With the Mets, Yankees and
Jets/Giants getting new stadiums, New York City has been and continues
to be a hive of sports assembly construction. The task of making
these stadiums watertight at the structural expansion joints is falling
to expansion-joint manufacturer, EMSEAL of Westborough, MA.
(NOTE: This video demonstrates the ease of installation of the SJS
SYSTEM using Custom-90-degree transitions pre-manufactured to field
measurements provided by the installing contractor. This video does not
cover in detail all of the installation steps for the system. Please
consult your EMSEAL field technician and the
complete installation instructions available on emseal.com).
Structural
expansion joints are design elements necessary for accommodating
movements within structures.
These movements are
caused by thermal changes, wind, dynamic loading and unloading, and
seismic forces. Even an enthusiastic, 42,000-fan-driven "wave" can
cause differential vertical deflection at stadium expansion joints.
Because expansion joints
bisect the entire structure, they are essentially a gap through every
element of the building--floors, walls, foundations, roofs, bathrooms,
suites, waterproofing, and structural supports. As such, these
gaps through the building must be made watertight and insulated while at
the same time must accommodate movement and traffic over the joint
material.
Stainless
steel coverplates take the traffic and protect the underlying
silicone/self-expanding foam sealant waterproofing and anchoring system
of EMSEAL's unique SJS SYSTEM.
The
SJS SYSTEM was chosen for Citifield as well as the new Yankee
Stadium and the new Meadowlands stadiums because it is watertight,
quiet, can handle 100% of nominal size movements, and features
non-invasive anchoring.
Continuity
of seal is the most overlooked aspect of expansion joint sealing.
EMSEAL's entire philosophy is driven by ensuring that joints do not leak
at changes in plane and direction--whether within one system or between
technologies.
Achieving water proof
expansion joints in complex structures like stadiums requires an
integrated approach where all of the stakeholders take responsibility
for their aspect of the work and communicate thoroughly throughout the
design and construction process.
Transitions from the tread
and riser joints in bowls to parapet walls is an area that exemplifies
the importance of technology selection that is capable of maintaining
watertightness. At left, EMSEAL's SJS SYSTEM transitions to
EMSEAL's SEISMIC COLORSEAL at a watertight transition.
In stadium concourses, the
SJS SYSTEM handles the high point loads of small-wheeled keg carts;
ice-filled, food and beverage concession wagons (right); fork
lifts, utility lifts and of course the millions of fan footfalls per
game.
Because the stainless steel coverplates are anchored to the
foam-suspended central spline of the SJS SYSTEM, there are no metal
contacts into the adjacent concrete. And, because the coverplates
ride on a cushion of EMSEAL's tough, resilient, but flexible and sound
attenuating polyurethane nosing material, the SJS SYSTEM is not only watertight
but arguably the quietest
seismic expansion joint available as well.
Transitions
from bowl-to-concourse and concourse-to-interior walls (left) all
require to be watertight. Not only does the SJS SYSTEM transition
to the
SEISMIC COLORSEAL in the walls, but within the run of the vertical
rise, color coordination with wall surface color changes is possible through a wide color range.
(Note:
Since completion of CitiField, EMSEAL has announced the availability of
EMSHIELD WFR2. This 2-hour UL fire-rated wall joint system
would look the same as in the picture to the left, but adds built-in
2-hour, life-safety, fire protection).
Color coordination of
SEISMIC COLORSEAL makes the expansion joint virtually invisible
between the dissimilar brick and curtain wall substrates in this
condition (right).
As in
SJS, non-invasive anchoring is a hallmark of SEISMIC COLORSEAL.
This feature makes it possible and practical to install at inside corner
conditions.
By contrast, older-technology
"strip-seal" systems that rely on aluminum receiving channels screwed
into the joint faces could not be expected to be watertight in these
conditions. Nor would strip seals insulate the joint at all.
SEISMIC COLORSEAL with an R-Value of 3.28 per inch of depth, not
only keeps the water out but HVAC in.
The finished installation
is aesthetically compatible, continuity of seal through the changes in
plane and direction is maintained, and the
SJS SYSTEM and
SEISMIC COLORSEAL ensure watertightness, while accommodating joint
movement free of tensile stresses within the expansion joint sealants
and free of any hard, brittle, noisy, metal-to-concrete anchors or connections.
Revenue loss in affected
concession areas, damage to equipment in storage rooms, disgruntled
athletes and suite patrons, and
exorbitant repair costs are all consequences of leaks at expansion
joints.
Elimination of these
problems in new sports, assembly, convention and performing arts venue construction as well as in retrofit of
existing structures is a central focus of EMSEAL's.
The approach is grounded
in an integrated, collaborative process centered on joint treatment that requires all
of these parties to
think, design,
detail, specify, construct, fabricate, and install
three-dimensional solutions.
Meet online now:
Expansion joints and
precompressed joint
sealants by EMSEAL
