PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
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and is very significant to his company’s
business strategy.
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The convention centre opened in
Derek Loader, the maintenance
manager, does the ice resurfacing
himself. He explained that after
2010, and it has attracted large crowds
resurfacing with the Olympia machine, he
to events such as the filming of SA’s
fills holes and little indents that have been
got talent and The X Factor, as well
formed by the figure skaters. He does the
as corporate functions for UNISA and
filling manually to ensure the surface is
Discovery. The new ice rink came on
ideal for each session. “We want all our
stream in September 2015 to complete
patrons to have the best ice surface and
the redevelopment.
the most enjoyable skating,” he says.
Daniel pointed out that the ice rink’s
official name is the Durban Ice Arena
The new plant
and not the ‘Durban ice rink’, and
The entire refrigeration plant of the
that at times, the ice rink is converted
old rink, except for one evaporative
for non-ice events too. For instance,
condenser, was removed and scrapped.
it was covered and then used for the
The new central ammonia
international netball championships
refrigeration plant, designed by Christo
in May 2016. The arena has also
van der Merwe, a Cape Town based
hosted international ice productions,
refrigeration consultant at the time,
for example the Moscow on Ice
features two Mycom N4M reciprocating
extravaganza in November 2015.
compressors that are belt-driven by 90kW
motors. One compressor is sufficient to
handle the total load, while the second
The entire
refrigeration plant of the
old rink, except for one
evaporative condenser,
was removed and
scrapped.
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compressor provides 100% standby
capacity. One compressor is fitted with
a variable frequency drive (VFD) for
capacity control. The compressors each
deliver 280kW at -12°C/+35°C.
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The ice is formed by a new ammonia
refrigeration plant that cools a glycol
mixture, which is circulated through
piping in the rink.
An hour before each session, the rink
is resurfaced by a machine that scrapes
the surface and sprays it with hot water
to form a perfectly glossed surface.
On most days, there are three groups of
skaters: the skilled figure skaters, those that
skate for leisure, and the hockey players.
1. Aron Daniel, operations manager of the Olive Convention Centre.
A class of young figure skaters train every
2. Signage and emergency response equipment are legal requirements of ammonia
refrigeration plants.
morning at 6:00. Early afternoon the ice is
again dressed ahead of the leisure users
who are normally quite active during this
period, and in the evenings, the arena is
used for ice hockey.
3. Piping and vessels are insulated with preformed polyuret