3M Dyneon fluoropolymer material for architectural applications has been demonstrating its durability in gale-force winds, deep snow, 60°C temperature variations and intense UV radiation at 3,040m elevation in the Oztal Alps, Austria.
Gaislachkogl cable car valley station, with a roof construction made of 3M Dyneon ETFE foils (photos: 3M)
The Gaislachkogl cable car, which serves one of Austria’s most popular winter sports areas, opened in the Sölden region in 2010. The first section carries up to 3,600 passengers an hour from the valley, 1,363m above sea level, to the middle station, nearly 800m higher. This section features what is currently the highest-capacity single cable gondola in the world and it is followed by the world’s highest three-cable gondola, which climbs on to an altitude of 3,040m. The cars roll on two cables and the third cable pulls the larger units in a manner designed to save energy.
The winter sports zones are beautiful but extreme conditions come with the territory. In the past, high-altitude buildings could be made only as solid structures but all the roofs of the Gaislachkogl cable car stations have been built with sculpted foil, which is lighter than traditional materials as well as being more environmentally friendly. The foils are extruded from 3M Dyneon ethylene tetrafluorethylene (ETFE) high-performance plastic and are highly tear resistant, UV-resistant and transparent. The cable car stations were designed by Johann Obermoser Architects, of Innsbruck, Austria, and constructed by Texlon, a Swiss specialist in hangar, foil and membrane construction. The Gaislachkogl project is the first time that foil architecture has been used in high mountain locations; glass was ruled out for technical reasons.
Mountain station of the Gaislachkogl cable car mountain station with extruded 3M Dyneon ETFE foil
“We designed the cover of the mountain station for wind loads of up to 300km/h,” says Adrian Imfeld, Marketing Director at Texlon, which operates in Europe and Central Asia and has already completed a number of foil roofs. The prime requirement for the foil was the ability to withstand the extreme weather conditions it would encounter at over 3,000m above sea level. The Nowoflon ET 6235Z foils extruded by Nowofol Kunststoffprodukte, Siegsdorf, Germany, are produced in thicknesses ranging from 12 to 250µm (a human hair is 70µm thick). Nowofol manufactures both transparent and coloured foils, using ETFE from 3M Dyneon as a raw material, which is non-flammable, provides near-universal chemical resistance and resistant to UV exposure. That characteristic is particularly important as direct UV radiation is up to 60% higher in the mountains than in lowlands, and snow and ice further increase the load as they reflect up to 90% of UV rays. Such high levels of UV radiation age traditional plastics quickly but 3M Dyneon ETFE belongs to the fluoropolymer group and is not affected in the same way. The weather resistance of the entire structure on which the foils are deployed is further aided by the fact that Nowoflon ET 6235Z foils have low-energy surfaces, which do not allow snow to gather – thus reducing buildings’ exposure to additional weight stain. As an ordinary rain shower will clean the foils, maintenance costs are also kept lower.
Dyneon, part of the Advanced Materials Division of 3M Company, is a global fluoropolymer producer. It focuses on development, production and sales of fluoroelastomers, fluorothermoplastics, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and specialty additives.
www.3m.com
www.dyneon.eu
