In order to enable smooth travel and safety of commuters, active front end variable speed drives (VSDs) for the ventilation system of Chennai metro line has been provided by ABB, which is a key infrastructure project that tends to connect major areas within Chennai. The Chennai Metro initiates to take the planned urbanization agenda a step forward with the aperture of the 9-km-long extension. The new line will let the passengers travel from the northern part of the city to Chennai International Airport in the south in around one hour and will play a key role in facilitating the road traffic and enhancing public transportation.
ABB solutions happen to be a component of this fourth largest metro system in our country with the supply of ACH580 and ACS880 active front end drives to fortify the metro line’s ventilation system as well as platform cooling. These drives are a part of ABB’s HVAC offering, designed to meet the highest calibre of safety, reliability and energy efficiency requisites.
Sanjeev Arora, President of Motion Business, ABB India Ltd stated that they are proud to be associated with another metro rail project in India, and it is another consequential milestone for ABB in contributing to India’s booming infrastructure. He also mentioned that spotlight on “Make in India” initiative is back in the wake of a pandemic that had disrupted supply chains. With reforms being charted out for sundry sectors for amending ease of doing business, they are now encouraged towards making India a vigorous and self-reliant nation.
HVAC Drives for increased Safety and Reliability
Rigorous ventilation standards for air quality and fire safety features are being mandated by rail and road tunnels. For the effective control of tunnel ventilation fans, ABB drives are being used together with electric motors. They are integral in operation of advanced air exchange systems in the stations and tunnels, with an aim to ensure the passengers’ comfort and preserving energy in mundane operation as well as contributing in safe voidance, smoke extract and fire fighting in case of emergency.
The dedicated voltage boost feature of ABB’s HVAC drive addresses voltage-drop issues caused by long cables in the tunnel network. With this feature, fans are always able to provide a nominal air flow without a need for any external equipment in order to compensate for voltage drop. Enormous cost benefits to this project are brought by this innovation.
Almost non-existent harmonics, thanks to the drives’ active front end design, mitigate the peril of the network overload, which ensuring continuous ventilation and efficient power supply. The ‘fireman’s override’ feature allows VSDs on smoke extraction and pressurization fans to maintain safe escape routes for the commuters, ignoring non-critical faults and warnings e.g. due to too high temperature. In the event of a fire, this mode is conventionally triggered with a special key at the fireman’s control station.
Strong Partnership for Critical Infrastructures
ABB India has partnered with Sterling Wilson, which is one of the leading EPC companies, in order to provide HVAC solutions for the Chennai Metro project. ABB has long standing sodality with Sterling and has partnered on several critical infrastructure projects in India, the major one being Asia’s longest road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir. The 10.8-kilometre Chennai-Nashri tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir is the longest highway tunnel in Asia, featuring a state-of-the-art ABB ventilation control system.
ABB has played a key role in transforming the intra-city metro transportation system in the country by providing an extensive array of products and systems for wayside power and onboard requisite. About 50% of the Indian metro lines run on ABB technologies like medium voltage Uni-gear, LV ArTuK and gas-insulated switch gears. With an aim to convey millions of passengers safely every day, current operational metro lines in Kochi and Bengaluru utilize the fortification of ABB solutions
ABB has been a component of some of the iconic infrastructure projects around the world, from building the world’s most potent ventilation system for the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland to powering the world’s tallest tower – Burj Khalifa in Dubai. These projects do not only improvise conveyance affecting the lives of people but have become icons of development, engendering an equilibrium of human, machine and nature for sustainability.
