In recent years water parks and holiday resorts around the world have started to invest in a new and hugely popular water attraction, namely sheet wave surfing attractions. Leading the market in the development of the technology for producing surf waves is the White-Water West Industries and USA Licensee Aquatic Development Group (ADG), with their FlowRider wave simulators. The FlowRider allows people of all ages and skills to surf and body board every day of the year as they can be constructed inside buildings. Such is the popularity of the wave pool, it is now becoming the must-have attraction for resorts, hotels, theme parks, sports centres and even cruise ships. Marshall Myrman of White-Water West says that their business is dedicated to providing people with fun and one of the most popular rides at their parks around the world is the FlowRider surf wave simulator. ““We are fun brokers”, says Marshall, “and the FlowRider is an exhilarating ride that is hugely popular. It is a combination of skate boarding, snowboarding, wake boarding, skim boarding and surfing. It is a great product for water parks and it is a prime attraction particularly for visitors who like to see it as a sport and this aspect is developing. The greatest flow-boarders in the world today come from skateboarding backgrounds and are doing the moves and tricks that they have developed on sheet waves.”
How it works
FlowRider is a sheet wave surfing attraction with the sheet wave being created by pumping very high volumes of low pressure water up a suspended flexible membrane ride surface installed in a shape that mimics the form of a wave. Pumping the water up and over the ride surface provides a 1.5 to 3 in continuous flow of water which can be used for surfing using a flow board or body board. The actual height of the wave form is about 5ft from top to bottom and the entire surface which is between 20 and 30 ft wide. Below this ride surface is a concrete containment tank, in which two submersible horizontally positioned pumps are located. The discharge of the pumps is attached to a FlowRider nozzle assembly which takes the discharge flow and curves upwards and spreads the flow wide onto the ride surface approximately 5 ft above the bottom of the tank in which the pumps are installed. It is a thin sheet of water that is shot out across the entire surface of the ride membrane and then falls back into the pump chamber. In this way a continuous wave is provided.
New installations
Clearly the continuous operation of FlowRider relies on superior pump technology and therefore White-Water's North American Licensee ADG has been specifying KSB's Amacan P Series submersible pump for its FlowRider attractions. The most recent parks to take delivery of FlowRiders equipped with this pump are at Six Flags in Gurnee, IL and Camel Beach, Tannersville, PA. “Both these installations have the FlowRider Double and each one incorporates two of our pumps,” reports KSB Regional Manager Azir Khan. “The decision to use our pumps for two more installations was based on the proven history and performance of the Amacan P.”
The Amacan P submersible pump is a proven pump that is used in a wide variety of demanding storm water, municipal and other water transport applications around the globe. Most importantly for the FlowRider, where large volumes of water are used, the pump has a flow rate capable of exceeding 108,000 gallons per minute. Unlike some other submersible pumps, the Amacan P can be mounted horizontally in the water containment tank below the ride surface. Furthermore, it can withstand environments with a high chemical concentration, such as a chlorinated pool. For ADG, this pump offers a number of key benefits when it comes to the installation and operation. It is easy to install, with the pump's own weight ensuring self-centring seating in the discharge tube, and an O-ring seals it in. Because there are no anchoring or anti-rotation elements it is quick to install or remove. The pump is also hydraulically optimised providing low-vibration hydraulic system with inlet ribs and optimised bellmouth for vortex-free inflow.
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Las Vegas. Image courtesy of White-Water West Industries.
Reliability and performance
With FlowRider being seen by operators as a valuable source of revenue, maintaining operation at all times is a major issue, so pump reliability is high on White-Water's list of priorities. “The attraction itself is the FlowRider Double, which is our bread and butter and is typically around 2000sq.ft,” says Marshall Myrman. “We want our customers to have a hassle free experience with FlowRider, which is a tough demand on the pumps as they have to move a lot of water over a vinyl fabric in the safest manner possible.” When reviewing its roster of pump suppliers some time back, White-Water and ADG contacted KSB Inc. as they wanted a fresh look at the technology available and the resources that it could offer. “We contacted KSB because there are very few manufacturers of this type of pump which have a global presence,” comments ADG Vice-President David Keim. “Because our products are used all over the world, it was essential that any new supplier had a global presence in terms of engineering, technical and spare parts support. We set out our specific requirements and customised items for the pumps and it was the KSB product that featured all our requirements as standard. It was a pretty easy decision to go with them as an additional supplier.” The first KSB pumps were supplied around three years ago and due to their success they are becoming more commonly specified.” We have used these pumps in about 12 installations and the pumps have been outstanding, with zero operational problems,” continues David Keim. “The Amacan P submersible pump is an excellent choice for the FlowRider and other water park applications where efficiency, reliability, and safety are of the highest concern.”
Meeting client expectations
Azir Khan says that the Amacan P has delivered many years of trouble-free operation in installations all over the world. “The mechanical seal in tandem arrangement protects against fibrous material. Trouble-free operation is down to the liquid reservoir and high-quality wear-resistant seal face materials. Reliability is assured through bearing temperature monitoring, thermal motor protection, leakage sensors in the motor/connection space and leakage monitoring of the mechanical seal system. And we must not overlook the fact that the slim motor minimises discharge tube flow losses, so making it highly efficient.” “The operational demands of the FlowRider Double system are unique,” continues Azir Khan, “because the system requires a high-flow pump capable of moving over 20,000 gallons per minute with frequent starts and stops. After several years in service in the FlowRider attractions, the KSB pumps have proven to be reliable in these demanding situations.”
Amacan P submersible pump.
