KIX/RJBB closed due to typhoon

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by msbbarratt

The entire terminal building is supported on hydraulic jacks, used to keep it level as the artificial island settles underneath it. I think there's a ton of machinery for all that in a basement level below, and that'll all be wrecked. Fortunately the hydraulics are only required to change the level (steel shims are inserted after a lift), so it can probably all be replaced. KIX is an expensive airport to run, and it's just got pricier.

Many of us have seen the wooden boxes around the columns on the lower level of the main terminal. They are periodically opened to place shims in for the leveling operation described on this KIX airport web page:

Jack-up System Used for the Passenger Terminal

The huge passenger terminal is KIX's signature building, and one if its unique features is its big basement in the terminal’s main building. Consequently, the main building is lighter than the adjacent structures. Iron ores have been installed all over the bottom of the main building as weights to even out the weight distribution.

However, the main building remains lighter than its neighbors. The depth of settlement under the main building is relatively shallow when compared with those of the nearby buildings. The difference in depth generates slight tilts between the main building and the wings of both ends, seldom visible to the naked eye. Therefore, the pillars under the passenger terminal have been lifted in order to level the floor of the terminal.









[KIX] Measures against unequal settlement Kansai Airports