WhiteWater World Construction Discussion

[Dom15]

yes! wen do you think will be open cause my sis is finishing year 12 and her and her mates are taking me down before schoolies. cause my parents dont like going anymore cause they are sick of themeparks and i cant go by myself or with mates cause im only 15!

[aidan]

That update was huge! thanks Richard. It wont be open for schoolies dom15.

Edited October 25, 2006 by aidan

[Richard]

Some people have posted sources which suggest it opens December 26 which is a bit after Schoolies. Note: I have added three new photos to page two of the gallery. http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.p...=159&page=2 These three new images show some better closeups of the LIM systems including the black boxes which contain the electromagnets required as well as the sensors just below each magnet that will activate them as the boat goes over the top.

[myk]

I am taking my brother about 3 days after it opens for his bday, though I think I will visit myself or with a mate on Opening day

[kennykoala]

I was also wondering if we would soon get and invite, to a special annual pass preview b4 opening. DW has donr this with FLOWRIDER and the last few holiday shows they have had in the ark. obviously, they would charge for this preview, but that would be good:)

[mattcrombie]

A question. It may be obvious and someone may have asked this already. But will there be a cover on outdoor parts of the rocketslide? like a net for safety? all other rocketslides i have seen have this.

[lisalila]

Note: I have added three new photos to page two of the gallery. http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.p...=159&page=2 These three new images show some better closeups of the LIM systems including the black boxes which contain the electromagnets required as well as the sensors just below each magnet that will activate them as the boat goes over the top.

Thanks for that Richard, had to look twice at the worker in there..thought I was seeing things for a second.

[mickey_079]

lol same, I thought he had no legs Thats really impressive, its going to be great. Hey who is doing the construction for white water world? Sorry if this has been asked before.

[GoGoBoy]

Just had it confirmed by my WWW contact that in the pic the Cyclone tower roof structure wasn't finished yet and still had some work to be done on it. So that sagging should be fixed. Also found out that the netting around the outside is to stop people throwing stuff at Cyclone as Richard and mattcrombie suggested. It should also look a bit better when it's finished and none of the other towers will have it thankfully

[aidan]

lol same, I thought he had no legs Thats really impressive, its going to be great. Hey who is doing the construction for white water world? Sorry if this has been asked before.

Watpac is constructing the park because there are heaps of signs with the name everywhere on the towers and fences.

[mickey_079]

oh ok, yeah i do recall seeing many watpac signs.

[Adam]

Those linear induction motors are damn cool. Much more practical and reliable than the system the Tower of Terror uses. Very innovative.

[lisalila]

lol same, I thought he had no legs

Right, glad I'm not the only one needing glasses tonight Is it December yet guys?

[Coaster Boy 6]

Just some quick questions: When going up hill on the rocket slide, usually the conveyer belt is going at the same speed all the time. If you end up at the bottom of the hill and hit the conveyer belt faster than it's actually moving, is this what makes you jolt and slow down when hitting the conveyer belt? However, with the new LIM’s that will propel you up hill, will you still have the jolt? Or will sensors at the bottom of the hill tell how much magnetic force the LIM’s have to use to keep a steady and smooth ride speed? I’m really interested in how these things are going to work. Will the LIM’s be visible (like the conveyer) or will it be underneath the fibreglass? What you guys think about the new system for the rocket slide? CoasterBoy6 P.S: I ask a lot of questions.

[myk]

There's no way it will be underneath the fibreglass, unless the tubes have some sort of magnets in them. LIM launch systems, which rely on the principal of an eddy current, use simple conductive fins rather than the much heavier fixed magnets of the LSM system. An electrical current is passed through a series of electromagnets, generating a linear traveling magnetic field. Eddy currents that oppose this movement are formed in the train’s conductive fins and these push the train forward ahead of the forward-moving magnetic field. Unlike LSM systems, the timing of the magnets does not need to be precise, so while the magnets are activated sequentially it is done to reduce heat and conserve power.

Edited October 25, 2006 by myk

[Adam]

will you still have the jolt? Or will sensors at the bottom of the hill tell how much magnetic force the LIM’s have to use to keep a steady and smooth ride speed?

The force of the linear induction motors will not vary but there won't be any jolt when hitting the uphill section. Just think of the LIM system as a fast flowing river. As soon as your tube hits the river, you'll start speeding up. If you happen to be going faster than the river current, you'll slow down but very gradually—so much so that you wouldn't notice it. It won't be an instant jolt like what is experienced with a conveyor belt. A huge advantage of LIM systems over LSM systems is that they don't require a complex computer system to operate. There are no speed calculations, nor is the position of the vehicle monitored every few milliseconds. Simple but ingenious. Edited October 25, 2006 by Adam

[Richard]

I'm not sure exactly how the LIM system will operate exactly, but I suspect it may vary the amount of energy based on the boat's speed, which can be easily calculated via the proxy sensors. If a very heavy boat goes along, there's no point in firing up the first few magnets if the boat is travelling faster than they intend for the boat to go (and hence actually increase its speed). It'd use gravity and friction to slow it, at which point the LIM system would seemlessly kick in. This to me is the most logical way to operate the ride as the key advantage with the LIMs is their controlability and ability to adapt entirely to the boat on the course at any given time. Remember that you're not going to just stop at the bottom of the hills. Much like the Speed Coaster at Wet'n'Wild you'll continue uphill. The LIMs will just allow your boat to keep up its speed and boost it enough to get it over the crest. The electronics will be covered. You can see in the photos on the second page the mounts that the cover will be attached to. Electronics and heavily chlorinated water tend not to mix too well. We'll have to wait until future updates to see whether it'll be an open grill style cover or completly enclosed. The first means less downward force from the water cascading down, but they may be taking this into account and just enclosing it and using more power for the ride. A cover will only add a few millimetres to the spacing between. The boats will be mounted with alloy plates that will be induced and create the motion. It's a given they'll need to be protected to ensure they don't corrode and don't damage the slide surface. The LIM system will be nearly identical to Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland Transit Authority (Walt Disney World), to the point where it looks like they've even used the exact same model/manufacturer of electromagnets (see picture). Interestingly, the key advantage of LSM systems (such as Tower of Terror) over LIMs is their efficiency. LSMs are capable of being up to 97% efficient, compared with a LIM's 70%. LSMs require starting torque (such as the kicker wheels on TOT), whereas LIMs can start from stationary. LSMs can very precisely control the position of the vehicle, whereas LIMs can't. Of course as Adam mentioned one of the LSM's key disadvantages is the huge amounts of monitoring and calculating required to synchronise everything perfectly. A LIM can just be switched on before the train gets to it and it'll do its job.

[MARK28]

A lim system is pretty gosh darn fancy for a water slide! I'm still waiting for the rest of the colour scheme of the park to materialise before I pass a good judgement on it. At the moment it seems like it's uncomfortably halfway between co-ordinated/controlled and rediculously vibrant/colourful, which I think will look really cool.

[Adam]

How about instead of varying the current, they simply don't switch on any of the magnets until the speed drops below a preset figure? At which stage the magnets are then activated sequentially by the sensors. It would provide a very seamless experience. And no variable current sources plus computer systems to operate it. I still think variable-current electromagnets are too complex for this ride.

[myk]

Does anyone know how the water will travel in the slides? Because the uphill sections do have LIM launch but will there be water going across the top of these? Because a water slide does need water... Is there jets in the slide for the downhill sections?

[mickey_079]

I to have been wanting to ask that question as well. But I did notice on the lift hil sections there are holes in the side of the slide, what are these holes for?

[Richard]

How about instead of varying the current, they simply don't switch on any of the magnets until the speed drops below a preset figure?

Yeah that's logical. I think I was over the idea of variable by about my second sentence in the past above.

Does anyone know how the water will travel in the slides?

Every section of the slide will have water, both the uphill and (obviously) the downhill sections. At the peaks of the downhill parts they have large outlets similar to what water slides normally have at the start. You can see every few feet the outlets along the sides of the uphill sections which will keep them wet. It's not going to be fast-flowing obviously, it just needs to be wet enough to allow the boats to travel smoothly up the hills. You can see a close look of the outlets and piping on page 2 (first two images).

[lisalila]

I was wondering what they were for than I thought they must be for the water otherwise how else will the slide work. I also like how they have a few transparent peices on the octo racer.

[myk]

Ooo do they? How fun! Where are they?

[Gazza]

I vote that your post gets deleted, that would mean I would take it.... see im actually contributing to the discussion. Anyway, this is all looking awesome, LIMs on a waterslide is just crazy, just think of the applications, imagine having them on a drop to make it faster than gravity, or having a flat launch at the start like a traditional launched coaster, or perhaps they can do away with the start tower altogether and have an LIM lift hill. Its also going to be energy efficient since its not like they are pushing a heavy coaster train with 20 people on board, just a lightweight raft. Personally i think it would be cool if they just had upward facing water jets at the bottom, so it looks like you are being pushed uphill, when really its the LIMs doing the work. Im also intrigued about the way the boats will work, will it simply be bits of copper sewn in to the bottom of the rafts. I would imagine the water on the slide would keep them cool, you wouldnt exactly want them melting through the plastic or burning the riders sitting a few mm above them. Either that or we will just have to fill our boardies with handfulls of old 1c and 2c pieces since they are made of copper But the big question is, what will WWW do if WnW just goes and does a pair installation of a similar style of slide? As for the Octo racer, id love to ride the 2 inside lanes since they have a big curve to build up speed, but a tight one at the bottom, and were riding this head first too :eek: I dont like the translucent sections though, while they do push the blue ringed octopus theme (The start tower canopy is going to be a canvas dome with eyes on it) i think they will let too much light in. Its a bit dissapointing how so many of WWWs slides have gone for the translucent effect, i have always been a fan of the pitch black style of slides WnW has. Also, in your gallery Richo you said there is going to be a helix at the start of the toilet bowl, but its only going to be a tight U turn, it will be quite similar to the standard model on the proslide website.