Sydney Olympics Torch

Client:
Sydney Olympic Organising Committee (SOCOG)

Description

FCT was commissioned by SOCOG to develop a combustion system for the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch relay. We collaborated with the University of Adelaide on this projects. SOCOG’s requirements for flame were to achieve the following goals:

• Flames to be stable under all weather conditions;
• Flames had high visibility so that it can be visually appealing for the audience and media;
• Has minimum fuel usage, low environmental impact and uses fuels and materials that are easily accessible and has no toxic emissions;
• Low manufacturing costs and
• Can run for between 20 to 25 minutes.

These requirements, especially the environmental standards were much stricter than previous torch designs. Therefore, FCT and the University of Adelaide had to conduct extensive research and development projects to develop unique fuel and combustion systems to meet the requirements of SOCOG. This project led to the development of a liquid suction fuels system and a patented crinkle burner.

SOCOG’s torch relay event direct, Di Henry, congratulated FCT. He wrote: “The FCT team successfully produced a relay torch that could be showcased in 14 different countries for more than 127 days. A congratulations to the team for their professionalism and success, especially with the excellent technical combustion system design. The performance specifications were met and exceeded our expectations. The Project was also completed on time and an appropriate budget met all our needs.”