SINGAPORE: The world's tallest duelling roller-coaster the Battlestar Galactica re-opened on Monday after eleven months of being grounded.
The ride, which is the star attraction of Universal Studios Singapore, was forced to shut down just a week into the opening of the theme park.
Routine tests had detected a fault in one of the seat support structure of the ride, leaving one seat detached from its frame.
The fault was attributed to fatigue cracks detected in a welded component of the seat's support structure, the part which attaches the coaster's seat to its frame.
All welded components for the seats have since been replaced with a new machined part.
Universal Studios Singapore said it took nine months to fully complete testing the ride.This involved thousands of simulated ride cycles using water dummies and coming up with a revised engineering model using computer simulation and actual onsite conditions.
From the model, engineers came up with a revised design for the ride which was then field tested.
A unit was also sent to Germany and put through an accelerated simulation where engineers simulated the entire lifespan of the equipment.
This is to ensure the revised model met the longevity requirement of the ride.
- CNA/fa