900 smoke extraction motors go underground The Calle 30 construction project in Madrid is one of the largest underground projects in the world. It requires over 900 smoke extraction motors for use with fans. The project is being undertaken on the M-30 ring road around the centre of Madrid. It involves a major upgrade, to improve traffic flows and open up new areas for redevelopment on a major route that is currently used by over 300,000 vehicles and around 500,000 people per day. Part of the Calle 30 works involves the relocation underground of a 6.5km section of the motorway, which, at present, cuts off access to the river Manzanares from the city. This involves the cutting of no less than seven tunnels, which will free up the land on either side of the river, enabling the creation of parklands with pedestrian access to the river. The tunnels vary in width, height and slope over the 6.5km length, as they dip and turn to accommodate existing on and off ramps, metro lines, main sewers and the river bed. Therefore, although the tunnel designs have been co-ordinated and the fire safety measures standardised, the level of risk at different points along the tunnels varies considerably. WEG is helping to address these risks with the supply of around 900 smoke extraction motors to Zitron, the largest Spanish manufacturer of mining and tunnelling ventilation fans. The motors are in two ranges, with power ratings between 15kW and 600kW and are rated for operation at 400°C 2 hours and 200°C for 2 hours. Prior to their supply, a quantity of the 400ºC 2-hour motors was independently tested at the laboratory of San Pedro de Anes (Asturias). These were 15kW and 18.5 kW standard smoke extraction motors. The motors have been certified by the CTICM since 2002; however, due to the large number of fans and motors that will be installed with these power ratings in the C30 project, additional tests were requested. The tests were conducted in a heat chamber: they consisted of applying progressively increased temperatures to the WEG motors over a period of 7-10 minutes. At the end of this period, the temperature inside the chamber had reached 400ºC. The motors were then required to operate reliably for two hours at this temperature. The outcome of the tests was entirely satisfactory, with the motors operating perfectly at the end of the test period. Speed Link InfoService Request more information by e-mail Reader Service No. Reader Number Email Address 00931

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