Control and Drive Technology WEG motors let it snow at Sochi 2014 Olympic winter games without snow — unthinkable. To prevent this, the organizers of Sochi 2014 used several snow cannons to provide the proper conditions for the games. Eight WEG motors helped to operate the cooling towers that provided the chilled water for the snow cannons. The mix of winners and losers at this year’s Sochi Winter Olympics may have been unpredictable, but one thing was for certain; keeping the relevant competition areas adequately snow-covered for the entire event duration was critical to the Games’ viability and success. Sufficient natural snow could not be guaranteed, so it had to be complemented on demand by snow from an alternative, man-made source. Air flows of 214 m³/s back to current issue Eight of WEG’s 22 kW motors formed a crucial part of the solution; they were located within a pair of large Evapco AT Cooling Towers assembled besides a centrally-located pumping station. The feed pipes radiated from the building to competition areas requiring snow cover, where they terminated in tubing areas which were the supply points for mobile snow cannons. In this application the cooling towers had to respond quickly on demand. They generated AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES 2/2014
chilled water which, after supplemental conditioning, was supplied to the snow cannon. When this conditioned water left the cannon in a sufficiently cold atmosphere, it turned to snow. The two Evapco AT Cooling Towers used were induced draft axial fan counter flow cooling types. Their design combined low energy consuming axial fans with high performance counter flow heat exchange. Each unit at Sochi, with a footprint of approximately 11 m x 6 m and a height of nearly 6 m, had four axial fans, each driven by a WEG 22 kW motor. Both cooling towers achieved air flows of 214 m³/s. with Evapco’s cooling tower specification for motors, as well as being Russian state standard GOST certified. “The WEG motors had been prepared perfectly for the job. We’re extremely happy with the quality of WEG’s products and service, and especially delighted with the support received from WEG’s office here in Belgium. They have consistently performed well for us over many years,” comments Rob Vandenboer, Product Manager at Evapco Europe. www.weg.net Well prepared for the job Evapco selected WEG motors to drive their cooling tower fans because of the company’s ability to understand Evapco’s special design concerns. With anti-corrosion coating and environmentally protected enclosures, WEG’s products had to comply About Company: WEG S.A. Headquarters: Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil Net Operating Income: 6,8 bn R$ Employees: 28 000 (2013) Products: electric motors, drives, controls, gear units AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES 2/2014
