Gurrin, Kendra (2023) Safety of electrical equipment in water-based amusement rides from an engineering perspective. [USQ Project]
![[img]](https://sear.unisq.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text (Project – redacted)
Gurrin_K_TonyAhfock_Redacted.pdf Download (9MB) |
Abstract
This thesis will research the risks of electrical equipment with water-based amusement rides from an engineering perspective. The project aims to provide recommendations and facilitate discussion around the application of electrical safety for water-based amusement rides. In October 2016, the amusement industry was changed forever by the deaths of four patrons on the Thunder River Rapids Ride circuit (Queensland Courts 2020b). The primary cause was the failure of the south pump due to an electrical fault in the circuit (Queensland Courts 2020b). Queensland Courts (2020b) state that, ultimately, the lack of an adequate safety system led to the deaths of four patrons. The findings highlight the importance of amusement ride research, particularly water-based research, as it is lacking in the industry. Research can identify risks associated with water-based amusement rides and identify areas to improve.
Firstly, the thesis included conducting background research on amusement ride incidents and accidents. The results indicate recurring areas that require improvement. Additionally, the thesis includes a review of the relevant legislative requirements, standards and codes of practice relating to amusement rides. The research into the amusement ride risks includes vibration, corrosion, power quality, insulation failure, maintenance (including records), inspection, identifying trends and an emergency shutdown system.
Next, the thesis includes developing a preventative maintenance program that extends water-based amusement ride research into power quality, partial discharge and thermal imaging. Testing information was collected and analysed. The thesis includes mitigation techniques and engineering recommendations to improve the safety of water-based amusement rides. The analysis discusses risks with water-based amusement rides to facilitate discussion. In addition, the thesis studies the application of electrical safety to water-based amusement rides. The thesis met the objectives; however, additional time would have permitted an investigation into a system to monitor and predict equipment failure. The initial testing results provide a benchmark of the expected values to compare to future test results.
The thesis is the first known research into water-based amusement rides. As such, there are areas of further work to develop. Further work includes investigating VSDs and downstream and upstream monitoring of VSDs to determine the possible harmonics generated and the safety implications. Similarly, further investigations could include the cathodic protection of amusement rides to determine if the theory could apply to amusement ride installations. The water-based amusement rides have large volumes of water that could benefit from preventative methods for corrosion. Likewise, future research into the integration of VLSI could lead to increased reliability and testability for safety shutdown systems.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | USQ Project |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Engineering (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Ahfock, Tony |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Power Engineering) |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Sep 2025 23:08 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Sep 2025 23:08 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | electrical safety; amusement rides |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52948 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
