Largest cylindrical aquarium in the world Aquadom in Berlin Radisson hotel collapses 1

[tommj]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...m_campaign=daily-briefing&utm_term=12-16-2022

https://www.newsweek.com/aquarium-explosion-hotel-aquadom-fish-berlin-video-1767580

https://www.reynoldspolymer.com/projects/aquadom/

https://unbelievable-facts.com/2017/08/aquadom.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AquaDom

Only 2 injured as it was at 5:45AM....but of course 1500 fish killed.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

I was just reading about that.

Quiet a miracle nobody got killed.

Some of the big ones in Dubai must have collosal loading as well.

 

[EdStainless]

Can you imagine the mayhem if it was 5:45pm?
Long term loading of very heavy plex.
Makes me wonder if it was creep for cracking.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[1503-44]

What's on the restaurant menu today?

Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[drwebb]

Fish- but I hear it's frozen and not fresh.

 

[TugboatEng]

Creep or hydrolysis of the adhesive. I believe these structures are typically acrylic plastic.

Our local aquarium has a 35 foot x 85 foot viewing window. It's 12 inches thick and supposedly built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake. The plastic used is glass reinforced which would certainly help control creep.

 

[Sym P. le]

The aquarium required 41 of our Higly Engineered Acrylic panels – 26 panels for the outside cylinder and 15 panels for the inside – and 16 on-site bonds ...

Now that's creepy!

 

[pellucidar]

There was speculation on Reddit that the cold weather in Berlin and the legal requirement to keep indoor temperatures down (to 16°C) was too much for the (~25°C saltwater) tank. It was allegedly also remodeled in 2020, though in what way is unclear.

 

[TugboatEng]

The Monterey Bay Aquarium did some remodeling some time back on their big acrylic tank. Apparently they are lined with glass tiles thar were falling off.

 

[drwebb]

I understand that Monterey Bay was done by a different company. The builder of the Aquadom has their own seaming technology.

 

[tommj]

some video of the build:

https://youtu.be/E3KjGJ8AZzI

 

[Tomfh]

Another victim of Germany’s mad rush to renewables and resultant power shortages.

 

[TugboatEng]

Acrylic plastic is not recyclable, either.

 

[Pud]

Tug:
Acrylic (PMMA) is recyclable, unless it's the cast, crosslinked version.
Problem is it's not commercially viable due to lack of recycled market.
Acrylic is used (mainly) for transparent items.
Chopped up cast acrylic is good for cleaning injection moulding machine barrels though. Used to use quite a bit of it.


Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.

 

[itsmoked]

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium that monster window was done by a Japanese firm using a proprietary method that had them boot everyone out and then they covered up the process with tarps so it couldn't be observed.


Probably two guys with some Tap Plastic drippy bottles.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[TugboatEng]

I'm surprised there is more than one company that specializes in such a niche product.

 

[drwebb]

Well, IF the seams turn out to have been a contributor to this failure, all the companies may feel more pressure to subject their proprietary joining methods to more scrutiny.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I would think so:

Expert says world’s largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium was a ‘ticking time bomb’

https://www.ladbible.com/news/exper...arium-was-a-ticking-time-bomb-039892-20221228

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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