On November 20th, the 2022 Qatar World Cup officially kicked off, with a total of 32 teams participating. This football feast will last until December 18th. The quality of the stadium has been plagued by the European Cup in 2016. Qatar does not want to be criticized similarly. It adopted a high-tech solution combining 3D printing and wind tunnel.
The core venue of the 2022 World Cup - Gulf Stadium
A total of eight stadiums will be used during the 2022 World Cup, seven of which were built from the ground up and five with built-in air conditioning. It is understood that Qatar stadiums cost as much as US$10 billion. With such a large investment, adequate preparations must be made in the early stage. Located in the Middle East, they need to be able to withstand the harsh desert climate of the Gulf countries.
As early as 6 years ago, scientists at Qatar University began to use 3D printing to make football field models for related tests. According to Saudi University engineering professor Sha Ghani, these stadiums will be used throughout the year after the 2022 World Cup.
The Qatar University team studied aerodynamics, changing the shape of the stadium to affect the dust, heat, and wind inside. First, 3D printing was used to make a 1:300 scale model of the stadium, which took about a month to assemble and then placed in a wind tunnel that blows smoke-filled air across the design, with laser beams tracking The whole is designed to measure internal turbulence.
3D printing panels for World Cup stadium model
In this way, each stadium was tested for design, aerodynamics, lighting, and resistance to the desert climate of Qatar, and any potential problems were identified, and the design of the stadium could be changed to obtain the best result.
According to the resource bank, several stadiums including Al-Bayt, Al-Wakrah, and Al-Thumama have adopted this method for testing and verification. In fact, this is not the first time Qatar has used 3D printing technology. On the eve of the World Cup, the country also produced its first 3D printing concrete structure: the Flag of Glory sculpture, representing different hands united to hold the Qatari flag aloft.
In addition, the Qatar 3D Printing and Digitalization Center, which will be designed and built using recycled materials such as PETG in 2021, is expected to become the world's largest 3D printing building.