High-rise building solutions

Our partner, the National Lift Tower, hosts the world’s tallest drainage testing installation, comprising a 96 metre soil stack fitted with the Studor system (P.A.P.A. and AAVs) for active ventilation. Electronic pressure sensors in the test rig allow readings in the pipework to be recorded and used to objectively analyse the performance of the Studor system against alternative configurations. In addition, industry professionals from across the globe, including building regulation inspectors, consultants, designers, international developers, M&E contractors, main contractors and public health engineers visit the National Lift Tower to conduct research, development, testing, marketing and education for industries other than lifts.

In 2017 we launched a new facility, the state-of-the-art Hydro-Dynamics Experience Centre (HDEC) in The Netherlands. This new centre replaces our previous testing facility in The Netherlands, and now combines a testing facility with a customer experience centre, where customers can see precisely how water and air actually flow through our pipe systems. The HDEC is instrumental in testing new solutions and also simulates the performance of systems in specific situations for increasingly complex and/or high-rise buildings.

Our test facilities play a key role in the development of new products. For example, they have enabled us to continuously test and improve upon the design of our Stack-aerator solutions, first introduced as the Akatherm HDPE Stack-aerator, and now joined by:

• The PVC Stack-aerator for both conventional and acoustic DWV applications in high-rise buildings developed for our Indian business Ashirvad in 2015
• The PVC Stack-aerator for the Chutunic® spiral pipe system developed for our French business Nicoll in 2015

Through the extensive testing experience we have gained at the testing centres, we have also developed a strong view on testing procedures to assess the performance of high-rise drainage systems. We have determined that the most important aspects are the definition of the exact failure criteria (trap seal breach), defined as the moment when only a single air bubble escapes from the sewer system to the environment. This failure can happen a long time before actual trap seal depletion (ie. no water left in the trap). It is a strict criterion; however it ensures the safety of all inhabitants, as the risk of cross contamination between different households via a shared drainage system is exponentially increased in a high-rise building because any contaminated air will be further distributed by shared home comfort HVAC systems.