Case Studies: Supplying T5
Cooper B-Line working in partnership with BAA during the Heathrow Terminal 5 project, supplied over 1,350 Access racks along with numerous racks from the IP54 Range for the baggage area and various locations across the site.
Initially there was no special technical specification for baggage handling enclosures. The original spec called for standard Access IP20 cabinets. Upon installation and testing of prototype cabinets it was found by Cooper B-Line that the switches inside the cabinet were being blocked by dust pollutant present in the working atmosphere. Cooper B-Line subsequently proposed the use of the CBL IP54 enclosure to address the dust pollutant present in baggage handling applications. This solved the ingress problem but due to the sealing of the cabinet a temperature control system was required to keep the operating temperature of the equipment mounted inside the cabinet between working limits.
BAA supplied information regarding the power dissipation of the equipment, the ambient temperature of the working environment and any solar gain that could effect the internal temperature of the cabinet. Cooper B-Line used this variable information and calculated the heat dissipation required.
Due to air conditioning being used inside the room, a simple filtration inlet positioned at the bottom of the front door and fan pull system positioned at the top of the rear door was found to be required and subsequently designed and modelled using CFD software.
Additional control was designed in with the introduction of thermostatic control for the fans. This gave BAA control as to what temperature the fans operated, and minimised power usage.
The T5 terminal at Heathrow airport was a major construction project involving numerous trades and skills and required a great deal of project management to make sure the total project ran to schedule. In the early part of a project of this size every company is on a learning curve and delays on completion invariably occur. Cooper B-Line rose to this challenge and were able to accommodate the ever changing situation which can occur on a project of this size. Our team at Highbridge have a wide experience in project management including planning, scheduling and logistical support.
The airport opened on time in March 2008 and Cooper B-Line are pleased to say "We helped with the building of T5"