Lazy River Rapids Effect Solutions Project
Problem statement
Children have a shared enjoyment of floating in a tube down a lazy river. But many children crave the thrill of a wave chop, or the excitement of river rapids over a calm and uneventful path. Often visitors of pools and waterparks seek a dynamic experience, however, smaller community pools and YMCA’s face daunting budget and space limitations. Currently used solutions that utilize extra pumps, fans, and/or structures to produce a river rapids effect can be costly and energy-intensive. For example, with the additional jets, typically water parks will need to build additional housing for this equipment. We aim to provide a solution that will create an exhilarating river rapids effect without relying on mechanical or pneumatic systems, instead, exploring how the geometry of the river can naturally produce this turbulence. Solutions such as ours aren’t readily available for users in search of a low budget, energy efficient option. Our goal is to simulate real river rapids utilizing similar geometric profiles that create the waves. Using passive components with minimum impact to energy consumption of the overall river, our solution will help facilities meet sustainability goals in a cost-effective manner.
Team members
Madi Noe – facilitator
Nick Brennan – communicator
Morgan Jones – accountant
Rachel Dybro – admin
Client
Jen Esposito
Water Technology, Inc