Hydraulic Cylinders Enable Artistic Architecture at University | Case Study
A massive engineering and design collaboration have brought the vision of world-renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava Valls to life in Lakeland, Florida. The new Innovation, Science and Technology (IST) Building at Florida Polytechnic University will serve as the central building for the campus of Florida’s newest state institution, dedicated to a curriculum of science, technology, engineering, and math. It houses classrooms, auditoriums, administrative offices, common areas and a number of cutting-edge laboratories; including a Supercomputer and Student Data Center, a Visualization and Technology Collaboration Lab, and a Rapid Application Development Makerspace Lab with 3D printing capabilities. The $60 million, two-story building also includes a system of 94 louvered arms that raise and lower to track the sun above a glass roof.
Each louver is manipulated by a Parker Series 2HB Mill-Type hydraulic cylinder. The custom application required five different sized cylinders, with larger cylinders for the longer louvers at the center of the roof and smaller cylinders for the shorter louvers at the ends.
“We are pleased to have supported this highly customized cylinder application with full integration capabilities and precise engineering,”
Tad Brown, cylinder application engineer, Parker Hannifin Cylinder Division
Specifying assembly to design
Specified by Parker distributor Atlantic Hydraulic Systems, based in Shirley, N.Y., each cylinder was assembled with integrated cartridge valves on a manifold, which was bolted to the cap and plumbed to the head end of the cylinder. Further, a spherical rod eye was installed at the rod end, and the entire cylinder was painted to match the remainder of the structure. This full integration, along with special pressure decay testing, was all accomplished within Parker’s Cylinder Division in Goodland, Indiana.
The cylinders act independently from one another and can manipulate the louvers to provide shade and artistic motion. The louvers were designed to eventually accommodate a system of photovoltaic tape to generate power for the campus. Each louver arm is engineered with the capability of a maximum upright position of 65 degrees above the horizontal plane and a maximum lowered position of 48 degrees below the horizontal plane. Traveling the full 113-degree distance takes about 10 minutes.
Construction of the 162,000 square foot IST building took 28 months and was completed by Skanska USA. Headquartered in New York, Skanska USA is one of the largest construction and development companies in the country with expertise in construction, civil infrastructure, public-private partnerships and commercial development initiatives in select U.S. markets. Florida Polytechnic welcomed students for the inaugural day of classes on August 25, 2014. The University offers six undergraduate degree programs with 19 unique areas of concentration and two masters degree programs in the College of Engineering and the College of Innovation and Technology.
Proven design built to industry standards
The 2HB cylinder design in long-stroke industrial applications is an engineering breakthrough that is expected to extend service life, reduce downtime, increase throughput and ultimately increase the profitability of industries requiring stroke lengths over five feet. For OEMs incorporating cylinders into heavy-duty industrial equipment and machines or into apparatus where design aesthetics are important, the 2HB Series of non-tie-rod cylinders offer several differentiating benefits for competitive advantage.
Learn more about the benefits of non-tie-rod hydraulic cylinders and how they can improve performance in your heavy-duty, long-stroke industrial applications – download our Long-Stroke Industrial Cylinder Performance white paper.
For more information on the award-winning IST building and the new Florida Polytechnic University, visit their website.
Article contributed by Bruce Kohlmeyer, engineer manager, Parker Cylinder Division.
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Source: Parker Feed
