Press Release
2.4 MW OF FAN POWER KEEPS DUTCH SKY-DIVERS
AIRBORNE
A new Indoor Skydive Centre in Holland is flying high in the
opinion of its enthusiastic users thanks to precise air control
provided by twelve huge 200 kW fans at the base of the tower.
This maximum of 2.4 MW of fan power is controlled by twelve
freestanding 200kW Unidrive SP cubicle drives with an additional
four 110kW Unidrive SP drives providing ventilation to control air
temperature in the tower. All drives are fitted with plug-in
SM-applications modules and communicate with the touch-screen
controller via Control Techniques’ high-speed network CTNet.
The Roosendaal Indoor Skydive centre was founded by a group of
skydivers who had the dream of building the biggest such centre in
Europe. Initial talks with ventilation company Rucon lead to
talks with motor manufacturer, Kolmer who, in turn, introduced
Control Techniques. The team began to develop a design that
could accommodate both professional skydivers and the general
public and a specification that included a soft-start of the big
fans, simple speed control and maximum energy efficiency to keep
running costs as economical as possible. In addition, whilst
the blown air had to be returned in a loop, there had to be
provision for the introduction of fresh air to keep ambient
temperatures within acceptable limits.
The resulting design comprises a 23.5-metre tower of 4.27-metre
diameter with two flight chambers, the lower for experienced
skydivers, the upper for the general public, access in both cases
being via a bridge and airlock.
A ring of twelve 200kW centrifugal fans, situated at the base of
the tower and all locked together in speed by the Unidrive SP
drives, blow air horizontally into the centre, where it is
deflected vertically at a speed of up to 250 kph (3.5 million cu
metres/hour), by an aeronautically-shaped cone. At the top of
the tower, air collectors return the air to the motor feeds, the
back-pressure reducing power consumption. The tower’s
temperature is monitored and, when the heat generated by the motors
pushes the ambient beyond a comfortable level, four 110 kW
ventilation fans situated at the top of the tower expel a
proportion of the hot air to allow the intake of fresh air into the
system.>>>>>>>
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