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The Burj is not a 'storm machine', says Hyder

by Sarah Blackman on Jan 13, 2010

3 Comments

Mills: Burj has also been tested to withstand the strongest winds.

Hyder Consulting has denied claims that the Burj Khlaifa could be a ‘storm machine’, despite recent speculation.

Last month, CWO reported that various architectural blogs have claimed that the temperature at the pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa is eight degrees lower than at the base, which could ultimately lead to the collapse of the building.

One German newspaper said that if a door was opened at the top of the building and at the podium level, as well as air locks in between, a storm could rush through the tower and destroy everything in its wake.

Speaking to Construction Week, John Mills, project director for Hyder, the design consultant for the Burj, said the effect described by the paper was genuine but there is no cause for concern.

“It is called a ‘stack effect’. Hyder has carried out separate research to try to harness the power which could be generated by this,” he said.

“The effect has been recognised on the Burj Khalifa and engineered out using air locks, which cannot be opened continuously.”

The world’s tallest tower has also been tested against severe wind conditions, according to Mills.

“Extensive wind tunnel testing took place during design and construction. Hyder also instigated physical building movement testing during construction, verifying correctly the designed building behaviour,” added Mills.

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FEATURED COMMENT

I recall the first storm machine story... seemed like it may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek... hardly worth denying, su

3 Comments

Readers' Comments

Andrew (Jan 14, 2010)
Abu Dhabi

storm in a tea cup
I recall the first storm machine story... seemed like it may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek... hardly worth denying, surely?

Kesavan.J (Jan 13, 2010)
Dubai
United Arab Emirates

Storm Machine
Strom machine - not at all or everyone will be buidling such structures and generating power from this. Temperature difference do exist between the pinnacle and the base but the difference is only gradual when you move from every floor down. A strong wind force crossing the top of a airtight cylindrical hollow structure will purge out everything from inside the structure due to a hydraulic principle know as Bernouli which is also why airplanes can fly. However,this is certainly not the case with Burj Khalifa as it is not an airtight structure. Instead of generating destructing storm, I would view Burj Khalifa as a huge lightning arrestors keeping the surrounding developments save and sound from recent frequent occurence of lightning in Dubai.

Laith (Jan 13, 2010) Bahrain

A blast from the past
All this talk about a "storm machine" and "stack effect" is reminiscent of when Stephenson first built his steam driven locomotive. People said that travelling at over 30mph would kill them as they would be asphyxiated by the wind rushing past causing all the air inside the train carriages to be sucked out. Human nature is to fear what is beyond common boundaries.

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