Homely Scientist

Thanks to Laura for pinging me on this …

The inflatable roof over B.C. Place Stadium has collapsed (CTV)!  This is a developing story, so I’ll update the science on this in a min or two … Canada.com (part of CanWest) has a picture from a towercam of what it looks like (check the CTV story for the "before" picture).

Updates …

Now that the post is out …

Early word (via the radio … JackFM Victoria …) that a panel blew off which, I guess, burst it’s bubble.  What is an inflatable roof?  It is what is sounds like.  There is a pressure imbalance between the inside and outside that keeps the roof up.  If my physics serves me it should be low pressure—I’ve learned it is high pressure—inside so that opening doors sucks more air in keeping the roof up.  If it were high pressure, you open the door and the roof would be sucked down (can’t have that).

Early word is also that no one was hurt and there isn’t anything scheduled for the stadium this weekend.  The big question is … how long does it take to re-inflate?

Okay … more detail here:

B.C. Place Stadium, the world’s largest air-supported domed stadium was opened in 1983, holds more than 60,000 seats and is covered by fabric that is 1/30 inch thick but stronger than steel.
Until today, B.C. Place was the world’s largest air-supported domed  stadium covering 10 acres in all, with a circumference of 760 metres (2,500 feet), according to the stadium’s website.

and …

Electric-powered fans keep the air pressure inside the stadium at a higher level than the air outside. This extra air pressure is the only thing keeping the roof up — there are no beams or steel used at all to support the roof.
If the fans were turned off and the doors shut, it would take four to six hours to deflate the roof — but spectators today said the roof collapsed within minutes.

I found the stadium’s website, which doesn’t even have info on it’s architectual coolness!  Man, what a rip!  Oops, I guess they don’t like rips do they .

Tags: B.C. place roof collapse

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