EWCG

Snowmaking Plant

Automatic snowmaking installation: Principles of operation

Man made snow is obtained by crystallization in the ambient cold air of water droplets finely pulverized by snow producers. The pulverization of the droplets is obtained by a mixture of water under pressure and compressed air, generated respectively by the snowmaking pumps and the air compressors.

The components of an automatic snowmaking system are:

• The snow producers
• Shelters, located along the slope, equipped with automatic air & water valves and communication modules
• Air and water pipe lines
• The measurement devices (anemometer and temperature probes)

The machine room components:

• Air compressors
• Air treatment unit (air cooling and moisture remover)
• Pumps (for water pressure)
• Controls and regulation equipment for operation of production devices (PLCs, VSD etc.) 

The software component:

• A Installation Driving and Control Software

All those components, except for the “Trail” part, is gathered in one or more buildings according to the dimension of the installation, called machine rooms (dedicated technical buildings) Along the side of trails, the snowmaking shelters are distributed. The shelters house the motorized modulating valves feeding air and water to the snow producers located on top of the shelters.

In the case of a YORK automatic system, modules of communication, located in each shelter, allow to dialogue permanently with the computer and the LIBERTY software which controls the snowmaking installation. The measuring apparatus on the trail (RH & temperature probes, anemometers) located near the snow producers, permanently informs the computer on the evolution of the weather conditions, of relative humidity as well as speed and direction of the wind. The software adjusts in real time the air and water resources according to evolutions' noted.

Automation can be full with a complete management of resources and equipment (on trails and in the machine rooms) or partial with machine automation (air and water resources management only) and the trail part in manual mode. A partial automation can be upgraded easily to full automation by adding automatic valve inside the trail shelters.