich based company Caverion Deutschland GmbH has been installing the heating and cooling systems, the sanitary facilities, and the fire extinguishing systems at Terminal 2, along with the electrical and electronic systems. For the entire sewage and storm water piping systems, the experts for technical equipment and building facility services are relying on connecting technology from NORMA Group.
Out of the 32km of piping for condensate, drinking water, sewage, sewage ventilation and storm water, Caverion is laying approximately 8km of cast iron pipe for storm water and sewage. The company is using approximately 16,000 pipe couplings at the joints between the plain ended pipes.
Andreas Müller, construction site manager for the sanitary works at Caverion, comments: “We have already been working with pipe couplings from NORMA Group for decades. They have proven reliable in many construction projects.”
Burkhard Nowack, responsible for the sales and distribution of infrastructure solutions at NORMA Group, adds: “Our connectors have already proven themselves in numerous projects and remain leak tight even under high loads – for instance in the wastewater system at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev where the final match of the Euro 2012 football championships was held.
He continues: “In the drainage system of the car park at the Frankfurt Airport, they help protect parked cars from water damage due to heavy rains. Other reference projects include the exhibition halls of the Frankfurt Messe trade fair grounds, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, and the Milaneo shopping centre in Stuttgart. In all projects, the demand for safety and reliability represented an extremely important decision criterion for our couplings and restraint collars.”
Special security requirements
The work being carried out in the baggage handling hall – which is situated in the so-called ‘critical part’, i.e. the area of the airport that is particularly sensitive to security – presents a special safety challenge at the construction site, because the airport luggage continues to be processed here.
Andreas Müller explains: “The reliable connection of our pipes is absolutely crucial, especially in buildings where important areas remain in operation during the construction work. Water leaks can cause enormous damage to the electronics and lead to equipment shutdowns. Just imagine if something like that were to occur here in the baggage handling department! It simply must not happen.”
The RAPID couplings and the UNIVERSAL and KOMBI restraint collars from NORMA Group offer the necessary protection. Pipe connectors ranging in diameter from 50mm to 300mm are used on the cast iron pipes. Because heavy rain can cause sections of piping to back up, thereby incurring high pressure,
KOMBI and UNIVERSAL restraint collars ranging in diameter from 50mm – 300mm are additionally used where pipelines change direction and at high-risk points to ensure that pipe sections do not slip apart. The collar provides excellent axial restraint and the hardened grip ring insert grips the pipe securely. At a pipe diameter of 100mm, for example, this enables the UNIVERSAL collars to hold cast pipes together at pressures of up to 10 bars. In addition, the connectors also meet the strict fire protection regulations, which apply to airport operators.
Easy, rapid and clean installation
Safety also plays a major role in the installation of the connecting elements as well, because an improper installation can cause the joint to fail.
“Our installation technicians simply use a cordless screwdriver to tighten the NORMA coupling until contact,” says Andreas Müller. “It is fast and they can make an immediate visual inspection of the coupling’s function. Once the locking mechanism reaches the stop, the installation has been completed securely and the connection is leak tight.”
“At peak periods, some 100 Caverion employees are installing pipes at Munich Airport. The piping installation is proceeding smoothly and rapidly. However, a few metres of elevation must be overcome in the shafts where the storm water and sewage pipes run. Before the pipes can be installed together with their couplings, work platforms must first be erected. That makes rapid couplings installation even more important in terms of the time management of the project. The connectors are very easy to install because they have only a few screws – the RAPID coupling actually has just one. So the job is fast, clean and neat,” reports Andreas. “But most important of all, the couplings don’t leak.”
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
