2015 Product Awards Winners

These (2) large Spheres were designed and built to the strict requirements of the ASME, Section VIII, Division 2 Standard to hold 80,418 BBLS of Propane under extreme pressure.

Each holds 40,209 BBLS of Propane at 250 psig in the 76′-0 Sphere. The Sphere has an unusually high design pressure that requires that all welds be 100% Ultrasonic Tested(UT) for quality. Also due to the high pressure, the plates were designed to be very thick (the thickest plate was 1.843″) and required that the Spheres be field Post Weld Heat Treated (PWHT) by holding the entire sphere at 1,175 degrees F for 2 hours. Before being placed into service, the Propane Spheres were then successfully hydro tested under pressure to 358 psig.

The Scope of Work for the spheres included the design and construction of the foundations, as well as the design and installation of the support columns including their fire proofing, multi ring deluge fire protection spray system, system piping from the sphere top to the ground, a galvanized stairway and field paint of the finished spheres and piping.

These Spheres used 3,038,000 pounds of steel plate and demonstrate the capability and flexibility of steel to store products at very high pressures making steel – the material of choice!

With the influx of inexpensive “shale gas” petroleum products flowing into the Gulf Region, it was no surprise when a new Air Separation Unit was proposed to be built in La Porte, TX. ASU’s break down these unrefined gases into many more usable components, the main ones being Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Argon. The best way to then store these refined gases is to liquefy them cryogenically and then store the chilled product in double wall tanks.

The three vessels constructed in La Porte were designed to hold over 1.5 million gallons of cryogenic Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Argon. The inner holding tank(s) had to withstand operating temperatures in the range of negative 200 degrees C (-328 F) thus requiring the use of stainless steel inner vessels. Each of these “thermos” tanks is then surrounded by a perlite insulation annular space and an exterior carbon steel tank designed to keep the insulation barrier protected from the elements. Only the flexibility of steel allows the storage of such cold products – concrete, fiberglass, etc. would all shatter at these temperatures! Combined, the three tanks used nearly one million (1,000,000) pounds of steel plate and piping, including a specialty stainless steel designated as 201LN which can properly resist the cold shattering effects of cryogenic fluids.

Engineering of these three tanks consumed thousands of man-hours, much spent routing the inner tank piping thru the perlite annular space. It is critical that there is enough flexibility built into the lines to safely handle the stresses caused by the huge differences in temperature(s) (-325F inside vs a Texas temperature of 110F outside). Finite element analysis is also involved on fabrication details not previously tested / used on earlier cryo tanks. Each of the products stored also had their own “personal” requirements, such as the seal welding (and later specialty cleaning) of the Oxygen tank’s interior, so as to avoid having the tank explode when exposed to hidden petroleum based contamination. The LAR (Liquid Argon) tank also presented unique challenges, as that particular product actually weighs more than water, an interesting facet when conducting the API mandated hydrotest procedure.

Construction of the three tanks was performed on a very tight site, with the tank crew competing for lay down and working space amongst a dozen other contractors who were trying to build the surrounding process units at the same time. Sitting on special elevated and insulated foundations, the tank builders were “up in the air” more than usual too. Once completed, the customer’s logos were applied to the exterior shells (logos not shown here), providing the new ASU’s owner with free advertising that their plant was open for business.

This 50,000 cu. Ft. Low pressure gas holder was a replacement to a smaller unit at the facility. The treatment plant needed increased capacity with limited space, and so had to install this new gas holder in the same area originally occupied by the older unit.

This unit provides necessary capacity for increased demand from daily operation of the plant.

The city’s specification required that the gas holder be designed for an initial operating pressure of 6½ inches water column and to be able to accommodate an increased future operating pressure of 14 inches water column. The piston deck was designed to accommodate the future placement of additional ballast for the increased pressure.

This new master planned gated community will grow up to include approximately 600 homes across the 476 preserved acres that are divided up into several separate neighborhoods which include a walking bridge, scenic overlook, and park. This community is very proud of their new 1MG Elevated Fluted Column Water Storage Tank that has brought the much needed increased water pressure and fire protection in addition to serving as a centerpiece for self-advertising.

This all-steel elevated tank supports over 8 million pounds of water alone and peaks at 157.5 feet in the air. Due to its Florida location, high winds, soil conditions, and air quality checks/controls added to the design/implementation challenges of this fluted column tank structure and also required a 1/16″ corrosion allowance. The electrical, SCADA, telemetry, piping, and valve work are all cleverly concealed from the public interface inside the fluted column while an all-steel roof handrail compactly encompasses the antennae and hatches atop of the tank. A complete Cathodic Protection system will help fight against the coastal corrosive atmosphere. The tank utilizes steel for its two vertical pipe runs from grade to the interior bowl area, a full column-diameter steel condensate ceiling, and seven internal structural stiffeners which also serve as ladder platforms up the column.

Tens of thousands of design, construction, and paint man-hours went into successfully delivering this impressive tank on its beautiful site. It is as massive as it is useful and has the following noteworthy points:
-nearly 85,000 sq. ft. of total painted steel surface
-over 316 cu. yds. of concrete support the tank structure
-over 394 tons of steel was used in the water tank and supporting structure
-over 350 ft. of 12 & 8 in. diameter steel pipes fill, drain, and properly overflow the tank
-two different painted color logos adorn the peaceful exterior set in the tranquil environment

City of Chino
Eastside water treatment facility
Treated water reservoirs

(1) 500,000 gallon and (1) 4,000,000 gallon water reservoirs

4.0 million gallon reservoir
170’d x 27’h, knuckle roof tank
400 tons
Thickness range: 3/16″ to 1/2″

0.500 million gallon reservoir
64’d x 27’h, knuckle roof tank
60 tons
Thickness range: 3/16″ to 1/4″

Murals applied to these tanks
Steel tanks offer superior substrate color and gloss retention of murals.

This huge Primary Separation Cell (98′-5 Diameter x 91′-10 High) is located in the Extraction Unit of the Kearl Expansion Project, an oil sands treatment and separation facility 275 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta that is only 680 miles from the Arctic Circle. Primary Separation Cells are large, specialty vessels that are exclusively utilized in the oil sands area in Alberta.

Steel is the only material of choice for these specialty vessels due to: 1.) the all-weather construction capability of steel in such a cold climate and 2.) the durability of steel to withstand the harsh processing environment required to handle and endure the daily processing of large volumes of sand, oil and water mixtures.

Primary Separation Cells are specialized large diameter, cone-bottomed vessels with a steep side slope, which perform the separation of sand, oil, and water. The shape of the vessel facilitates the separation of heavy solids from the light, aerated bitumen froth. The unique nature and viscosity of the treated slurry requires careful consideration to the vessel’s design and fabrication. Oil sands slurry from the hydrotransport pipeline enters the vessels through a feedwell, which evenly distributes the slurry below the froth layer.

Once diluted slurry enters the vessel, the aerated bitumen is very buoyant and instantly floats to the top. This intermediate froth product overflows into a froth launder, which gravity flows to a downstream de-aeration unit. Aerated bitumen has a very low density due to its very high air content.

Coarse solids immediately sink to the bottom of the vessel and are pumped out to the tailings plant (sometimes referred to as PSC underflow).

The slurry which lingers in the middle of the vessel (termed midlings) is made up of material not heavy enough to sink instantly and not light enough to float. This material is often reprocessed in aerated flotation units due to its significant bitumen content.

Last year, this formerly neglected water system resulted in several more leaks to their 32′ diameter by 82′ HWL, 490,000 gallon tank from the 1940’s and was in severe enough condition that it needed a quick replacement. The owner determined that they would construct two tanks on the same site to replace this single tank so that future maintenance would never again be neglected (with two tanks, they could always take one out of service for inspection or maintenance). The owner had been contacted and persuaded to bid both glass-lined bolted tanks and welded steel tanks, but elected to award two welded steel tanks and the project began in December 2014.

The challenging part was that the existing tank had to remain in service while constructing the two new tanks – which were within 12 ft. The foundation excavation for one of the new tanks exposed a decent portion of the existing tank foundation. Many design, engineering, and planning tactics had to be considered so the sequence of the construction activities would keep the job site safe and prevent the existing tank from unexpected movements. Prior to getting the new tanks online, the existing tank required five more repairs to keep it in service until it was removed in November 2015. The site was also in close proximity to neighboring houses and within a protected wooded area. An additional challenge was the existing tank had antennae which remained in service throughout the project, so much care was taken to protect the personnel, property, and equipment.

Near the completion of the first tank, they added over a ton of additional steel antennae brackets to the tank. Thousands of design and construction man-hours were spent to make this a successful project with the tight site and sequencing constraints. These two new large water storage tanks have the following points to highlight:
-more than 60,000 sq. ft. of total painted steel surface
-226 tons of steel was used in the water tanks, antennae bracket work, and supporting structures

This pressure vessel project was fabricated for use in the Phillips 66 Refinery in Rodeo, CA, for their LPG Recovery Project. It was fabricated using clad material of 7/8”thick SA 516-70N for the backer, with 1/8” thick 316L cladding. The overall height is 153’, an inside diameter of 84”, a total weight of over 263,000 lbs. Included inside this demethanizer are 35 double pass trays, along with 10 single pass trays. This vessel took more than 6500 man hours, and was completed in 11 months. For its almost 2,000 mile journey, it took 10 days, at an average speed of 40 miles per hour, to travel from Oklahoma City to Rodeo, CA.

This past summer we worked on a challenging project. We built the largest shop built double wall stainless steel tank we believe that has ever been built and transported in one piece. The tank was 33 feet in diameter and 65 feet tall. We built it on a very tight schedule and delivered 4 days early.

Our team does big things. We are proud to participate in a carbon capture facility. Building a very BIG double wall stainless steel amine storage tank. Amine is one of the liquids that attaches itself to the C02 and captures it so that the CO2 can become a sell-able product rather than an environmental waste.

Our tank was loaded on a trailer and traveled 400 miles. Because of the size of the tank it took a week to get to the site and it took two trucks and over 200 feet of trailer to get it there. Along the way utility crews cut and lifted power lines so that the tank could get to site.

This tank was purchased by the client to replace a failing concrete tank.

Stainless steel Autoclave with fully functional hinged door assembly for ease of product loading and unloading. Vessel used to evaluate propulsion components in a simulated high altitude environment. Material of construction is 316 stainless steel with 1/2″, 3/4″ shell thickness and 1″ thick full length internal floor.

Its size is 12 feet in diameter x 25 feet long. Weight is 41,000 pounds. Vessel contains two rectangular vacuum rated personnel access doors, numerous real time viewing ports and two instrumentation console attachment banks for live data collection. Autoclave’s exterior surface is insulated for maintaining controlled temperature demands. Vessel was manufactured to withstand full vacuum at low temperatures. Vessel built and welded in accordance to ASME Section VIII, Division 1 code requirements.

The Hyperion project was a replacement for an existing line that had been in operation for over 50 years. The line serviced a large portion on the wastewater generated by the City of Los Angeles. All the piping for this project had to be removed and replaced during a short shut down window of only five weeks. With the multiple compound laterals and the tight surroundings of the existing structures, there was absolutely no room for error.

The main header began at a diameter of 123”, then reduced down to 96”, and finally reduced down to 85” diameter. The wall thickness ranged from 5/8” to 3/8” thick. From the different diameters, five 60” laterals branched off from the main headers and routed through an existing wall and connected to an existing valve and pump. Each one of the laterals needed a crotch plate ranging in thickness of 1 ½” to 3” thick. Man ways with davit arm assemblies were added so the interior of the line could be serviced.

The entire system was lined with a ceramic epoxy lining, specially designed for wastewater pipe lines. The coating was a multi coat zinc/epoxy system with an aliphatic finish top coat to keep field painting to a minimum.

The project owner is in the process of upgrading their transmission and delivery infrastructure. All of the work is in dense urban areas, which requires exact delivery times and the fabrication to be exact.

The project schedule did not allow any slippage on deliveries. In order to accomplish this we were able to coordinate both of our plants to allow multiple pieces including the 132″ x 132″ wye to be delivered in the time frame required. This wye weighed over 80,000 lbs. with the lining and coating installed.

This intertie connected an existing pipe line to an existing pressure control structure. The lower level of piping connected the existing transmission line. The vertical wye connects to the pressure control station approximately 1,000 feet away with a series of horizontal and vertical bends that weave through the existing pipelines and other structures that cannot be moved. This required strict adherence to the dimensions on the drawings.

Assemble, fit and weld 5000’ of 112” to 36” diameter butt welded pipe, meeting ASME B31.3 and 100% RT acceptance criteria, including (2) two major manifolds, one within a vault under the LARGEST NASA Rocket test stand in the USA. This stand was used to test all Apollo Saturn V Rockets used for the moon missions, all Space Shuttle main engines, and will be used for future Orion rockets with missions to Mars.

Steel tank fabricators have always required good throughput and cost effectiveness from their coating systems. No fabricator wants to “wait for paint to dry” or limit their coating performance. Many coatings provide low volatile organic compounds & hazardous air pollutants, good corrosion resistance, high film build, and “good looks”. But they are often achieved in multiple-coat systems.

Polyaspartics are a new class of amine-functional polymers that are reacted with polyisocyanates. Amine and isocyanates components can be found in existing epoxies and polyurethanes, and do not represent “new technology”. We are the first coating manufacturer to formulate this new polyaspartic technology into coatings that provide the adhesion and corrosion resistance of epoxies with the color and gloss retention of urethanes. Our NPT is the first line of coatings to provide fast dry, increased corrosion resistance, and improved exterior durability compared to standard epoxy / urethane coating systems. Our NPT is also less sensitive to humidity than standard epoxy / urethane coating systems, and is becoming the coating of choice for fast turn-around application whether applied in-shop or in the field. Our NPT can be applied in a one-coat system direct to metal (DTM) or over a primer. When applied over a zinc-rich primer, our NPT can exceed, in a two-coat system, the performance requirements many Owners expect from a three-coat zinc/epoxy/urethane coating system. This unique characteristic has been found by steel tank fabricators to save time and labor – money – and improve performance.