Atlas Copco Compressors Power The Rides In Dubai Theme Park

Dubai Parks and Resorts, the Middle East’s largest integrated leisure and theme park destination, features more than 100 rides and attractions. The park is spread over 25 million square feet, consisting with three theme parks and the Riverland shopping area. In 2018, Dubai Parks and Resorts attracted almost 2.8 million visitors.

Compressed air is an important resource in theme parks. In roller coasters, air compressors power the gates, brakes and other crucial safety features like the passenger restraint system. They are also present in the launch systems on certain rides and in the drivers that make props and animatronic figures move. Compressed air is also used for maintenance, power washers and other cleaning tools are a big help in keeping the park and its attractions looking their best.

For a large theme park such as Dubai Parks and Resorts, a continuous supply of compressed air is a requisite. If the supply of compressed air is cut off for any reason, air brakes controlled by compressed air will stop working as a result bring the ride in safety mode to ensure there is no risk to passengers in the roller coaster. Therefore, when selecting air compressors, Dubai Parks and Resorts considered reliability and stability of the equipment as the main factors. After evaluating proposals from different vendors, they purchased 22 units of Atlas Copco oil-injected compressors.

“The selection process was very strict and proposals were submitted by a number of different manufacturers. We considered reliability, durability and high performance as the priority factor to choose the compressors. Another reason we select Atlas Copco because of the VSD machines reducing the total energy consumption.

More importantly after market service of Atlas Copco is always proactive, by utilizing the SMARTLINK feature we can keep track of running hours and service requirements of our compressors which improves the service efficiency and reduces the downtime.” Mr. Olivier Mazot, Director Technical Services of Motiongate at Dubai Parks and Resorts.

The installation comprised of 4 units of GA VSD+ compressors delivers great energy savings. With its innovative vertical design and a very reliable permanent magnet motor (iPM). The VSD+ technology closely matches the air demand by automatically adjusting its motor speed. It simply winds down when the demand is lower, which means: saving energy. Dubai Parks and Resorts can expect energy savings of 50% on average and a reduction of 37% in the life cycle cost of the compressors.

“The air compressor made by Atlas Copco has an outstanding performance. Our products adopt the most advanced production technology and the most rigorous quality testing standard in Europe, ensuring the product quality.” said Tamer Elgendy, Regional Business Line Manager - Industrial Air at Atlas Copco Services Middle East.

Furthermore, a 4000 meters AIRnet compressed air piping system from Atlas Copco were installed to deliver high quality air from the compressors to the point of use. AIRnet’s modular system of corrosion-resistant anodized aluminum pipes are highly durable and feature self-aligning, fully sealed polymer fittings with integrated O-rings that eliminate any possibility of leaks. Besides, AIRnet offers minimal pressure drop. In a compressor installation, a 1 bar pressure drop leads to 7% more energy consumption, thus more savings are achieved and the cost of ownership of the piping system is reduced in the park.

Source: Atlas Copco