Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Dollywood | Lightning Rod | Launched RMC

Antinos said:
Let's take it easy with putting engineering on a pedestal and referring to anybody else as 'normal'.
Click to expand...

No pedestal, just we think different. I'm reminded of that all the time by my non-engineer friends (not always in a good way)

And I think you are wrong, some of us will still care what went wrong and why.
 
Antinos said:
Maybe Velocity patented some technology such that their product operates in such a way that it puts less stress on the electrical grid.
Click to expand...
This, sort of...
It not only puts less stress on the grid, but also charges in a different manner. It was all explained to me in detail last year, but basically uses a continuous storage system which saves energy and operation costs (depending on capacity).
 
^I think Thunderbird does something similar with flywheels. If I'm correct it gradually draws power from the grid to get a flywheel up to speed, and then converts the kinetic energy in the flywheel into electrical energy for the launch which in turn goes back to mechanical energy. Not sure if Rod uses flywheels or not but it sounds like it does the same thing somehow.
 
Velocity Magnetics filed for a patent to use a bank of ultra-capacitors to store the energy for a launch, hence the no moving parts claim from RMC. Maybe they're having trouble charging the bank quick enough?
 
ECG said:
Antinos said:
Maybe Velocity patented some technology such that their product operates in such a way that it puts less stress on the electrical grid.
Click to expand...
This, sort of...
It not only puts less stress on the grid, but also charges in a different manner. It was all explained to me in detail last year, but basically uses a continuous storage system which saves energy and operation costs (depending on capacity).
Click to expand...


So it kinda, sort of uses KERS?

Amazing <3
 
Jarrett said:
^I think Thunderbird does something similar with flywheels. If I'm correct it gradually draws power from the grid to get a flywheel up to speed, and then converts the kinetic energy in the flywheel into electrical energy for the launch which in turn goes back to mechanical energy. Not sure if Rod uses flywheels or not but it sounds like it does the same thing somehow.
Click to expand...
Doesn't all modern LSMs work in a similar way? With generators continously charging power to avoid pikes in the electrical grid. At least that's the way Mack and Intamin launches work.
 
andrus said:
Jarrett said:
^I think Thunderbird does something similar with flywheels. If I'm correct it gradually draws power from the grid to get a flywheel up to speed, and then converts the kinetic energy in the flywheel into electrical energy for the launch which in turn goes back to mechanical energy. Not sure if Rod uses flywheels or not but it sounds like it does the same thing somehow.
Click to expand...
Doesn't all modern LSMs work in a similar way? With generators continously charging power to avoid pikes in the electrical grid. At least that's the way Mack and Intamin launches work.
Click to expand...
It'd be pretty poor electrical engineering if they didn't, I would say! :lol:

Most systems [strike]will[/strike] should use some sort of energy storage in between launches to avoid crushing the grid every time they run. I'm no electrical engineer, but I work with a lot of them who do big, resilient power supplies, and there are many advantages to using energy storage. (In no particular order)

1. Cables are smaller, as your peak current flow is much lower. This is cheaper, safer, easier to design and easier to install.
2. Large buildings, and industries are metered differently. They often face hefty fees for causing power surges on the grid (especially when they're expected power surges like a magnetic launch), as this makes the power distribution more difficult to control.
3. Linked to the point above, often large installations are required to maintain a certain level of power factor (basically how "out-of-phase" the current and voltage are). All electrical equipment (capacitative and inductive) affect the power factor. Drawing straight from the grid into a launch system is likely to make a mess of the power factor, which faces fines and causes damage to components. You can do power factor correction, but you basically just end up installing a series of energy storage methods to try and reduce the effect (I'd be lying if I said I really understood the details of this however).
4. You can also protect the system from variations in the grid, which may cause inconsistent results in the launch.
5. You can also install regenerative braking, meaning you can recover some of the energy of the train as it hits the final brakes. This means you have to use less grid energy. Having seen the speed with which this coaster hits the brakes those magnets must be able to recover a lot of power!
6. They might have had difficulty getting a large power supply to that area of the park, so it's easier to have a smaller one.

You can see more information on the patent here:
http://www.google.com/patents/US20150091478

The sections of note (I've only skim read the document), highlighted in bold:
Section 0018 said:
Embodiments of the present invention solve many of the problems and/or overcome many of the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art by providing systems and methods for energy storage and management. Systems and methods are described for using various tools and procedures for energy storage and management. A system of certain embodiments of the present invention may be referred to herein as an Solid State Energy Storage and Management System. In certain embodiments, the tools and procedures may be used in conjunction with launch devices. The tools and procedures may couple the system with a braking system that can harvest some of the kinetic energy and store the harvested energy for a future discharge or launch. In certain embodiments, the system may be about a 0.5-5 MW system.
Click to expand...
Section 0024 said:
It is especially advantageous to combine embodiments of the Solid State Energy Storage and Management System with embodiments set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 8,727,078 regarding magnetic braking systems, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this manner the energy can be efficiently harvested and a device, such as a vehicle, can be efficiently stopped. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,727,078, the air gap and stator may be used to harvest energy. Electrical energy generated by the current eddy braking system may be used to recharge the ultra-capacitors of various embodiments described herein. Thus the stators are not simply passive but utilized to lower the electrical need of the entire ride system. There may be a synergistic relationship between a braking system and the Solid State Energy Storage and Management System.
Click to expand...
Section 0027 & Section 0028 said:
Certain embodiments may be useful when utilized in conjunction with a linear or rotary launch system to where a large amount of energy is needed to rapidly accelerate a vehicle or sled uni-directionally or bi-directionally in a very short amount of time. This system may also reduce the electrical service size that would otherwise be very large in terms of amperage to operate such devices. The high energy launch systems may require approximately 250-4000 or more Amps for approximately 2 to 3 seconds of launch time. Amperages for each launch of an exemplary systems may be greater than approximately 250 Amps, 500 Amps, 1,000 Amps, 1,500 Amps, 2,000 Amps, 3,000 Amps, 4,000 Amps, etc. Launch times for exemplary systems may be approximately 0.5 seconds, 1.0 seconds, 1.5 seconds, 2.0 seconds, 2.5 seconds, 3.0 seconds, 3.5 seconds, 4.0 seconds, and higher. The system can similarly be used in connection with linear induction motors, linear accelerators or other systems requiring large bursts of electric energy in a short time.
For certain applications, approximately 150 to 200 Amps for 45 seconds to 1 minute may be used by an average lift hill motor to accelerate a train from a beginning of the lift to the point of release at the top of a hill for classic gravity fed applications. For smaller applications, less energy is needed to power them through their duty cycle. Nearly all amusement parks have 200 amps available to them just about anywhere in the park. Therefore, certain embodiments of the present invention may be able to store enough energy within a period of 30 seconds to perform one launch with as little as 100 amps from a main power grid. In certain embodiments, the power grid may supply 100 amp, 480 VAC three phase power. In certain embodiments, the system is continuously attached to the power grid during operation. The power grid may be the only power supply available for the drive launch modules and motors...
Click to expand...
Section 0032 said:
Thus, certain embodiments may provide energy savings due to the decreased power demand and power grid overload that may occur launching a linear synchronous motor (LSM) system directly from the grid.
Click to expand...
Section 0039 said:
In certain embodiments, the input of a linear motor is completely isolated from frequency irregularities in the power grid, in that the power received is always received via the DC bus. In certain embodiments, vehicle propulsion can be achieved with greater consistency.
Click to expand...
You can read the rest of the patent if you still care. :p
 
Crap, I missed Hixee's post that states most of what I did, but in more detail.

Dar said:
Velocity Magnetics filed for a patent to use a bank of ultra-capacitors to store the energy for a launch, hence the no moving parts claim from RMC. Maybe they're having trouble charging the bank quick enough?
Click to expand...

Looks like you may be onto something there.
http://www.freshpatents.com/-dt20150402 ... 091478.php

They specifically mention high current service (1kA+) and flywheel generators as existing alternatives to their claims.
Instead they suggest charging a bank of capacitors at less than 250A, but delivering discharges in excess of 4kA.

They mention recovering energy from the braking system too.


I can see Dollywood having difficulty getting high current feeds in, or prohibitively expensive given the location.
 
Don't think I've seen these two videos posted here yet:

[youtubevid]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4O86Iaq1dI[/youtubevid]

[youtubevid]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1ZFfV9XPg[/youtubevid]

It's damn fast!
 
We have a POV! Just a fair word of warning, prepare for Ear Rape.

[youtubevid]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxbZWPNRsY[/youtubevid]

Relentless, fast, and just orgasmic. I NEED IT NOW.
 
Dear Lord that looks AMAZING.

I wanna see a back seat POV so bad that's gonna be the sweet spot.
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters ... tentially/

Nice pov! However, the ride seems to be down at least until Wednesday because of storm damage....
I really hope they can fix the issue and continue to do soft openings without serious setbacks....Our visit might be during 6th until 10th, July. If they cannot get it up and running until then, we might cancel our trip and visit other parks instead.
 
WOW! Looks super-fast and smooth as silk... Exactly a year from today I will be at Dollywood - counting the days already! =D>
 
Not...gonna...watch...must...wait...9...****....days...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 
Love that POV! Excited to hear more reviews as folks ride it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top