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CASE STUDY | THE STORM ROLLERCOASTER The heat-load modelling carried out to establish viability of the layered approach meant that computational fluid dynamics modelling was not needed to predict airflows. Stratton says Cundall did not worry too much about rider comfort from an air-mixing point of view. The main thing was that there was a bit of air mixing and a bit of flexibility to control the direction of the air. All of the space conditioning AHUs operate on 100% recirculation. In a clever piece of coordination, the vertical AHU return air grilles are stacked adjacent to the rides vertical launch. The launch system is liquid cooled by packaged cooling units provided by the rollercoaster supplier. The proximity of the return air grille ensures that heat rejected by the system is sucked immediately into the AHU before it can enter the space. Internal lighting is themed and coordinated with the ride; external lighting is focused for attraction and branding... At the top of the AHU stack is small fresh air supply unit. Fresh air is not a big issue because there are only about 40 people inside the ride area, says Stratton. The unit pulls fresh air into the space from an intake on the roof, based on an allowance of 15L.s-1 per person in rollercoaster space. Stratton says humidity is managed by the fresh air system; because this is not a closecontrol environment, we dont need fine control. The rollercoaster building is illuminated by four kilometres of linear strip LED lighting. Cundall was responsible for designing the lighting scheme for the inside and outside of the building. Internal lighting is themed and coordinated with the ride; external lighting is focused for attraction and branding, and is customisable by the operator. There is a day and night experience, with the lighting designed to enhance the experience at night, Stratton says. Cooling, power and other utility services are all from the malls centralised energy systems. All energy provisions are from the mall, so we had to ensure there was enough capacity in the district cooling, power and other utility services, such as fire protection systems. Fire protection, firefighting and water services all extend from the mall central systems. Cooling is from the mall district cooling system based on a peak cooling load of 1.66MW. Because of the magnitude of peak electrical loads, the associated operational harmonics, and compliance with local electricity regulations, a dedicated substation had to be constructed directly adjacent to the rollercoaster building. Passengers start their journey in the mall, where they buy tickets and enjoy a short audio-visual show. From here, they pass into the main building, ready to be thrilled by the ride and not by Cundalls clever environmental control solution. If people are worrying about comfort conditions, that probably means the rollercoaster is not very exciting, says Stratton, who knows this is not the case, having been on the ride three times already just to make sure! CJ 52 October 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Oct 22 pp50-52, 54 Storm Rollercoaster Supp.indd 52 26/09/2022 18:02