The Tokyo Olympic Games opened as scheduled on July 23, 2021. Due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic being postponed for one year, the Olympic Games are doomed to be an extraordinary event and are destined to go down in history. As chemical workers, we should not only pay attention to the achievements of athletes but also pay attention to our old business. Now let's take stock of what new materials have been used in this Olympic Games?
1、 Polyurethane
one(1).Polyurethane weight lifting equipment
In 2019, the International Weightlifting Federation and Zhangkong barbell Manufacturing Co., Ltd. signed a contract for the sole supplier of weightlifting equipment for the Tokyo Olympic Games, and Zhangkong barbell won the "ticket" for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
According to the relevant person in charge, Zhangkong barbell company eliminated the rubber material of barbell sheet and selected polyurethane material with tear resistance, long service life, and beautiful appearance. The improved barbell piece reaches the static state of secondary bounce, the maximum jumping range is only 10cm, the technical parameters are 50% higher than the national standard, and the qualified rate of the product is increased from 60% to 95%. The axis curvature of the barbell bar produced according to the "standard" is within 0.2mm, the weight error of the barbell piece is controlled within 5g, and the evaluation of various technical parameters has reached the world-leading level.
(2). Polyurethane runway
In 1963, the American 3M company first broke through the technical barrier and paved the track and field track. Due to the good effect of runway use, it soon attracted the attention of all countries. At the 19th Olympic Games held in Mexico in 1968, a polyurethane plastic runway was officially adopted. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has officially designated the plastic track as one of the necessary conditions for international competitions. The plastic runway is clean and beautiful, easy to maintain, and not affected by the climate. Moreover, the elasticity of plastic can increase the rebound force of athletes when stepping on the ground, ensure the high lifting position of knees, and increase the stride.
2、 Polycarbonate (PC)
(1). PC sunshine board
The new national stadium, the main venue of the Tokyo Olympic Games. The gymnasium integrates the grandstand, roof, lounge, and main stadium, and can accommodate at least 10000 people. After careful design, the gymnasium consists of a broad view from above - the milky white plate of the roof and the all-steel structure of the grandstand.
From the material point of view, the unique and feathery undulating roof and the equally spaced pillars around the stadium adopt all-steel structures, while the sunshade of the stadium is partially made of sunlight plate.
The sunshade is made of PC Sunvisor, which aims to provide a venue with a shielding function for the spectators in the stands.
At the same time, the gymnasium chooses materials such as PC sunshine board, which has the following advantages:
(1) The connection mode of the PC sunshine board is tight and reliable, not easy to cause leakage, which can fully meet the basic functional requirements of the project for the roof, and the sunshine board is easy to process and build, which is conducive to shortening the construction period and reducing the cost;
(2) The cold bending characteristic of the sunlight plate is very helpful to shape the roof curve;
(3) Sunlight board can be recycled and reused. It is an excellent environmental protection material.
On the whole, the application of sunshine board meets the high-performance requirements of the gymnasium for the insulation and sealing of the enclosure structure, shields the huge indoor steel structure components, and achieves the perfect unity of specific user requirements and economy.
3、 New heat dissipation material
As heatstroke prevention and cooling measure for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, special pavement with a cooling effect will be fully adopted on the roads involved in marathon and race walking projects. The special road surface is coated with heat insulation material reflecting infrared rays on the road surface. Former marathon Olympian Lai Julian and others had a trial run on the national highway in Shibuya District, Tokyo in August. It is reported that the road temperature is 5 ~ 6 degrees lower than that of ordinary roads.
4、 Recycled plastics
（1）.The podium is made of recycled plastic
Winners of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will board special podiums because they are made of 24.5 tons of waste household plastics.
BOCOG collected nearly 400000 washing powder bottles in large retailers and schools across Japan. These household plastics are recycled into filaments and made into 98 Olympic podiums by 3D printing. It is said that this is the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that the public participates in collecting waste plastics to make a podium.
（2）.Environmentally friendly beds and mattresses
The Tokyo Olympic Games mainly play the environmental protection card, and many facilities use environmental protection materials. The 26000 beds in the Olympic village are made of cardboard, and almost all bedding is made of recycled materials. They are put together like big "paper boxes", which is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.
In the athletes' bedroom, the bed frame made of cardboard can bear about 200 kg. The material of the mattress is polyethylene, which is divided into three parts: shoulder, waist, and leg. The hardness can be adjusted according to the body shape to customize the best comfort for each athlete.
(3).Recycled plastic torchbearer clothing
The white T-shirts and trousers worn by the torchbearers of the Tokyo Olympic Games to pass the Olympic flame are made of recycled plastic bottles collected by Coca-Cola.
Daisuke Obama, design director of the Tokyo Olympic Games, said that the plastic bottles of soft drinks were recycled to make the torchbearers' uniforms. The selected materials were in line with the sustainable development goals advocated by the Olympic Games.
This uniform made of recycled plastic is also unique in design. T-shirts, shorts, and trousers all have a red diagonal band extending from front to back. This diagonal belt is similar to the belt often worn by Japanese track and field relay athletes. This set of torchbearers' clothing for the Tokyo Olympic Games not only reflects the traditional sports elements of Japan but also reflects the concept of sustainable development.
5、 Polyether polyol
Tokyo Olympic venues, using Polyether Polyols (used to produce low density to high-density foam as a sealant) to fill the gap between the building materials, reduce the risk of deformation caused by expansion of concrete at high temperature, can maintain the safety and stability of sports venues.
6、 Adhesive
In the Tokyo Olympic venues, the high durability acrylic emulsion adhesive for interior wall coatings has excellent long-term durability and substrate adhesion. Elastomer wall coating can provide external solutions with excellent dirt resistance and mechanical performance balance. Ethylene glycol ether can meet the requirements of low volatile organic compounds (VOC) and optimize the stability and performance of waterborne coatings.
7、 Liquid crystalline polymer LCP
The Tokyo Olympic Games has greatly promoted the large-scale commercial use of 5g in Japan. NTT DoCoMo has reached a cooperation with Intel to jointly build the Tokyo Olympic Games into a new testing ground for 5g technology. At present, it has established cooperative relations with many suppliers such as Ericsson, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, and Samsung, and carried out a series of 5g tests. It is planned to achieve national coverage by 2024. With the rise of high-frequency and high-speed application trends in the 5g era, LCP will be widely used as the mainstream material of antenna in base stations and mobile phones in the future.
8、 Other materials
(1).compound material
For those who watch the game from their comfortable home, the composite materials used for telecommunication lines can seamlessly transmit the atmosphere of the scene to the global digital stage. This wired solution helps to ensure that the transmission speed and signal of the stadium are as efficient and reliable as possible, so as to reduce the risk of signal loss. AXELROD ™ Compounds, in some cases also with ENGAGE ™ Polyolefin elastomer is used together as the insulation layer of 70km low-voltage and medium voltage cables to reliably provide power for the whole site.
(2).polyester
The medal ribbon of the Tokyo Olympic Games uses chemically recycled polyester fiber, which can reduce more carbon dioxide emissions in the manufacturing process.