The construction industry relies on seals, from profile seals made from ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM) for windows and doors, joint-sealing materials or rubber sheets for covering flat roofs to sealing profiles for roofing structures built from plastic sheets.

Prominent examples include the roofs for two new sports arenas in China built for the 2008 Olympics: the roof on the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium (left) uses Buna® EP T 6470 as a sealing material between the polycarbonate sheets. This EPDM sealing profile was chosen because of its weathering and ozone resistance along with its dimensional stability, even under substantial temperature variations.

The futuristic roof of the Shenyang Olympic Stadium (above) is also constructed from multiple transparent polycarbonate sheets. They have to let through sufficient light to enable the natural turf to grow. Buna® EP T 9650 profiles were used to seal the joints. In this case too, the material’s resistance to weathering influences such as UV radiation and ozone gave it the edge. The
Shenyang stadium, one of five venues for the soccer competition, holds 60,000 spectators.