Formation of snow cristals in an artificial cloud for use as snow maker

01.01.2011 - 30.09.2012
Forschungsförderungsprojekt
SNOW will investigate the formation of snow crystals inside a closed chamber where conditions of a natural cloud are simulated. The produced snow is similar to natural snow. The new technology represents an ecologically and more efficient alternative to conventional technical snow production. Artificial snow production is indispensable for winter tourism, especially in lower regions. Conventional snow guns for use in ski resorts are less effective in terms of resources and energy use. Every year, ski resorts in Alpine regions use about 95 million cubic meters of water for artificial snow production. This results in a total amount of about 200 million cubic meters of snow. The demand for electrical energy is enormous. Estimations of the energy consumption within the Alpine regions come up with more than 250 GWh every year. The project SNOW aims to develop a technology and a prototype that sets new standards in artificial snow production in terms of resource efficiency and energy use. Snow is produced like it is demonstrated by nature: individual snow crystals are formed in an artificial cloud. The density of the resulting snow is variable, so that out of one cubic meter of water up to 10 cubic meters of snow can be produced. Additionally, the new technology requires only a fraction of the electrical energy demand of conventional snow guns. Such old technology needs about 0.625 kWh of electrical energy per cubic meter of man-made snow. For the same amount of snow the new technology will need only about 0.05 kWh. The aim of the project is the optimization of the formation of snow crystals within an artificial cloud inside a closed chamber. Under the guidance of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, experts from the Technical University Vienna and Siemens AG Austria are brought together to ensure sustainable solutions within the project. The technique of conventional snowmaking is basically unchanged for decades. The project SNOW can consolidate Austrias position as innovation leader in the equipment of ski areas. In addition, the new technology of making snow can be considered to substantially improve environmental aspects compared to conventional techniques. The final result of the project is to present a sustainable alternative to existing snowmaking machinery.

Personen

Projektleiter_in

Institut

Contract/collaboration

  • Siemens AG Österreich

Grant funds

  • FFG - Österr. Forschungsförderungs- gesellschaft mbH (National) Group Thematic programme Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Forschungsschwerpunkte

  • Environmental Monitoring and Climate Adaptation: 50%
  • Efficient Utilisation of Material Resources: 50%

Schlagwörter

DeutschEnglisch
Energieeffizienz in Industrie und GewerbeEnergy efficiency in industry and trade
Produktion von KunstschneeSnow Production

Externe Partner_innen

  • Institut für Diskrete Mathematik und Geometrie
  • Inst. f. Verfahrenstechnik, Umwelttechnik und Techn. Biowissenschaften
  • Universität für Bodenkultur
  • Universität Wien

Publikationen