The Italian Job Gets a Boost from S&C PureWave AVC

Background
The motion picture, The Italian Job, was the basis of the newest ride at Paramount Parks' Kings Island in Kings Island, Ohio, and their Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario.

In this ride, guests race Mini-Coopers through a stunt track, re-creating the final chase sequence from the movie. In one scene—after peeling out of a parking garage and zooming downstairs into a subway station—the cars abruptly stop... as a helicopter opens fire overhead and fuel tanks blow up.

Then the cars quickly speed away. The ride uses linear-induction-motor launch technology, with several boost zones to advance the cars and the storyline. Traditional propulsion systems, using gravity and momentum alone, can't produce the same heart-stopping acceleration and deceleration.

The problem
Linear induction motors create large reactive power demands that can cause significant voltage sags. Such voltage sags can seriously reduce the ability of the cars to complete the circuit. Tests performed at Kings Island showed that the linear induction motor load caused up to a 36% voltage sag, which could result in the cars failing to crest the first hill.

Paramount Parks turned to S&C to resolve the problem. S&C's PureWave AVC Adaptive VAR Compensator has been successfully applied in a variety of similar applications at other Paramount Parks. By providing fast reactive power during motor acceleration, the PureWave AVC stabilizes voltage, minimizing sags and flicker that can impact operation of the ride.

The solution

A 2500-kVAR PureWave AVC was installed at each park. At Canada's Wonderland, output of the PureWave AVC was connected to a low-impedance step-up power transformer, the output of which was connected to the 27.6-kV main distribution feeder through S&C Metal-Enclosed Switchgear. Since the PureWave AVC and the transformer are located close to the passenger queue, overhead bus duct was used to connect the two, adding to the "Industrial Los Angeles" theme.

With the PureWave AVC on line, voltage remained constant during the launch and the cars were able to complete the entire circuit. Various levels of reactive VAR compensation were tested at each park to see their effect during the critical acceleration period.

Figure 1 shows a plot of the baseline test at Kings Island without reactive compensation. Figure 2 shows a plot of the test at Kings Island with 110% gain of standard reactive compensation, for additional voltage boost and starting torque.

The results
Based on the results of the tests, Paramount Parks decided to increase the gain of the PureWave AVC on each ride, to 110% of rated voltage—delivering more torque during the critical acceleration period. The cars now operate without problem, at slightly higher velocity and with smoother acceleration.

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SOURCE: S&C Electric Company