bauelemente water,our element€¦ · multipurpose pool’s area. a so-called trailing ramp is...

BauelementeWater, our Element

We bring variety to your swimming pool

CompanyBauelemente

2

~ Company~ Moving Floors

LSB FloorsMZB FloorsKSB FloorsISB Floors

~ Pool DividersLifting WallsHinged WallsBulkheadsrunningfloating

~ Accessories

The company KBE Bauelemente wasfounded in 1965 with the aim to deve-lop and design facilities that permit thewater depth to be adjusted in swim-ming pools for schools.The “height-adjustable intermediate floor” was created - only later referred to asmoving floor.

During the initial years, moving floorswere operated oil-hydraulically. Despiteusing synthetic oils, it was not alwayspossible to avoid problems generallycaused by leaks. Subsequently, electro-mechanically operated systems wererapidly developed and were introducedto the market in 1972.These movingfloor systems have been constantly up-dated, supplemented and patented.Theyare not only very reliable but also sim-ple and robust in terms of conceptualdesign.

From 1980 KBE started to sell movingfloor systems worldwide and for manydifferent applications - for public andprivate pools, for hospitals and therapycentres, for special schools and univer-sities.

Further developments have been addedover the course of time. Swimmingpools were meant to be variable notonly in terms of their water depth, butalso in terms of their length.This wasachieved by means of fixed pool divi-ders and movable bulkheads.

Today these facilities are manufactured,pre-assembled and tested at two pro-duction lines and an additional assemblyhall (with a roofed area of approximate-ly 1800 m²).The construction compo-nents (pool facilities) are assembled byour own personnel throughout theworld.

Throughout the European mainland, thecomponents are shipped by road onlorries; overseas shipping is containerusing the new container port inWilhelmshaven.

You will find KBE agencies in Sweden,the UK, Holland, France and the US.This network of consultants is expan-ded continuously.

Moving FloorsSpindle Floors

3~ Company~ Moving Floors



~ Accessories

Basically, moving floors are used toadjust the pool water to variousdepths. It therefore becomes possibleto reduce the number of pools design-ed for different purposes: as a pool forswimmers, non-swimmers or even as apool for swimming lessons.

This allows operators to offer all kindsof opportunities for swimming or lear-ning to swim, within an organised pro-gramme.

This advantage has been seized upon byarchitects and operators alike, which iswhy almost every newly built swimmingpool is equipped with at least onemoving floor.

This is almost standard practice inGermany, Holland and the UK.

Moving floors have become common inpublic swimming pools, however suchsystems are also installed in some pri-vate swimming pools. Here the movingfloor is usually finished with the samesurface as the pool surround so that auniform surface is created when themoving floor is lifted level to the pool-side.This space can then be used for

other purposes.

KBE’s moving floors are distinguishedaccording to the following types:

Floors for teaching pools(LSB floors),floors for multipurpose pools(MZB floors),moving floors for pools for children,senior citizens and people with a handi-cap(KSB floors), andinner spindle floors(ISB floors).

3

Moving FloorsFloors for Training Pools

4




~ Accessories

Floors for teaching pools (LSB floors)were originally designed for swimmingpools used by schools. Such pools areusually used by schools until middayand are then opened to the generalpublic or swimming clubs later on inthe day.

LSB floors have the same dimensions asthe corresponding pool, usually thewater depth can be set to between 0.3and 1.8 or 2.0 m.

At times when the pool is not used, themoving floor can be raised up to 3 cmabove the water level, thereby coveringthe water surface and saving heatingand ventilation costs.

It is also possible to tilt the movingfloor by up to 6 % relative to the longi-tudinal direction. At least 2 waterdepth indicators are prescribed for thispurpose: one for the minimum and onefor the maximum water depth.

The LSB floors are operated from aspace outside the pool, usually fromone of the two ends by means of twocoupled bevel gear systems.

Couplings connect the output shafts ofthe gears to stuffing-box shafts.Theyare going through the pool walls anddrive horizontal shafts, which lift orlower the moving floor relative to theadjusted tilt angle of the supports andrelative to the direction of rotation.

Since the floor is also used to coverthe water surface, the insulating glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) surfacecomposed of individual supporting ele-ments, is the most suitable material.

Any colour may be chosen for the floorsurface.

Moving FloorsFloors for MultipurposePools




~ Accessories

Floors for multipurpose pools (MZBfloors) are installed in larger pools aspartial moving floors, enabling the poolto be used for different activities at thesame time.Various exercises, activitiesor therapies can be carried out at re-duced water depth, while the othersection of the pool is available to swimmers.When the MZB floor is fullylowered, the entire pool is transformedinto a pure swimming pool.A popularapproach is to use the moving floor toadjust the basin depth to a third of themultipurpose pool’s area.

A so-called trailing ramp is commonlyprovided as a barrier to prevent peoplefrom swimming underneath the floor. Itis fastened to the moving floor bymeans of hinges and rolls on to thebottom of the pool.A lifting or hingedwall, or one of the two bulkhead ver-sions, may also be used instead how-ever.

It is possible to tilt the MZB floor inthe direction of this barrier by up to6 % using an additional motor unit.

The floor is driven electro-mechanicallyaccording to the screw-actuated lifting

principle, as described for the LSB floor- in this case, it is generally done fromeither of the two side walls of the basinhowever.

Generally speaking, the MZB floor isnot used to cover the water surface.For this reason, the surface of the floorcan be made of slip-resistant stainlesssteel components as an alternative tothe glass-fibre reinforced plastic surface,including the trailing ramp.

The individual stainless steel compo-nent sections are bolted together witha gap of 6 mm, and this also applies toglass-fibre reinforced surfaces. This cre-ates a zone for the free exchange ofwater during moving floor operations,also facilitating the circulation of poolwater required by the facilities forwater treatment (amounting to approx-imately 1.5 to 2 % of the moving floorarea).

5

Moving FloorsFor children,senior citizensand disabled people

6




~ Accessories

We call these types of moving floorsKSB lifting floors.They are mostly usedfor smaller pools and cover the entirewater surface. In some cases they arealso used as partial moving floors.However, this is only for the purpose ofsaving space with a vertically anchoredbarrier, which is sunk into a recess inthe pool floor when the moving floor islowered.

The KSB moving floor is driven by atleast four vertical spindles.These spin-dles are located in stainless steel hou-sings and are installed opposite oneanother in recesses within the sidewalls.They are mechanically linked anddriven by a geared electric motor lo-cated outside the pool. Depending onthe direction of rotation of the motorand the lifting screws, the lifting floorplatform is raised or lowered.

KBE developed the corner spindle floorespecially for smaller lifting floors andfor pools that were subsequently to beretro-fitted with a moving floor. For thistype, four vertical spindles are installedin triangular spindle fittings which arepositioned in the four corners of thepool.The floor section is then posi-

tioned on to the support arms. One ofthese components projects from eachspindle fitting.The pool contractor onlyneeds to drill two tapping holes with adiameter of 150 mm through the poolwalls according to our specifications.

KSB pools are frequently designed asfreeform basins for added interest, andKSB moving floors can also be installedin these types of pools.

There are examples of round, octago-nal, triangular or trapezoidal basin con-tours with lifting floors.

Moving FloorsInner Spindle Floors




~ Accessories

Inner spindle floors (ISB floors) repre-sent our most recent developmentwhich has been patented.They werecreated for the installation of movingfloors for high diving pools of relativelysmall dimensions with a lifting distanceof up to 5 m.We have called thesefloors inner spindle floors because aspindle is located inside a tubular sup-port leg.As it is electro-mechanicallydriven outward, the support legs areextended. Depending on the movingfloor’s size, the support legs may bearranged in two, three or four rowswith four support legs respectively.

The electro-mechanical drive unit forthe ISB floor is situated outside thepool.As is the case for the othersystem described here, the floor is dri-ven via passages, corresponding to thenumber of support leg rows, goingthrough the pool wall and using stuffingboxes, which are sealed-in waterproofafter assembly.

The drive shafts synchronously drivefixed gear units.These, in turn, drive thespindles inside the support legs out-ward our inward to either lift or lowerthe moving floor according to the

direction of rotation.

If required, grilles can be inserted intothe ISB floor to operate bubblersystems that are installed within thebasin floor and assigned to the variousdiving boards and platforms.

Alternatively, the bubbler systems canbe integrated into the lifting floor sur-face for use at various water depths.

7

Pool DividersWalls and Bulkheads

8




~ Accessories

If pools need to be divided into twounits, fixed or movable pool dividersare deployed.

There are two different designs toachieve this. Stationary pool dividersare defined as either lifting walls or hinged walls. Both designs permit twopredefined pool dimensions.

The movable pool dividers are collecti-vely referred to as bulkheads or booms.Here we differentiate between runningand floating bulkheads. Bulkheads canbe used to sdivide the available poollength into different sections accordingto requirements and use.

All pool dividers are driven electro-mechanically except the floating bulk-head, which is operated manually.Optionally, pool dividers can be fur-nished with glass-fibre reinforced shee-ting that is aligned with the tiles usedfor the pool itself in terms of style andcolour or (except for floating bulk-heads) with stainless steel sections.

Pool dividers have lanes at either sidematching the lanes used in the remai-ning pool area in terms of colour, width

and alignment.

For partial moving floors, bulkheads(booms) can also be used as a barrierto prevent people from swimmingunderneath the floor instead of a trai-ling ramp.

Pool dividers comply with the safetyrequirements according to theEuropean Standard EN 13451.11 com-bined with part 1, as well as the pre-viously described moving floors.

Pool DividersLifting Walls




~ Accessories

Lifting walls consist of a stainless steelframe that is finished with fibre-rein-forced or stainless steel sections.Thewidth of the lifting walls is determinedby customers’ individual requirementsand specifications. It should not be lessthan 1.0 m however so that they mayalso be used as a catwalk connectingthe two long walls of the pool. Usuallythe lifting wall is lifted to 30 cm abovethe water level at its uppermost posi-tion and is aligned with the basin floorwhen it is moved to its lowest position.Reaching the bottom position is opti-cally indicated by two illuminated picto-grams.

To permit complete immersion of thelifting wall, the manufacturer of the poolmust provide a recess of matchingdepth. In this respect, it does not mat-ter whether the pool is made of con-crete, stainless steel or glass-fibre rein-forced material.

The frame structure is of torsion andbend resistant design (to minimisedeflection) and the lifting wall is additio-nally equipped with guide rollers at thefacing side, which run in the guide railsalong the long walls of the pool.

Fastening anchors can be attached toone or both sides of the wall for racinglane lines.

At the request of the customer, it isalso possible to provide sockets on thelifting wall for temporary use of startingblocks, as well as a cable channel for anelectronic timing system.

The lifting walls are driven electro-mechanically from one of the two longi-tudinal walls of the pool.The lifting pro-cess is carried out by two verticalspindles for lifting walls up to 10 mlong. Longer lifting walls are equippedwith a horizontal spindle drive similarto the drive for MZB and LSB liftingfloors.The type of drive used for ISBfloors is also suitable for special cases.

9

Pool DividersHinged Walls

10




~ Accessories

Hinged walls are used either as pooldividers, dividing components or as asealing facility: namely within the swim-ming channels connecting inner andouter pool. During periods when theyare not in use, the walls rest flat withina recess in the pool floor and are rais-ed upright into a 90° vertical positionwhen required.The recess in the poolfloor must be as deep as the hingedwall is high, and the same width as thehinged wall is wide.The hinged wallsare manufactured as slim as possible toreduce the depth of the recess accor-dingly.The dimensions for hinged wallwidths range between 20 and 30 cm,which depends on the length of thehinged wall.

The hinged wall consists of bend-resi-stant torsion box of stainless steel withreinforced ribs (also of stainless steel)arranged diagonally on top to minimisedeflection. Optionally these ribs arecovered with either glass-fibre rein-forced or stainless steel elements.

The wall is driven from outside thepool by one or two motor units depen-ding on the length of the hinged wall.The drive shaft is conducted through a

stuffing box and is permanently connec-ted to the torsion box.The time requi-red for folding the wall down or raisingit up is approx. 3 minutes.

Because hinged walls are constructedas slim as possible they cannot be usedfor walking on, however they can be fit-ted with anchors for attaching the star-ting line. For this reason, each facingside of the hinged wall provides amanually operated locking mechanism.It establishes a firm connection to thefacing walls of the basin. On request,this locking mechanism can also besupplied as an electro-mechanically dri-ven design. In this case, the mechanismis driven from the side of the pool sur-round. Reaching the bottom position isoptically indicated by two illuminatedpictograms.

The hinged wall is controlled by meansof a control panel which is suppliedoptionally as a surface-mounted or con-cealed design and should be installed inclose vicinity to the hinged wall if possi-ble.

Pool DividersBulkheads, running




~ Accessories

Running bulkheads consist of bend andtorsion resistant stainless steel con-struction designed to minimise deflec-tion.They are supplied either withglass-fibre reinforced or stainless steelsections.The bulkheads are providedwith resting step positions at both sideswhich are aligned with the resting steppositions of the pool.They are alwaysdesigned with recessed resting steppositions - regardless of whether thepool has a recessed step position or aprojecting step position.

The drive unit consists of a DC motorwith a voltage of 24 or 42 volts.Thismotor drives gear trains via two cardanshafts or (depending on the design ofthe tooth rails) via two bevel gearsystems.The gear trains then enablemovement of the bulkheads.Two pairsof stainless steel rails are located in thepool.These rails are either sunk flushinto the pool floor or the standingsteps at the perimeter. Plastic wheelsets with rocker bearings run on theserail pairs.They transfer the weight ofthe bulkhead onto the pool construc-tion via the respective rails.The widthof the rails is aligned with the width ofthe tiles used so that the tile pattern is

not disturbed.A part of the rail’s widthis furnished with teeth that mesh withthe gear wheel of the bulkhead.

Power is supplied via a temporarycable, which is connected by means ofplug-connectors as is the control panel.Distance covered and individual stoppoints are detected by the number ofmotor revolutions. For this reason it ispossible to change the stop points sub-sequently as required. Because thetransmission ratio is so high, the bulk-head is locked in every stop positionand secured against sliding by means ofthe gear wheels meshing with toothedrail.

Depending on its width, the bulkheadcan be equipped with one or two rowsof starting blocks. If required, the bulk-head can also be supplied with a cablechannel for an electronic timing system.The cable channel is always protectedby a grid cover.

11

Pool DividersBulkheads, floating

12




~ Accessories

A floating bulkhead is made purely ofplastic components up to 7 m in length,which are assembled in the drainedpool.Two stainless steel longitudinalbeams are also included in the con-struction to reduce vertical and hori-zontal deviation.As the pool is filledwith water, the bulkhead starts to floatand can be pulled into its parking posi-tion. Here the excess air is vented fromthe inner air chambers so that theshoulders projecting from the frontside of the bulkhead come to rest onthe edge of the basin. Lock bolts areused to secure the bulkhead againstdisplacement when it is in its positionfor use.They are inserted, through theshoulder, into the sockets which are fit-ted in the approach slope of the basin’sedge.

A rope winch with pull rope and a floorsocket for each front side respectively,as well as a compressor with a tempo-rary hose connection are included inthe scope of delivery for the floatingbulkhead.

To start moving the floating bulkhead,air is initially injected into the floatchambers.Then the standing step ele-

ments are folded in pneumatically viastainless steel cylinders.This processprovides sufficient clearance for theexchange of displaced water, facilitatingmovement of the bulkhead.

The mounted folding elements are usedas standing steps at the outside. Interms of height, they are aligned withthe standing steps of the basin - regard-less of whether the latter are integra-ted into walls of the pool or project.

Depending on width, the floating bulk-heads can be furnished with one ortwo rows of starting blocks.As a rule,they are provided with a cable channelcovered with grids - for a permanentlyinstalled or an additional temporarytiming system.

Similar to running bulkheads, floatingbulkheads are equipped with flow-through openings at the level of thewaterline.

AccessoriesSteps and Bars




~ Accessories

Roling stepsRoling steps can be provided with aput-on stairway complying with EN13451.2.They roll on the surface of themoving floor and change their tilt anglewith changing water depths. During theadjustment the number of stepsremains the same, but the pitch dimen-sion is reduced with decreasing waterdepth from step to step.

Integrated stairwayThis type of stairway is integrated intothe surface of the lifting floor.As themoving floor is lowered, one step afterthe other, from top to bottom, is placedonto step frame permanently installedin the basin.When the moving floor iscompletely lowered, the stairway is therefore completely extended in termsof both length and height.When themoving floor is lifted, the individualsteps are picked up again, starting withthe bottom step, and integrated intothe surface of the lifting floor.This stair-way changes the number of steps rela-tive to water depth. Pitch and treaddimensions remain identical for everyindividual step however.That is the rea-son why integrated stairways are thepreferred design for facilities for people

with special needs or rehabilitation cen-tres.

The integrated stairway can also besupplied with an electro-mechanicallyoperated folding mechanism that foldsthe step frame over if this is requested.During the traversing movement of themoving floor there is the option, whe-ther~ the stairway becomes visible or not~ for example, when the entire waterarea is to be used and the stairwaywould only get in the way.

BarsStainless steel bar structures are some-times used in rehabilitation centres toassist convalescents walking.These canbe inserted into the sockets in the sur-face of the lifting floor as required.Theyare vertically and laterally adjustable, sothey can be adapted to suit the particu-lar requirements of the therapist or thesize of the patient.

13

Bauelemente Customer Service

The support of KBE’s products by theircustomer service staff is an essentialcomponent of the company’s philoso-phy.Their trained and qualified personnelare familiar with the entire range ofboth older products and new technicalinnovations.KBE guarantee direct maintenance andoptimum servicing of the high-qualityfacilities they supply and assemble, aswell as fast access to original parts.

In the event that this brochure has “gotyou swimming” in this flood of informa-tion, please do not hesitate to contactus or our specialist consultants:

KBE-BauelementeGmbH & Co. KGAn der Junkerei 1-3D-26389 WilhelmshavenPhone: (0 44 21) 75 01-0Fax: (0 44 21) 75 [email protected]

bauelemente water,our element€¦ · multipurpose pool’s area. a so-called trailing ramp is...

Documents