Intelux NG controllers for intelligent management of tunnel lighting
BACKGROUND
The project involved excavation and removal of 2 million cubic metres of earth, while the body of the structure required 550,000 cubic metres of ncrete and 1890 ramps each 22 metres long and weighing 66 tonnes. The inside walls have been covered with 80 collages made of 75,000 cubic metres of marble.
The longest and widest tunnel in the Middle East of 1.5 km comprises eight lanes with a capacity of 8,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. Apart from the main structure of the tunnel, an elevated 440 metre bridge was built at the North tunnel entrance above Al Quds and Beirut Road intersection, and two other elevated bridges, each one 200 metres long.
The number of people using the airport is projected to reach 42 million by 2020.
THE SOLUTION
The lighting control and management system of the Dubai Airport Road Tunnels is one of the most complex and advanced such system in the world. Nearly 10,000 lamps are controlled and monitored in the longest road tunnel in the Middle East. The components of the system are distributed throughout the four substations and the ancillary buildings in the North and South. They are linked together through a redundant optic fibre ring network. Each of the 471 lighting circuits is individually controlled and monitored by an INTELUX NG, New Generation Source Controller. All problems are immedialety reported and alarms are raised through the main control system.
The master control station is linked to the central SCADA control system of the tunnels. The system can be operated and monitored from there. In emergencies, engineers can log on to the system from anywhere in the world, through an internet connection.
It is planned to link similar smaller control systems, controlling the lighting in smaller tunnels and underpasses throughout Dubai to the main control system. This is a huge advantage for Dubai Municipality, giving them a transparent and homogenous control system for all their installations.
THE BENEFITS
When designing the system, an experienced team, which delivered about 100 road tunnels, among them the longest road tunnel in the world (Gothard Tunnel in Switzerland, 17 km. long) the engineers of Ticos AG Switzerland and Revetec had two priorities. The highest priority was given to safety and security: all systems have back-up functions guaranteeing the lighting even in the worst case. As a second priority the operational cost of the tunnel was in foregroud. The system installed will save about 25% of energy compared with a traditional system and the lamps last twice with through main voltage stabilisation and lamp dimming.
