Users

TU Smart Minerals

VSC/HPC - Computer Center Vienna Scientific Cluster (2nd & 3rd expansion stage)

Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer

Space for development (partly architecture drawing rooms, institute areas)

Object 214 was systematically renovated and adapted to the needs and specifications of the TU Wien. At the same time, the thermal refurbishment of the property and the general modernisation of the building services infrastructure were carried out.

For the complete renovation of the property 214, the official procedure was initiated in 2013 and the first invitations to tender were issued. The subprojects in object 214 (VSC III, HPC II, BOKU LLC Laboratory, Fluid Mechanics, Smart Minerals) were merged.

Work is in full swing on the refurbishments and adaptations necessary for the operation of the research and teaching facilities. Work on the facades and roofs has begun. The other trades (building services, dry construction and interior) were also contracted out.

Furthermore, the installation of a climate chamber for Smart Minerals GmbH was accelerated and brought forward so that the structural framework could be established before the end of the year. At the same time, intensive discussions took place with Smart Minerals GmbH about the planned cooperation and the associated accommodation in object 214.

The existing building services installations were renewed and extended to meet the state of the art and the requirements of the new users.

The construction measures continued the renovations and functional adaptations (creation of new room separations and structures), including the creation of barrier-free access to the atrium.

The concrete-technological repair and fire-protection upgrading as well as the general master builder's work were largely completed at the beginning of 2015; in summer the installation of the new windows and the construction of the façade including new full thermal insulation were completed.

As a result, the interior finishing work (drywall construction, painting, etc.) and the installation work for electrical engineering and building services (heating, air conditioning, ventilation and sanitation) were started and completed by the end of the year.

In the record time of just a few months, a new server room including battery charging and UPS station was erected in 2015, which also serves as a storage computer centre for research activities in connection with the adjacent expansion stages of the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC). For this purpose, ceilings were reinforced, windows bricked up and static compensation measures were taken. The building services connection (in particular cooling capacity) is carried out via reserve capacities of the VSC-2.

Final details regarding the intended sublease were discussed with the Association of the Austrian Cement Industry (VÖZ) and the joint subsidiary of TU Smart Minerals GmbH (SMG). SMG is to move into two floors of the south wing. The early installation of a climatic chamber for the SMG was put into operation.

The Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC) is a shared network of high-performance computing resources that was originally designed to meet the needs of the University of Vienna, the TU Wien and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna.

After the successful installation of the VSC-1 at the end of 2009, it soon became clear that the planning of another system was urgently required due to the extremely high capacity utilization. The decision was made in favour of a new cluster system, which was set up in the Arsenal.

Object 214 was adapted accordingly and expanded on an ongoing basis. Not only the computer performance is impressive, but also the building and building services infrastructure is subject to enormous demands. An electricity capacity of approx. 1.8 MW (1.2 TU Wien and 0.6 MW Uni Vienna) and a cooling capacity of approx. 800 kW in the first expansion stage - of course with corresponding reliability - must be provided. For comparison: the electricity requirement of approx. 6.5 million kWh corresponds to the average electricity consumption of approx. 1,500 Austrian households, compressed to only approx. 125m2.

In addition to the computing power, the topic "Green IT" was a decisive factor in the choice of the device. Thanks to energy-saving processors and an efficient cooling system of approx. 18° C (other supercomputers require 6° C cold cooling water) at the TU Wien site in the Science Center, the energy efficiency of the VSC-2 is about twice as high as that of the predecessor model. Furthermore, the work for the computer center of the University of Vienna (HPC) was completed.

Construction for the next stage of the VSC 3+ mainframe computer (third stage) was started in June 2013 in the presence of the then Science Minister Karlheinz Töchterle and the project partners.

Construction work on the new computer rooms began at the beginning of summer 2013. In the existing rooms in object 214, a false ceiling was demolished and two new ceilings were installed. This made it possible to increase the efficiency of space utilisation. The newly created floors are connected to the existing building so that barrier-free access is guaranteed. This is also of great advantage for the delivery of the hardware.

The award procedure for the recoolers was started in 2013, with particular emphasis on energy efficiency due to the high output. This was a particular challenge because of the high computing power (800 kW).

On 4 July 2014, the VSC 3+ was officially opened in the presence of Reinhold Mitterlehner, Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economics:

"Austria's science has a new supercomputer. The VSC 3 cluster consists of more than 32,000 individual processor cores and is now being put into operation at the Science Center of the TU Wien. A total of eight Austrian universities are involved in the project. Scientific calculations from many different fields of research, from meteorology to particle physics, will be made possible by the new VSC 3". (Press release)

The VSC 3+ was ranked 85th on the Top 500 list of the most powerful supercomputers. The energy efficiency of the computer and the accompanying infrastructure also attracted public attention and led to 86th place on the list of the most energy-efficient mainframes in the world ("Green 500 Ranking").

What makes the VSC 3+ an ecological showcase project is its cooling system. All of the cluster's hardware is installed in tanks filled with a special white oil. The oil (more than 30,000 litres in total) has particularly good heat transport properties, which means that the heat generated at the processors can be dissipated very efficiently.

Free Cooling" units on the roof allow the oil to be recooled without the use of energy-intensive compressors. In addition, the high temperature of the refrigerant allows energy to be reused, for example to heat the building. This eliminates the need for fans, which account for 10 percent or more of total energy consumption in air-cooled systems.

In autumn 2014, the technical building infrastructure was completed and the actual computer operation commenced.

In 2016 the still open construction work and the interior finishing were completed. The complex building services and electrical installations were also largely finalised. Due to the good weather conditions, it was also possible to construct the outdoor facilities.

Subsequently, the laboratories of the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer began to move in step by step. In connection with the new appointment for the research area "fluidmechanics", a new test facility was installed and the relocation of the flow test facility from Karlsplatz was fixed. The TU subsidiary Smart-Minerals GmbH (SMG) also started the installation, whereby the TU Wien supported the approval as a workplace.

The high-performance computing clusters (HPC) and the new computer centre, which is operated jointly with EODC and ZAMG, were already in operation. Planning began for the next expansion stage of the -Vienna Scientific Cluster: VSC 4.

The temporary accommodation of a multifunctional laboratory (Virtual Reality) in object 214 was agreed with the Faculty of Computer Science, which took place in spring 2017.

In the first quarter of 2017, Smart--Minerals GmbH (SMG) moved to premises in the south wing. The flow test facility of the Institute of Flow Mechanics and Heat Transfer (E322) at Karlsplatz was also relocated.

In addition, the production measurement technology and quality research department of the Institute of Production Engineering and High-Power Laser Technology was able to move to object 214, even if it is only used temporarily.

After the settlement by the various users, the first event in the atrium of Object 214 took place on 19 June 2017: "Research moves" presented one of the five research focal points of the TU Wien as an example and invited guests from industry and business to get to know research topics on site.

Planning for the next expansion stage of the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC4) began in 2017.

Object 221 was built between 1916 and 1918 as a facility for electrical high-voltage tests. Next to the hall areas was a lecture hall with 165 seats, which had its own representative entrance area. In the Science Center it will be used by the TU Wien as an open-plan laboratory in the future.

In 2012, after a corresponding planning phase, the negotiations with the authorities on the refurbishment and adaptation were concluded. The interface to the new Franz-Grill-Straße was the main point of the discussions with the authorities. The corresponding preliminary negotiations were conducted with the other responsible magistrates.

Users

Institute of Energy Technology and Thermodynamics

Institute for Manufacturing and High Power Laser Technology

Construction started in November 2013 and by the end of the year most of the old technical facilities and floors had been demolished.

After the demolition work, the renewal of the floor slab and the structural measures for the renovation and adaptation (adaptation of functions) of the existing building were started. At the same time, the thermal refurbishment of the property was carried out: complete renewal of the building shell including window replacement.

An intensive discussion phase with the client required the further procedure for the necessary renovation of the roof: The defective roof construction had to be replaced and a new steel construction (spatial framework or steel honeycomb girder) erected.

On the basis of the existing plans, corresponding preliminary discussions were held with the authorities for the necessary plan replacement.

The adaptation work on object 221 as a large test hall with laboratory and office areas for institutes of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management was continued. At the same time, the planning and preparation work for the colonisation and later use was in progress.

The project was extended by a thermal oil plant for the Institute of Energy Technology and Thermodynamics to investigate the heat storage capacity of different materials and media (sand, salt, etc.).

At the beginning of 2015, the official replacement plan for the new roof support structure was submitted to the building police. The demolition of the old concrete structure and the erection of a new steel structure (spatial framework and steel honeycomb beams) became necessary due to in-depth investigations by the structural engineers in 2014. The official negotiations and the approval took place quickly in the second quarter. Parallel to the official procedure, the award procedure for the steel construction work was completed and placed on the market. In the meantime, the preliminary work necessary for the roof support structure, such as the demolition of the cranes and crane runways, has been continued. Later, the corresponding foundation heads for the steel columns were produced on the drilled piles, walls reinforced and rust formed. In April, the new roof supporting structure was officially negotiated.

The actual steel construction work for the new roof support structure began in the third quarter and was completed by the end of the year for the hall areas.

Within only one year, the new thermal oil plant (the plant that had burned down at the Getreidemarkt component BF - laboratory wing) was planned, officially approved and erected. In autumn, the construction activities began with the foundation work (GEWI piles) and the floor slab. Parallel to the erection of the structural shell, the Institute of Energy Technology and Thermodynamics was able to begin with the installation of the plant components on the base plate (heat exchanger, bucket elevator, etc.).

Shortly before the end of 2015, the construction work for the thermal oil plant was completed and formally handed over.

After the completion of the steel construction as a new supporting structure for the roofs, the starting signal was given in 2016 for the demolition of the "old" desolate roof shell above and the construction of the new roof skin, which was completed in summer.

The new transformer station was erected between the north wing and object 222.

After completion of the facade work, the interior fittings and the extensive installations, the settlement began in Hebst in 2016 and was completed in 2017. The elaborate refurbishment and the modern interior offer a lot of space and possibilities: the laboratory activities of the Institute of Production Engineering and High-Power Laser Technology (E311) were accommodated in the northern halls 4-6; the training workshop and the large-scale test facilities (hydrodynamics) and test benches (thermal turbomachinery) of the Institute of Energy Technology and Thermodynamics in halls 1-3. Subsequently, the test runs and the adjustment of the facilities could be started.

The plants were relocated from various locations, in particular from Karlsplatz, Engerthstraße, Getreidemarkt and Atominstitut. The plants were adapted to the new local conditions and the state of the art.

For the high-precision measuring room of the Institute of Production Engineering and High-Power Laser Technology, the planning and preparations for the installation were completed and the corresponding services commissioned.

Object 227, formerly an airship hangar, was approved and built in 1916. The historical reinforced concrete construction consists of facade-side columns and only two inner columns. After the Second World War, a reinforced concrete construction with a gallery, two staircases with load lifts and a further solid ceiling, which rests on its own support grid, was installed.

Based on the site development developed by the TU Wien, object 227 will be expanded into the new development and testing centre for the Institute of Vehicle Drives and Automotive Engineering and will replace the old test halls on the Getreidemarkt campus.

The planning provided for the construction of 15 engine test stands and six component test stands as well as a cold emission roller test stand. Due to the historic hall construction worthy of preservation, the test stands were built into the building in a modular construction on two levels. The superordinate building and plant technology was constructed conventionally in the building. The test hall was supplemented by office and communication areas.

The start of construction was delayed due to appeals to the Federal Administrative Court (Vergabeamt) against an award decision. It was not until the fourth quarter of 2014 that demolition work could finally begin. All later installations and additions to the 1916 hall were demolished, so that the original use could be seen very clearly: During the First World War, it was used for the construction of airships with its two 60 m long longitudinal naves and a remarkable interior light of 18 m. The hall was also used for the construction of the first airships.

In order to avoid further stressing the existing historical supporting structure and foundation, the supporting columns were secured with a steel corset and reinforced with crossbars. Subsequently, the foundation work was started, which was completed in autumn. Since the load-bearing ground is about 15 m below the top edge of the terrain, around 6,000 linear metres of piles were installed. The basement floors were then installed, with the slab for the ground floor being erected at the end of the year.

At the same time, the tender for the steel construction work was placed on the market and the tender for the continuing master builder work and for the technical building services was prepared.

On 1 November 2015, a sponsoring agreement was concluded between the TU Wien and MAGNA International Inc. The contractual installation of the new name MAGNA Hall will be implemented in the course of the construction work.

Construction of the exterior and interior walls of the ground floor in reinforced concrete began at the beginning of 2016. In the second quarter, the slab above the ground floor and for the mezzanines were concreted. The former airship hangar was then freed from the supporting structures and heavy-duty uprights. The shell work was largely completed in the autumn. Subsequently, work began on the façade and roof. In addition, the plant engineering and technical building equipment for the numerous (engine) test benches were contracted out.

The roofing work was completed at the beginning of 2017. The installation of the windows began. On the south side, these had to be coordinated with the finishing work on Franz-Grill-Straße. The installation of the building services was also started.

From summer 2017, the first two engine test benches for the new laboratory location of the Institute for Vehicle Drives (E315) in object 227, MAGNA Hall, in the Arsenal were delivered. A 5 m wide and 21 m long special transport was used for the delivery from Graz during the night. Subsequently, the two modules, each weighing 31 tonnes, were installed by crane on the first floor of the test hall via a cut-out in the northern façade and installed at their future location using a special lifting construction. The second tranche was installed in August and the remaining engine test stands in October.

In autumn, the sample facade element was installed. After successful acceptance the assembly of the facade started, the installation of the windows was completed.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Road Research Department, the Dean's Office for Civil Engineering and the Building and Technology Department, it was possible to find new areas for the road construction laboratory in the RELLA Hall on Aspanggründen / Wien Landstraße in 2012.

These were adapted and from summer 2012 all activities of the laboratory in the field of research and teaching were carried out in the new premises.

On the part of the City of Vienna, pressure increased on the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft/Austrian Real Estate (subsidiary) and thus indirectly also on the TU Wien with regard to clearing the aspang grounds. The areas of the TU Wien located there were to move into the arsenal in the medium term. The properties 219 and 222 were notified, i.e. in the direct vicinity of the previous properties 227, 221 and 214.

For this reason, the TU Wien worked out a settlement concept and agreed it with the BIG. At the turn of the year 2013/14 - a corresponding framework agreement for a move to the Arsenal was signed by both sides.

At the same time, a feasibility study for the accommodation of the pilot factory Industrie 4.0 was prepared, which will be implemented in the Arsenal with the support of the BMVIT.

At the end of 2014, a framework agreement and the rental agreements for the relocation of the TU properties on the Aspanggründen (Eurogate) to the Arsenal (Science Center) between the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (or Austrian Real Estate) and the TU Wien were prepared.

The TU Wien gave up around 10,000 square metres of space on the Eurogate site and moved it to the Science Center site. Most of the space freed up at Euro-gate was used for apartments, offices and commercial space. During a press conference in March 2015, Rector Sabine Seidler and BIG Managing Director Hans-Peter Weiss informed the public about the upcoming expansion plans.

"In the Science Center, the TU Wien provides development areas for research and teaching, thereby enhancing the value of the location. Our scientists will receive high-quality research jobs and will also use the space for their economic and industrial cooperations," said Rector Sabine Seidler.

In the second quarter, the spatial and functional programs for the accommodation of the institutes of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering were developed. At the same time, studies were carried out on the existing structure (substance, building ground, infrastructure). On the basis of the space and function programs, location variants were worked out and evaluated.

In autumn, the TU Wien favoured the developed variant of laboratory concentration, which combines all civil engineering laboratories, excluding hydraulic engineering, in a complex along Lilienthalgasse on the site of TU object 221. The hydraulic engineering hall will be erected opposite.

In the third and fourth quarters, coordination was also carried out with the institutes concerned, and planning progressed.

One of the major research focuses at the TU Wien and, of course, at the faculty is on materials. From the precision mechanical investigation of structures to small-scale sample analyses to large-scale experiments on a scale of 1:1, researchers are constantly gaining new material science knowledge. Basic research is ideally complemented by applied research in building construction, foundation engineering and road construction.

The laboratory infrastructure for all these research activities is now combined in a building complex along Lilienthalgasse in the Science Center, the large and special laboratory location of the TU Wien in the Arsenal. Test halls and research laboratories alternate spatially in a 150-metre-long building. These are supplemented by spacious teaching and recreation areas for students as well as offices on the upper floor.

The new hydraulic engineering hall with a length of almost 60 metres is being built as a solitary building directly opposite Lilienthalgasse on the other side of the street.

For this purpose, detailed coordination was carried out with the faculty and the participating institutes.

In 2016, the coordination with the users and the planning were completed to such an extent that the BIG laboratory concentration project could be submitted to the responsible authority.

At the same time, work was carried out on the invitation to tender for the construction clearance (demolition, technical supply and land levelling) and for the new building.

Following negotiations with the authorities in 2016, the building permit was issued in mid-2017.

The demolition of the former district heating plant, object 222, began in September and was largely completed by the end of the year. In the process, around 4,300 m3 of reinforced concrete was demolished. This was and is being crushed on site and recycled for the new building. In addition to the old district heating technology, around 1200 tonnes of steel were removed and almost 10,000 m3 of earth material was moved.

The "Wasserbauhalle" also moves from the Aspang grounds to the Science Center of the TU Wien in the Arsenal. Instead of the previous building 219, the TU Wien can use the entire area north of the new laboratory concentration (former district heating plant O222) for a new test hall for the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

At the end of 2017 the dismantling of the facade elements of the "Plattenbau" and the demolition of the building construction started.

In the new laboratory building, including the outdoor facilities with around 2,200 square metres, third-party research is carried out in addition to teaching. The results flow into modern flood protection, effective pumping stations, new weir systems and special structures such as dams.

Vienna Central Station, built in the immediate vicinity, is the impetus for further development planning in the Arsenal on the part of the City of Vienna. The aim is to promote another urban research location in Vienna.

This will lead to the expansion of public transport, the creation of utilities and the upgrading of the neighbouring residential area.

The first concrete measure is the expansion of Franz-Grill-Straße, which is currently in the preparatory phase.