In situ system for snølagring for alpinanlegg

Snow storage in winter sports facilities is resource-intensive, physically heavy and not particularly affordable. Nevertheless, it is becoming a necessity for more and more winter sports facilities in Europe. Because; In a changing global climate with more weather and shorter cold periods, snow preservation is predictable and certain. It's a climate winner. Snow storage takes place without any particular intervention in nature and ecology and is therefore an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional snow production. The need for machine hours and diesel operation to collect the snow and form a snow storage is present, but the use of water and electricity is reduced correspondingly to the need to produce the remaining snow. Pioneers have collected and preserved snow for nearly two decades. Several facilities are now looking towards lasting and predictable solutions to ensure a white arena throughout the winter. The project's aim has been to develop a complete system for the preservation of snow; an innovative, predictable and profitable alternative to traditional snowmaking, for the future of winter sports. It has been a real challenge. Many "stones" have been turned over - concepts have been tested, methods have been developed, and data has been collected in large quantities. The snow deposits in Tryvann Winter Park throughout 2021 and 2022, and at Ål Ski Center in 2022, have been monitored with 100 sensors for temperature, humidity, radiation, wind and precipitation - every minute from covering in April to mid-October. The sensor systems have been developed and built by SINTEF - they are partly powered by electricity from the facilities and a small solar cell system, and the measurements are automatically uploaded to the website via GSM network. Sensors for moisture and temperature are placed around the snow layers to compare the parameters above, inside and under covering materials with different properties in different areas of the snow layers. Processing and interpretation of the measurements against the cover materials indicates that in order to significantly reduce melting from the current standard, materials must be combined to achieve several properties in conjunction; repel precipitation and reflect sunlight well, insulate warm air from cold snow, but still release water vapour from the melting that will occur in the snow. Total volume and changes are measured regularly with a drone and processed with photogrammetry and GIS software and with open source code. Cross-sectional analyses and volume changes are calculated for isolated parts of the snow piles against different types of covering - from measurement to measurement throughout the storage periods - in addition to seeing changes in the entire snow storage over time. In addition to volume measurements, the project has also developed a precise, efficient and affordable method for creating digital map bases for snow optimization in the ski resorts. The card base is used in the treadle machines and by software in the machines knows at all times how much snow is between the machine and the ground. A 50% volume reduction was measured in Tryvann from April-October in 2021, and 42% in 2022. On Ål it was also 40% - but compared to Tryvann affects the first year of storage, and the fact that the snow pile was 1/4 of the size - 6,000 m3 in April 2022. What happens before and after storage is also relevant. How effective are the facilities in shaping and covering the snow storage after the end of the season - and how well do they time the cover with the use of the snow towards the new season. In 2021, a 10% loss was measured in Tryvann between uncovering the snow pile and dosing the pile. The loss was smaller in 2022. The project tested an industrial sewing machine to join covering material in Tryvann in 2022. The solution contributes to less trouble when covering two layers than with Velcro, and the melting occurs more evenly over the entire snow pile, as the solution with Velcro contributed to a lot of overlap of covering materials and therefore difference in melting rate. To simplify the covering process, the project has tested a roll-out adapter on an excavator. This makes the manual work easier - and reduces the need for resources. The same excavator can also be used to shape the snow pile if the surroundings allow it. An excavator is also cheaper to operate and more flexible in the possibility of shaping a snow pile than a treadle machine.

Arctic Coat AS skla drive videre med rådgiving for snølagring mot vintersportsanlegg, det være seg valg av område og form på snøhaug, monitorering og tildekking. Denne kompetansen og erfaringen er en effekt av prosjektets resultater. Bedriften ønsker å fortsette å teste nye konsept for dekkemateriale, installasjonsmetoder og sikring, der kunden ønsker å bidra til dette. Arctic Coat selger digitale tjenester for snøoptimalisering for vintersportsanlegg. Foretaket har ila. prosjektperioden utviklet en rimelig og effektiv metode for å oppgradere digitale kart som anleggene allerede benytter aktivt for sin snøoptimalisering. Metoden er spesielt nyttig der anlegget har laget en ny trase/ har tilført masser til traseen som gjør at digitalt kartunderlag for hele anlegget ikke stemmer med virkeligheten. Metoden fungerer også godt for å generere helt nye digitalt kartunderlag for vintersportsanlegg.

Prosjektet omhandler et nytt innovativt, komplett, integrert in situ system for bevaring av snø i alpinanlegg både i og utenom sesong for å sikre framtiden til skisporten. Systemet vil bestå av komponenter som sammen sørger for god isolering, effektiv tildekking og avdekking og sikker anordning mot underlaget og omgivelsene. Kort oppsummert skal systemet sørge for at snø lagres mer effektivt og at kvaliteten på snøen i anleggene vil bli bedre. Dette skal sikre fremtiden til alpinanlegg som på grunn av mildere og mer variert klima opplever økende utfordringer for å opprettholde drift gjennom sesong og i spesielt viktige perioder for besøkende (les: juleferie og påskeferie). Analyser og data av vær- og klimaforhold med tilhørende prediksjoner er sentrale elementer for utviklingen av simuleringsmodeller og systemet. Disse vil gi muligheter for å avdekke viktige optimaliseringsbehov av systemet. Man vil gjennom anvendt forskning bidra til teknologiforbedringer og dermed forbedring av systemets funksjonalitet. Søkerbedrift har et mål om at systemet skal ta posisjonen som en klimanøytral nødvendighet i en bransje hvor snøproduksjon øker i takt med klimaendringene. Resultatene fra forskningen vil implementeres i et demonstrasjonsanlegg for bærekraftig bevaring av snø med optimalisert virkningsgrad. Dette er grunnlaget for det kommersielle systemet som er søkerbedriftens sentrale forretningsområde. Prosjektet er en samarbeidskonstellasjon bestående av SINTEF Narvik AS, Peak Region AB, Oslo Vinterpark, Ål Skisenter og Arctic Coat AS.