The task was to build two new warehouses on the refinery site. The halls had to be designed in such a way that, in an emergency, they could withstand powerful explosions with an air pressure of 0.75 bar.
While the walls were built from reinforced steel containers for this purpose, we took a completely different approach for the roof construction.
A roof made of steel would have had to be extremely heavy and expensive to avoid being torn away by the pressure of the explosion.
The two roofs consist of pneumatic cushions, which are very light and inexpensive. They are also the predetermined breaking point in the event of an explosion.
Although the membrane tears, it cannot injure anyone if it falls down, nor can it damage the goods stored in the hall.
PVC-coated polyester fabric with a degree of transparency of 40% was chosen as the film material. The light transmitted trough the cushions two membrane layers is very even.
The task was to build two new warehouses on the refinery site. The halls had to be designed in such a way that, in an emergency, they could withstand powerful explosions with an air pressure of 0.75 bar.
While the walls were built from reinforced steel containers for this purpose, we took a completely different approach for the roof construction.
A roof made of steel would have had to be extremely heavy and expensive to avoid being torn away by the pressure of the explosion.
The two roofs consist of pneumatic cushions, which are very light and inexpensive. They are also the predetermined breaking point in the event of an explosion.
Although the membrane tears, it cannot injure anyone if it falls down, nor can it damage the goods stored in the hall.
PVC-coated polyester fabric with a degree of transparency of 40% was chosen as the film material. The light transmitted trough the cushions two membrane layers is very even.
Inflatable roof , oil refinery in Neustadt a.d. Donau, Bavaria
