Interesting Facts & Challenges of Burj Khalifa You Don't Know

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1 Interesting Facts & Challenges of Burj Khalifa You Don’t Know
- 1.1 Challenges in Engineering Burj Khalifa
- 1.2 Interesting Facts about Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa is a masterpiece which is a result of amazing engineering and hard work. Its journey starts with human impossible looking ambitions. The idea of constructing a huge building or more precisely the world’s tallest building has to conquer many challenges. We have explained these challenges and some interesting facts of this skyscraper in this post. Read>

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Interesting Facts & Challenges of Burj Khalifa You Don’t Know

From its architecture, designing, choice of materials used during its construction and maintenance, Burj Khalifa is unique as compared with any skyscraper. Therefore, there are many stories and interesting facts describing this unique structure.

In Dubai, till now, there are 18 completed tall buildings which rise above 300 meters (984 ft) in height. This number is more than any other country in the world. However, looking at the hot climate of Dubai, this seems very much impossible. But, anything is possible in this world if you are ready to pay for it.

Challenges in Engineering Burj Khalifa

There were many challenges in engineering Burj Khalifa. We tried to explain the maximum challenges which came during the construction of this skyscraper. But, in reality, there were many more which cannot be explained in this short post. The major challenges are:-

Climate

Dubai is very hot during the daytime, and temperatures rise above 45-degree Celsius. At these temperatures, concrete sets too early and finally cracks. So, it was impossible to carry out construction in the daytime. Therefore, it was decided to do all the concrete work in the night. Ice was also mixed with concrete to rule out this problem.

Wind

In UAE, the wind speed on an average is 12 km/h but can rise as high as 80 km/h. For any skyscraper, wind can pose a serious problem. Burj Khalifa is such designed that can nullify the wind effect on this building. To properly understand and nullify these effects of wind, about 40 wind tunnel tests were conducted by its design team.

Water

Water is the must for any construction project. But, in this giant building, ultra-high power motors are needed to supply the water. This is due to the height of the building. Also, one single giant water pump cannot be used here because of the high-pressure to force the water up. This pressure would be dangerous for Burj Khalifa. Therefore, to solve this problem, water is pumped into a series of tanks.

Construction

Construction, on the whole, was a challenge for the engineers. A lot of research was done and this took place without stopping the construction work. There were many difficult tasks and problems in the construction process of this building. First of all, engineers decided the materials used in construction to give the building the needed strength. Then, they worked on the methods to lay concrete and pump concrete from the ground level to unimaginable heights. They built specialized cranes to lay concrete. They had to decide the height of the building also and had to make sure that it beats the record of the world’s tallest building.

Stack effect

The stack effect can be felt only in very high-rise buildings. However, this is there in small buildings and houses but the effect cannot be felt. This effect causes cracks in the skyscrapers due to the intense pressure of the movement of air. It is a well-known fact that hot air is lighter than cold air. Thus, the hot air rises to the top of the building leaving the cold air to settle in the bottom. Thereby, the bottom of the building faces intense pressure and finally cracks the foundation. Thus, it can lead to complete collapse of the building.

To solve this problem, the building required a system to move the hot air out of the building. Burj Khalifa uses air duct system to make this effect less pronounce and to move the hot air out of the building.

Condensation

Condensation is another problem in this building. Due to Dubai’s hot and humid climate, several cooling systems are employed in the building. Due to condensation, there is the production of a large amount of about 15 million gallons of water yearly. Engineers decided to design a separate piping system to collect and drain this water in the basement parking garage.

Labor Safety & Miscellaneous Risks

When this building started rising high, the risk of the lives of the labor increased. Also, it was very difficult for the workers to work in such high temperatures. Furthermore, It was very important to rule out the problems regarding fire safety and other emergency situations.

At the topmost point of the building, all the labors refused to work. No one was ready to risk their lives. So, the engineers decided to work on their own to finish the work of the Burj Khalifa.

Elevators

Elevators were a big problem in the Burj Khalifa. Imagine, you are standing in a lift and waiting for one hour in the lift to reach to the top of the building. Thus, there was a great need to minimize the time spent in the elevator to reach from bottom to the top of the building. To solve this problem, Engineers designed special elevators which took nearly one minute to reach the topmost level of the building.

Inside Temperature of Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa was inhabitable because of the high inside temperatures. Engineers worked out on several plans to reduce the inside temperatures of this skyscraper. One plan was to design reflecting glasses which reflect the UV and infrared rays from the sun and thus, minimizes the inside temperatures of the Burj Khalifa. This building was covered fully with these specialized glasses. Covering this building with glass was also a challenge for the labors because of the winds. There was a lot of risk to the lives of the labors while placing the glass in the right place.

Interesting Facts about Burj Khalifa

There are many interesting facts about Burj Khalifa. These are:-

General Facts

The original name of this building was Burj Dubai. Later, to offer tribute to the head of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, It was renamed, Burj Khalifa.
If you’re assuming that Burj Khalifa holds only a single world record for being the tallest building in the world, then you’re wrong. Burj Khalifa holds six other World Records, thus, a total of seven Guinness world records are for this building.

Guinness World Records of Burj Khalifa

Tallest Building of the World – 828 meters. (the second was Shanghai Tower, China)
Tallest man-made structure on the land ever.
Highest residential apartments – 385 meters (the second was John Hancock Centre Chicago – 343.5 meters)
Most stories in a building – 163 (35 stories taller than Shanghai Tower, China)
The highest restaurant in the world – 441 meters
Tallest elevator – 504 meters (Elevator takes approximately one minute to reach to the top)
Highest observation deck in the world- 555.7 meters (Canton Tower, China – 488 meters)

Facts Regarding Design & Construction of Burj Khalifa

This building design was a challenge and its design was inspired by Hymenocallis flower.
The construction work was started in 2004 and completed in 20o9. This building officially inaugurated on January 4, 2010.
431,600 cubic yards of concrete was used to build this tower which is equivalent to 100,000 elephants and Over 58,900 cubic yards of concrete was used to construct the foundation.
Construction took approximately 22 million man-hours.

Facts Regarding Water System of Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa uses approximately 249,908 gallons of water. The people residing in this tower uses approximately 400 gallons of water per day.
Due to condensation, there is the production of about 15 million gallons of water yearly.
Due to hot temperatures of Dubai, the incoming water has to be pre-cooled before supply to the tower.
The complete water system is soundproofed, so guests will not be disturbed and annoyed by the water sound.

We hope that you liked this post on Burj Khalifa. Visit this place and if you know more interesting facts about this tower then, comment below. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and loved ones via social media – Facebook, Twitter, etc.