2016 Product Awards Winners

This pipe project is a key component of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Program (SELA), which congress created after the catastrophic flood of May 1995. It is designed to divert flood water from the New Orleans vicinity and discharge water into the Mississippi River, at a rate of 1,200 cu-ft of flood water per second.

Our company completed the various 84″ special steel pipe fittings & supports that connect to three large 84″ discharge pumps. The three steel pipe lines are unique, running parallel together, off each pump and consists of eighteen 84″ mitered elbows that run aboveground & underground thru the Drain & Coupling Vault, which leads toward the flood levee.

The steel pipe design is complimented by fourteen rigid supports that are welded in cross sections of 1″ to 1 3/4″ thick plate around the entire circumference of the 84″ pipe.

It also has twelve sets of welded harness restraint ring systems, for the flex couplings, that allow angular deflection in different levels of each pipe line.

To assist in a faster installation & handling aspects, two 1 1/8″ thick lift lugs were welded on each fitting. Many of these fittings had to have special freight permits & state to state highway routing, because of the over width & height restrictions.

The 630 feet of 84″ pipe fittings are lined with 1/2″ thick cement. The coating for the buried pipe has 35 mils of polyurethane and the exposed portion of pipe is coated with zinc primer, in preparation of a final field coating system.

Our scope consisted of strict guidelines for all phases & NDT testing of this welded pipe, too numerous to mention, for this US Army Corps of Engineers project.

These pipelines cross a highly active branch of the San Andreas Fault and are the main water supply conduit for nearly 2 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area. They also cross underneath Interstate Hwy. 680 which is one of the main transportation corridors.

Due to the underlying geology, the various parts of the fault zone transmit forces differently. The heavy wall was designed to resist distortion and using minimum 60 ksi yield strength steel for all the sections in the specific fault zone. Under normal conditions, the creep in the fault zone will compress the pipe over time, and in the section under Interstate Hwy. 680, a large vault contains a 78″ pressure balanced expansion joint, two 78″ ball joints and a conventional 78″ expansion joint.

The pipe also had to roll and slide in the tunnels underneath the interstate highway. All pipe sections within the fault zone were butt welded to transmit the forces along the axis of the pipe. This required extremely close tolerances on the fabricated sections in order to maintain the exact alignment. In addition, the right of way was extremely narrow and crowded, requiring a precise delivery schedule with the correct end positions, as the pipe could not be turned around. There were also many emergency bypass connections to feed or draw water from the local utility systems that required close coordination with additional agencies.

All pipe was urethane lined and coated with a cement mortar overcoat. Pipe section lengths varied from 20 ft. to 50 ft.

A terminal in Corpus Christi, TX that stores propane and butane products needed to develop 1,000,000 barrels of LPG storage capacity. EF90 chose a single source solution tank contractor to construct six (6) API-620 LPG storage tanks with dome roofs.

Adhering to the scope of work, the contractor engineered, procured, fabricated, and constructed six (6) tanks with single wall suspended decks. Additionally the scope included tank insulation, painting, and quality testing.

Quantity – Capacity – Dimensions – Product

4 each – 200,000 bbls – 150’ dia. x 68’ high – refrigerated propane

Air Raised Dome Roofs

The contractor developed a thorough procedure to build dome roofs near the bottom of the tank and then air raise them into final position at the top of the tank. These 200+ ton roofs were built in pieces and utilized sub-assemblies on temporary structures in the low position as a suspended insulation deck was constructed. While in that position, a cable leveling system was installed to assist roof stabilization as it traveled from the bottom of the tank to its final top position. A seal was installed along the periphery of the lower edge of the roof which sealed the roof to the shell. Extensive shell plumb and roundness checks were made to insure a smooth ascent.

Once the roof was in position to begin the ascent to the top of the tank and all of the checklists verified, the contractor installed temporary fans. The roof was raised with a small air pressure of 0.13 psig measured with a monometer. When the roof reached the top position, crews temporarily attached the roof to the top of the tank and then welded the final connection. The entire air raise took between 15 and 120 minutes.

Personnel safety was always paramount during this procedure the same as it was in all aspects of the project. By constructing the roofs at a low elevation, the contractor limited workers’ exposure to dangerous heights, and no injuries were incurred during this project which was completed in 2014 on time and within budget.

This project included (11) miscellaneous Internal Floating Roof Tanks with Geodesic Dome Fixed Roofs. The tank sizes were six (6) 216′ Dia x 60′ H, one (1) 195′ Dia x 60′ H, two (2) 158′ Dia x 60′ H, one (1) 123′ Dia x 60′ H, and one (1) 112′ Dia x 60′ H. The customer had an aggressive schedule that we were able to accommodate, given the fact that we were in the process of completing Phase I at the time of Phase II being awarded. We were able to integrate the Phase II scope of work into our current project execution plan for Phase I. This meant utilizing some of our previously mobilized on-site resources to complete these tanks, along with additional manpower that was coming off of other projects during that time period. It allowed us to reduce the schedule by approximately 3 months from our original proposal, or about a 20% reduction in the overall schedule. The customer saw the value in overlapping these two projects and we were able to meet their need dates and complete these 11 tanks inside a twelve month time-frame.

Part of meeting the schedule dates, meant we had to work closely with our dome subcontractor to coordinate their installation. We worked out several different methods in order to provide for the most expedient erection. Those methods included erecting the dome on the tank bottom, on the installed floating roof and outside the tank which was later lifted onto the finished tank. This allowed the schedule to be flexible, allowing us to meet the commercial completion dates.

Overall, the customer was pleased with our safety, quality and performance in Phase II and awarded us Phase Ill. Phase Ill includes an additional 10 tanks and is now under construction. The final overall project will include a total of 31 tanks. Our creativeness and willingness to offer solutions to meet the customer’s needs made not only this phase of the work, but the overall project a successful one for us.

These (6) large Spheres were designed and built to the strict requirements of the ASME, Section VIII, Division 2 Standard to hold 120,261 BBLS of Propane and 75,237 BBLS of Butane under extreme pressure.

The three Propane Spheres each hold 40,087 BBLS of Propane at 250 psig in a 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 1.781″) 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 three Butane Spheres each hold 25,079 BBLS of Butane at 100 psig in a 65′-0 Sphere. These Spheres also requires that all welds be 100% Ultrasonic Tested(UT) for quality. Prior to being placed into service, the Butane Spheres were successfully hydro tested under pressure to 143 psig.

The Scope of Work for all of 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, a galvanized stairway and field paint of the finished product.

These Spheres used 6,633,000 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!

This Reedley, California community sure is proud of their new Sports Park Complex that has been a long-time coming. It has had a considerable amount of layout and forethought put into every aspect of the sports park complex’s design, including locating and focusing this 1,500,000 gallon Fluted Column Tank in the central hub of the new sports park complex footprint layout.

This all-steel elevated tank supports close to 13 million pounds of water alone and peaks at 155.5 feet in the air. Due to its California location, higher winds, seismic forces, and air quality checks/controls added to the design/implementation challenges of this multi-purpose fluted column tank structure. It has an inside elevator for public transport between multiple insulated floors which are fully circumferential on both the inside and the outside, as well as metal exterior canopies that provide shade and protection to patrons. There are multiple rooms inside for various uses (including eating, concessions, & announcing) plus a serious amount of electrical, SCADA, telemetry, piping, and valve work cleverly concealed from the public interface, a passive mixing system inside the bowl, and an all-metal roof handrail and antennae atop of the tank. A complete Cathodic Protection system helps fight against the coastal corrosive atmosphere, three all-steel vertical pipes run from grade to the interior bowl area, a full column-diameter steel condensate ceiling is above the occupied space, multiple internal landings serving as structural stiffeners up the column, and over six doors and entrances which all increased the design complexity of this super tank structure.

Thousands of design and construction man-hours were spent to successfully deliver this astounding tank on this site. These many design and timing challenges were all overcome to produce the community’s newest and finest public center of attraction that is as massive as it is useful and has the following noteworthy points:

-nearly 105,000 sq. ft. of total painted steel surface

-over 815 cu. yds. of concrete support the super tank structure

-665 tons of steel was used in the water tank and supporting structure

-over 400 ft. of 12 in. diameter steel pipes fill, drain, and properly overflow the tank

-a beautiful painted color logo adorns the peaceful exterior

Project scope included provided engineering, fabrication, erection and coating of two (2) 7.9 million gallon welded steel reservoirs. Foundation design for each tank required 449 concrete piles 60 to 65 feet deep, due to ground soil having extremely high liquefaction potential during a seismic event.

The project takes highly treated wastewater and purifies it through a three-step process that includes micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide and then uses it to recharge the groundwater basin. It is the world’s largest advanced water purification facility of its kind prior to this expansion project, producing up to 70 million gallons of new water every day.

Each tank is 216 ft. diameter x 32 ft. shell height with a three bay roof structure. Construction of the two tanks utilized over 1,380 tons of steel. Both tanks were shop blasted and primed prior to field application of high performance 100% solids coating system on the full interior. It is estimated that the life-cycle of the tank coatings is 50 years.

The existing vacuum chamber is a horizontal cylindrical shell 27 ft. in diameter with a 30 ft. long straight section (304 stainless steel cylinder). The existing chamber was decommissioned in the early 2000s and the straight section was cut into five pieces, three each 27 ft. diameter, one door frame and sealing surface section, and one end bell. The chamber was originally designed in accordance with Section VIII, Division I of ASME Code. The shell is stainless steel with external carbon steel stiffeners.

The RFP required us to design, fabricate and install to the existing cylinder section an additional two 27 ft. diameter, 10 ft. long sections. Each section included six 29 in. diameter port plates installed on one side of the new spool section.

All existing “O” rings and seals on the chamber were replaced with like seals of viton material.

Pressure Vessel – The east end (door) of the chamber will be used for insertion and removal of the spacecraft. The door end bell is truncated into two parts, one above and one below floor level. The lower part is welded to the cylindrical section and is part of the chamber. The door is hinged to one side of the chamber and opens by being rotated through a 90 – degree arc. The door was installed and rotated using the existing mechanisms. The door and its mechanisms are free standing from the chamber shell. We installed the hinge door and refurbished the hydraulic cylinders to make the door operable at its new location.

The main door section has a main access door 78 in. high and 36 in. wide. Both the main door and the manway door were provided with suitable latching devices to effect a proper vacuum seal.

The west endbell was re-welded in place.

All sections welded prior to installation were liquid nitrogen shock tested three times and then helium leak tested to demonstrate leak tightness.

New chamber penetrations consist of six 30 in. (nominal) diameter flanged openings for test station cabling. Aluminum blank off plates plus 100 percent spares were provided for all openings. Penetrations required for system completeness (cryogenic lines, gauges, pumps, doors, vacuum lines, etc.) were also installed.

We installed new hard points as called out on client’s drawings for internal fixtures, as well as new mounting attachments at several locations for mounting of spacecraft sensor targets.

Constructed 260,000 gallon steel standpipe to replace existing concrete reservoir. Scope of work included demolition of existing concrete standpipe, site piping, excavation, site grading, backfill, concrete foundation, and constructing new steel standpipe with interior and exterior coatings. Special project requirements to coordinate temporary water main connection for minimum disruption to casino operations during low peak hours of operation.

A large multi-national chemical manufacturer inquired for supply on a large project. The project entailed equipment to double the capacity of one of their product lines at one of its largest plants in the states. Due to the large scope of the project and the required plant shut-down, all facets of the operation needed to adhere to tight production schedules and timely deliveries of finished goods.

The scope of supply was for (6) identical 64″ diameter Falling Film Condenser Reactor heat exchangers.

The assembled empty weight of each condenser was 23,000 lbs. The materials of construction for the process side of condenser were type 316L stainless steel. The shell portion was fabricated from carbon steel. Each condenser utilized well over 2000 tubes, with each tube seal welded to the tubesheet on each end before being expanded into serrated (grooved) tube holes in the tubesheet. The process side was designed for 200 psig and full vacuum, requiring the use of 6″ thick body flanges and 3″ thick tubesheets. The condenser was constructed per ASME Section VIII requirements as well as TEMA class ‘R’ (Refinery) design requirements and were stamped with the ASME Code ‘U’ designation for Unfired Pressure Vessels.

To complete the construction within the committed fabrication window mandated the use of over (40) welder/fabricators and a dozen engineers/foreman/quality control personnel.

In the process of producing red wine, extraction of color and tannins is a vital step. Under traditional winemaking procedures, this extraction is time consuming. A process developed in Europe, Flash Détente now allows the winemakers to extract the desirable compounds from the skins prior to fermentation, a step that reduces cycle time and increases product throughput. Flash Détente is the current version of the traditional thermovinification method. In this method, the crushed and de-stemmed grapes are rapidly heated to around 180°F, then the heated grapes are processed in a vacuum flash cooling system where the temperature is rapidly lowered to 86°F. The rapid cooling sequence causes an intercellular explosion in grape skins that produces the desired color and characteristics in an improvement over the traditional thermovinification method.

In order to process grapes in the Flash Détente process, the grapes must be processed in a mixer tank capable of maintaining a homogeneous gelatinous emulsion of the juice and solids. This tank was specially designed to accommodate a high torque, low speed internal mixer. To interface with existing winery equipment, this tank was required to be mounted on legs at 8 feet above the floor.

The tank is located in a region subject to high seismic loads, so a substantial foundation, anchorage and support structure was required to resist the ASCE 7 design loads. Additionally, the tank must support the substantial mixer loads, both gravity and torque loads. The support of the mixer and mixer shaft required close tolerance fabrication of the mixer support structure and guides. The tank is constructed entirely of Type 304 stainless steel.

The Village of Matteson, Illinois (“the Village”) was facing a dilemma in its water system. The Village’s East Tank and West Tank were not operating effectively due to elevation differences between the two tanks which was causing low operating pressures, fire flow issues, water conservation issues and water main breaks on the Westside of the Village. Rather than opting to purchase and erect a new elevated water tank, the Village decided to modify its existing West Tank by adding approximately19 feet of stem to the tank’s support structure. The successful “raising” of the tank allowed both the East and West tanks to operate as one homogeneous water zone thereby alleviating the water pressure, fire flow and water loss issues….and this unconventional water system upgrade saved the Village approximately $800,000 compared to the cost of new construction.

The West Tank was located adjacent to Woodgate Elementary School (“Woodgate”), where an opportunity to give back to the community presented itself. The Village, the contractor and other outside consultants who participated in the project met with and presented specifics on the project to students at Woodgate. The goal was to further educate the students and staff on the importance of Municipal Government, Public Works Engineering and Contracting. The team developed a curriculum for the teachers which included estimating distances, understanding water pressure, safety education, crossword puzzles, word searches and quizzes related to Public Utilities. The entire school had an opportunity to be present during the actual raising of the tank and to work in the mobile command center. The command center included blue prints, model tanks and cranes which gave tangible opportunities for students to engage real world examples of the construction and engineering process. In addition, the entire school received project/school shirts and hardhats.

Tallest Flagpole in North America

In 2014 when Acuity Insurance replaced a flagpole originally erected as a statement of resolve in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, they aimed high…. very high. This pole, the fourth one since the original, reached an astounding height of 400 feet, achieving the distinction of being the tallest flagpole in North America. It is 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty – which is fitting as it reinforces America’s commitment to liberty. Our company was proud to supply custom large diameter steel flanges for this unique symbol of American freedom.

Fabricated from steel, this flagpole is built to withstand northern winters and low temperatures of – 42 degrees F and significant wind. The flagpole was designed and constructed for heavy duty service requirements similar to those required in utility scale wind towers. The general contractor, the tower fabricator and our company, all have extensive experience in providing high strength steel products for wind towers.

Our company supplied flanges that connected each section of the flagpole. The set of 12 flanges ranged in diameter from 5.5 feet to over 12 feet and the total weight of the flange set was 31,631 pounds.

Flanges were produced from ASTM A707 which is 52,000 yield strength steel designed for use in low temperature environments. The largest flange, at 12.3 ft diameter and 6 inch thickness, included 144 drilled bolt holes.

This major steel fabrication project was designed to hold a flag that is 60 feet tall and 120 feet wide which weighs 350 lbs.

This flag and flagpole is a daily reminder of America’s commitment to freedom. Additionally, at the base of the flagpole are bricks inscribed with the names of Sheboygan County residents killed in active duty.

We were honored to have participated in this unique project.

More photos and videos of the project are available at:

https://www.acuity.com/acuityweb/flag/flagpole.xhtml