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- Downpours beaten
- Lead law' update
- Reality check
- On the hunt
- Health check
- Survey results
- Fire goes green
- Double dipping
- Flow reduction
- UK farming misery
- Bugs eating through fat
- 'Super' solution
- Luxury goes green
- O2 overcomes, too
- Norway shows the way
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- Harsh environment
- Democracy brings water
- Government leads the way
- Extracting oil from stand
- Heat Pumps: The new era
- Sao Paulo's hotel unique
- Masquerading dummies
- Testing times 'down-under'
- iFlush: The digital revolution
- Much more to good design
- New lead policy
- India's modern sanitation
- Fire suppression systems
- From Hutong to high-rise
- Attracting woman engineers
- Contemplating the future
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Downpours attacked with uplifting results.
Construction in the Asia Pacific
tropics can create a plumbing nightmare for engineers due to
monsoonal weather patterns.
During the Malaysian summer monsoon
season, from mid-November to March, it is
common for rainfall of up to 11in (28cm) to
occur on several consecutive days.
The Asia Pacific region is home to
about 60% of the world’s population, and
atmospheric increase in carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide has affected the
region’s rainfall pattern.
Predictive models from the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research
Organization indicate an impending increase
in rainfall throughout much of the region. The
summer monsoon season will experience
more rain, and there will be less in the winter
monsoon season.
Further studies have indicated the potential
for tropical cyclones that are more intense.
With the possibility of increased rainfall, many
new buildings in the region are adopting Syfonic
roof drainage (SRD) by Syfon Systems. SRD uses
the difference in water levels between the gutter
and the discharge point to initiate siphonic action.
SRD also substantially reduces the number
of downpipes required for projects.
Syfon Systems managing director Adam
Bellgrove says increased rainfall in tropical
climates due to global warming has made
Syfon’s move into Malaysia in the late 1990s
highly successful. “We have completed many high-profile
projects,” he says.
“Our technology allows SRD to be
installed using a wide variety of materials,
including stainless steel and high-density
polyethylene (HDPE).
“HDPE pipe material is widely used by
SRD and is becoming the material of choice
compared with uPVC, as it is considered a
more durable, superior and environmentally
friendly material.
“Our engineers use Syfon’s proprietary
software to produce a omprehensive analysis
of all project drainage requirements, ensuring
individual project design is addressed and
customized to specific drainage needs.”
Once SRD is installed, rainwater is collected
via siphonic gutter inlets and reticulated through
a common pipe that is designed to run level. The
main difference is that a conventional pipe runs
at only one-third of its capacity, or even less.
Compared with a conventional downpipe
system, SRD offers a more efficient drainage
solution using reduced pipe sizes, which allows
easier coordination with other services in the
ceiling space.
“The system also offers environmental
benefits, as it is able to cost effectively harvest
clean stormwater from roofs, and separate the
dirty water from car parks.
SRD has been incorporated into many
Malaysian projects, among them the Putrajaya
International Convention Center, the Kuala
Lumpur International Airport, IKEA, the Kuala
Lumpur Convention Center, and the recently
completed Sunway Pyramid Extension.
The Sunway Pyramid Extension was built
beside the Sunway Pyramid shopping center
in Kuala Lumpur. The car park roof deck of
the seven-story shopping center has a total
catchment area of about 18,000 square yards
(15,000m²), and project engineers had to
design an efficient drainage system to handle
the turbulent weather.
“The land sloped severely away from the
front of the property where the entrance of
the existing mall was, which resulted in many
challenges for the Syfon Systems team of
in-house design engineers, installers and joint
contractors,” Bellgrove says.
The original design for the Sunway Pyramid
Extension had the roof rainwater running
through a conventional drainage system.
This system was to lead into a series of large
pipes that ran down each column of the
building, joining at the intermediate floors
before flowing to the back of the property
where a tank collection system was to
be located.
The stored rainwater was then to be pumped
by two high-performance pumps to culvert
drains at the front of the property, about 150
yards (140m) away.
“Our engineers recognized that using SRD for
this project would allow greater efficiencies and
offer large cost savings for the client.
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