On April 6, 2001, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) began tests on the FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastics) pool "Swim 21" which will be used for the "9th World Swimming Championships - Fukuoka 2001" to be held this July (Venue: Marine Messe Fukuoka, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City). In addition to a test assembly of part of the pool for water tests, an installment test will also be conducted using the remaining units of the competition-use FRP "Swim 21."
This pool will represent the first special-facility 50-meter competition pool constructed of FRP ever to be used as the main pool for the world championships. And, its choice is a clear statement of the trust that has been placed in Yamaha's FRP pool products and technologies.
Because FRP pools can be manufactured in unit sections in the factory, they are characterized by the shorter time necessary for construction, easy maintenance and lower cost burden.
The verification tests to be conducted involve assembling actual units from the "Swim 21" pool that will serve as the competition's main pool to create a pool shell 8 m long and 7 m wide with a depth of 3 m. It will then be filled with water to see what kinds of pressures come into play on the pool body and perform simulations to see what kinds of changes will result in certain situations and under what conditions. Until now, repeated computer analysis of structure and flow dynamics have been conducted, helping Yamaha's engineers to grasp distortion potential, etc., down to a few millimeters as technical proof of the design soundness. This test assembly now being performed will enable us to verify the accuracy of the design data in advance of the upcoming Fukuoka competition.
Furthermore, almost all of the "Swim 21" pool's FRP side wall units, which have already been manufactured, will be laid out in a test installation to verify the correctness of the attaching faces and decide the order in which the units should be shipped to Fukuoka. These and other tests for verifying the construction/operation plans will provide final simulations to make sure the pool can be installed efficiently in the short 2-week installation period that is planned.
In the time remaining before the competition, YMC will use all of its FRP pool planning, design, construction and operation know-how to create an environment in which all the participating athletes can compete in the most favorable conditions possible, as we fulfill our responsibilities in both the hardware and software areas of the pool construction and water quality maintenance to which YMC has been assigned. |
A total of 21 pool units, including 18 of the actual "Swim 21" pool units (14 side units, 4 bottom units) and three units (2 side, 1 bottom) that have been specially made for this verification test, will be assembled to create a pool shell 8 m long and 7 m wide with a depth of 3 m and a poolside portion.
The resulting pool will actually be filled with water and 100 sensors fitted to the structure to check the changes that occur in the unit under the actual water pressure-load conditions. |
Back to