2002 OLYMPIC CAULDRON: UPDATE

Following our story two weeks ago on the Olympic torch and cauldron, in which we explained how various companies were involved in their creation, we have received the following update.

The Olympic cauldron, which contained the Olympic flame during the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, was constructed primarily of transparent glass ceramic, for the first time in Olympic history. The 40,000Ib, 117-foot glass and steel statue
was designed to enable a flame to spiral up the middle of it. The cauldron used approximately 2000 square feet of glass ceramic, cut into intricate triangular shapes mounted on a metal frame. The structure was capped with a glass ceramic chalice, which held a 24-foot flame visible from across the valley. The cauldron was designed to embody the 2002 Olympic theme 'Light the Fire Within'. The Olympic torch, which travelled across the country prior to the Games, tied into the design of the cauldron.
Project Design: WetDesign, Inc, Universal City, CA
Contact: Jim Doyle
Tel: 818-769-6200
Web: http://www.wetdesign.com

The cauldron is constructed of a special type of glass ceramic material called Firelite. Firelite is an architectural glazing material specifically designed for use in fire-rated applications. It looks and acts like glass but is capable of resisting fire, similar to wired glass. Because it is ceramic, Firelite can withstand extreme cold or heat - even both at the same time - which made it the ideal choice for the cauldron's outdoor location. Since a flame travelled up the column supporting the cauldron, the Firelite was to be exposed to the heat of fire on one side and cold winter air and moisture on the other. Ordinary window glass would crack and shatter under those circumstances. At the same time, Firelite is clear and transparent, allowing outstanding visibility of the flame.

Firelite is manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass Co., Itd. in Japan and is distributed in North America by Technical Glass Products.

Glass: Firelite from Technical GIass Products, Kinkland, WA
Contact: Jeff Peabody
Tel: 253/661-7333
Email: mailto:jpeabody@brandner.com
Web: http:// www.fireglass.com

Laminated glass, which consists of a tough, protective interlayer sandwiched in between two panes of Firelite, was selected for the project because it provides some essential attributes. The laminate had to deliver specialised colours, safety and
security benefits.

Vanceva Design, the protective interlayer selected, was the only product on the market that was able to achieve the exact blue hue needed to meet the designer's interpretation of the 'fire and ice' theme.

Because the statue is extremely tall, safety and security are of paramount importance. If impacted, the glass will adhere to the plastic interlayer, instead of falling on people below. In the event of a larger catastrophe, such as an explosion, the glass would still tend to adhere to the metal frame of the sculpture instead of creating jagged shards of flying glass.

Laminate Provider: Solutia. Inc, St Louis, MO
Contact: Mark Montgomery
Tel: 314-674-8719
Email: mailto:mmont@solutia.com
Web: http://www.solutia.com

Even for a specialty laminator like Oldcastle, the cauldron presented some Olympic-sized challenges. The Fremont plant had never before laminated with Firelite glass, which is not as smooth as ordinary float glass. With some adjustments to the
plant processes, Oldcastle was able to produce 3,000 square feet of glass in five different configurations under an extremely tight deadline.
Laminator: Oldcastle Glass Group, Fremont CA
Contact Brian Frea or Barry Adams (plant)
Tel: 510-651-2292
Ted Hathaway, CEO, Oldcastle Glass Group
Tel: 310-264-4700(Santa Monica)

How Many People does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

Quite a few, if the 'light bulb' you are talking about happens to be the massive Olympic Cauldron, and the Olympic Torch which lights it, at the recent Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

We have so far rounded up stories from the following companies involved in its manufacture, but there are bound to be some more...


SCHOTT GLASS
(material written by Mary Frances Scott for Schott)

2002 Olympic Winter games: The Flame from Within

The torch carrying the Olympic flame to the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah is crowned with borosilicate glass from Schott.

Approximately 3.5 billion people around the world watched as the Olympic torch was carried into the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City in the USA. When the caldron was lit and the games were opened on February 8, 2002, the flame will have had quite a journey behind it. It will have been flown in a safety lantern on a charter flight from Athens to Atlanta, the site of the 1996 Games. From there it will have been carried by 11,500 torchbearers - including U.S. cyclist and three-time Olympian Lance Armstrong - on a 13,500 mile relay passing through 48 states. Countless spectators will have watched as the flame wound its way to the Games, few realizing the engineering and design behind it.

The Olympic Look

The torch design was conceived by Axium, a Los Angeles design firm which created the look of the entire Winter 2002 Games. The body was conceived to resemble ice in color and texture, making the torch a fiery icicle in motion. For the first time, the flame was not to burn on top of the torch, but to emerge from within, through a glass crown, echoing the theme of the Games: "Light the Fire Within."

Coleman, the U.S. camping equipment company known for its lanterns and other outdoor gear, was commissioned to manufacture the torch. Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, the company has been designing products to hold up to Mother Nature for a century and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The long experience making equipment for the unpredictable outdoors came in handy for the project.

So did the experience of Sam Shelton, associate professor in mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Shelton, who also engineered the torch used at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, was chosen by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee to transform the concept into an artistic and well-functioning instrument. Shelton and Coleman immediately identified the crown as a unique engineering challenge.

Coleman turned to its supplier Schott Scientific Glass in Parkersburg, West Virginia to solve the problem. After some initial research it became clear that Schott Boral in Pula, Croatia was best suited to fill the order.

The design called for a crown with an asymmetrical shape and icy texture, which would not break easily if dropped, and which could also stand up to both the heat of the flame and below-freezing ambient temperatures at the same time. Low-expansion borosilicate glass with its thermal shock properties and impact resistance made it the best choice.

The crowns were manufactured using a non-rotation blown-ware operation. While the base is pressed in a mold and therefore uniform from torch to torch, the top of the crown has been made to resemble a melting icicle, an artistic touch achieved by grinding the top edges and fire-polishing every crown, making each of the over 11,500 crowns produced an original.

Burner System from Coleman

Keeping the flame burning strong and bright throughout the relay was the primary focus for the engineering team. Coleman's objective was to manufacture a valve and burner system that would prevent the flame from being extinguished under widely varying weather conditions, such as temperatures well below 0°F and as high as 80°F, gusting winds up to 50 mph, heavy rain and high altitudes. Of course the flame also had to be highly visible.

"We are using a butane and propylene fuel mixture in order to give the flame a yellow luminous color that can be seen well by spectators," said Randy May, Technical Director of Engineering and Design at Coleman. "A pressure regulator ensures the consistent flow of fuel regardless of temperatures or altitude."

Each torchbearer carries the torch for about 20 minutes, so weight was another important consideration. "The center section of the body is made of aluminum with an aged look," said Shelton "while the bottom part has a highly-polished finish, made of a chrome-plated plastic to keep the weight down." In all, the torch weighs around three pounds and is almost three feet long.

Have a look at Schott's very good online magazine (English language version) at:

http://www.schott.com/magazine/english/

TECHNICAL GLASS PRODUCTS

More than meets the Eye: the Secret of the Olympic Cauldron

After judging scandals, controversial calls and dramatic plot twists, it seems the 2002 Winter Games have one more bombshell. The now very familiar icon of the whole event, the dramatic glass cauldron, has its own secret to tell: It's not really glass.

Can it be true? Is nothing sacred? What the world has taken for granted the past two weeks turns out to be one more example of how things may not be as they first appear. However, in this case, reality actually turns out to be better than the illusion.

Here is the real story: Designers of the cauldron wanted the chalice to be clear to maximize the view of the 24 ft. flame across the valley. Rather than simply show the top of the flame, they wanted the entire fire to be visible. But traditional glass cannot tolerate temperature extremes, such as the type created by an intense fire on one side and cold Utah air on the other. Under those conditions, glass doesn't know whether to expand or contract, so instead it shatters and falls.

What to do? The designers called Technical Glass Products (TGP) of Kirkland, Washington. Since 1988, TGP has specialized in the unique relationship between glass and fire, and they knew just the solution to the dilemma. The answer came in a product called FireLite(r) - a visually clear fire-rated material that is normally used in schools, hospitals and commercial buildings where fire protection is needed.

FireLite is not glass at all, but is actually a high-tech transparent ceramic. Known for its tremendous ability to withstand heat, ceramic can be found in everything from kitchen cook tops to car engines. That same characteristic has now been preserved in transparent form. FireLite looks like ordinary window glass, yet it has been furnace tested to endure temperatures beyond 1,600° F.

The Olympic cauldron required 2,000 square feet of FireLite. Each of the triangular shapes in the spiraling helix under the cauldron took two pieces of FireLite, laminated together with a blue interlayer in between to achieve the "fire and ice" theme. The large chalice atop the cauldron holding the flame is really a bowl within a bowl -- an inner bowl of FireLite surrounded by a larger bowl of laminated FireLite for safety purposes. The outer bowl is bathed with water to keep the plastic laminate from being destroyed by the heat. As a result, the designers were able to create the look and feel they wanted without actually using a single piece of glass.

"We were thrilled to have the opportunity to help with such a historic project," stated Jerry Razwick, president of Technical Glass Products. "People may not know it when they look at the cauldron, but FireLite scored an Olympic achievement."

For more information, visit TGP's website at www.fireglass.com

VANCEVA - SOLUTIA

Solutia's solution at Salt Lake

The Cauldron, which was used to light the flame at the Salt Lake City opening ceremonies on February 8, is constructed of a type of glass, for the first time in history. The 40,000 lb, 117-foot glass statue is designed to enable a flame to spiral up the middle of it. The Cauldron uses approximately 2000 square feet of glass, cut into intricate triangular shapes mounted on a metal frame. Laminated glass, which consists of a tough, protective interlayer sandwiched in between two panes of glass, was selected for the project because it provides some essential attributes. The laminate had to deliver specialized colors, safety and security benefits.

Solutia's Vanceva™ Design, the protective interlayer selected, was the only product on the market that was able to achieve the exact blue hue needed to meet the designer's interpretation of the "fire and ice" theme.

Because the statue is extremely tall, safety and security are of paramount importance. If impacted, the glass will adhere to the plastic interlayer, instead of falling on people below. In the event of a larger catastrophe, such as an explosion, the glass would still tend to adhere to the metal frame of the sculpture instead of creating jagged shards of flying glass.

Solutia's films and glass products can be found at this url

http://www.solutia.com/films/pages/

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Enduring Tradition, Modern Technology

As the over 11,000 relay participants and countless spectators escort the flame along America's highways, roads and trails, the ancient tradition will be perpetuated and celebrated, with the advantages of modern engineering.

Come rain or shine, the flame will be a symbol for the enduring passion to compete and excel shared by athletes from around the world and passed from ancient to modern times.

The Origin of the Olympic Flame

The Olympic flame originated during the ancient Olympic Games and represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

The modern Olympic Torch relay was conceived in 1936. The journey begins at the ancient site of Olympia, where women wearing ancient-style robes harness the sun using a curved mirror according to ancient tradition.

The flame is then passed from runner to runner to the host city, where the flame is kept alight until the Games have concluded.

Not usually 'glass'

Jim Doyle, the project designer for Wet Design, who secured the design job for the cauldron agreed that it was highly unusual. Past Olympic cauldrons were made of steel or stainless steel.

'I knew pretty much what was available in normal glass for high-temperature use, and I was looking for something more,' Doyle said, so he tracked down Razwick. 'We were asked by the Olympics to keep fairly quiet about it.'

Wet Design won the contract for the Winter Olympics by coming up with the see-through concept that involved assembling more than 700 pieces of the ceramic glass for the large cauldron and more than 50 pieces on the small one. They cost about $2.4 million, Doyle said.

The job eventually involved about 12 companies, said Razwick, the North American distributor for Nippon Electric Glass.

Normal glass will handle temperatures up to 250 degrees before cracking and shattering, while Nippon's FireLite can withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees.

It comes at a cost. Typical glass costs about $12 a square foot, Razwick said, while FireLite ranges from $30 to more than $200 a square foot.

More on Firelite and NEG's other glass types for the building sector click here