WORLD's OLDEST 400 m ARTIFICIAL SKATING RINK,THE 'JAAP EDEN BAAN' AT AMSTERDAM

摘要

The third artificial frozen 400 m speed skating rink in the world was realized in Amsterdam. It was calledrn“Jaap Eden Rink” after the first Dutch World Champion speed skating in 1893, 1894 and 1895. Opened byrnhis grandson at 9 December 1961 and last year during the 50 years jubilee festivities this grandson was therernagain only 50 years older! The former two rinks do not exist anymore, so the Jaap Eden rink is now also thernoldest one in the world! It was a highly unconventional and unique construction! For the first timernevaporating ammonia was used in the rink tubes of a 400 m skating rink! Several technical delegations fromrnall over the world have been visiting the rink during the first years and everywhere new big skating rinksrnstarted to use now this direct NH_3 system, the best solution as well for the energy consumption as for the icernquality!rnDesigned and constructed by the Dutch company Grasso. Because of the direct NH_3 system the energyrnconsumption was about 20 % less comparing to the other two with indirect R 22 systems! Quite important atrnan outdoor 400 m skating rink with 2.4 MW capacity! One of the designers Ir J. van Male (over 90 years oldrnnow) gave a lot of interesting information about the ideas behind this project, the design and working etc.rnVery interesting to listen to all this, of course all done without using computers, spread sheets, pocketrncalculators etc! We have it easy now, but I think in these days the technicians were much C1oser to the rootsrnof the refrigeration technology.