TPT May 2010

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Industry News
6 May 2010 ›
ACCESS and scaffolding contractor Harsco
Infrastructure has designed and installed
two bespoke mobile access systems to
allow contractors to carry out essential
maintenance work on pipes at Peterborough
Power Station.
Centrica, which operates the 360MW
gas-fired power plant, has enlisted industrial
painting specialist East Coast Industries to
carry out the work which involves cleaning
and re-painting the air cooled condenser
(ACC) units. This has involved working on
the ACC’s enormous horizontal steam pipes
with obscure angles that made the ACC
units inaccessible by conventional means.
Also with the pipes reaching a surface
temperature of 65°C SGB had to make sure
that the access systemcould withstand these
high temperatures and still be functional.
East Coast Industries awarded Harsco
Infrastructure with the contract to design,
manufacture and install a mobile access
system, which would afford a safe means
of access to and from the working area.
The system was also required to provide
a safe means of evacuation in the event of
emergency.
Harsco Infrastructure’s design employs
powered self-propelled work platforms
suspended from a steel framework. The
entire rig travels along the pipes on a series
of wheels, which are specially angled to
accommodate the cylindrical surface of the
pipes. Users of the system gain access to
the work platform via a cradle suspended
Harsco Infrastructure rises to
power station challenge
from an electric hoist attached to the frame.
Steve Latter, mechanical engineer at
Peterborough Power Station, commented:
“We knew that the maintenance work
which had to be carried out was going to
be a challenge due to the positioning and
angles of the steam pipes. However, Harsco
Infrastructure came up with a unique and
effective method that overcame all of the
access solutions.”
One challenging task for Harsco
Infrastructure was to find a way for the
system to traverse the steel flanges, which
project around the circumference of the pipe
sections. This was solved by providing a
jacking system, which lifts the wheels clear
of the flanges as they pass.
“Because of the location of theACC units,
a traditional access method was unfeasible
and would have taken double the time,”
commented Bill Murdoch. “This required a
completely different approach,” he added.
“Harsco Infrastructure designed a
mobile access system that was far superior
to any of the other companies involved,”
said Harry and Ben Lee, owners of East
Coast Industries. “The service that Harsco
Infrastructure provided from concept to
delivery was of a very high standard,” they
added.
The inaccessible location of the jobsite
required the use of a high-capacity mobile
telescopic crane to lift the two access rigs
into position on top of the ACC pipes. East
Coast Industries commenced work in early
September 2009 and is due to complete the
contract before Christmas.
Peterborough Power Station, which
entered into operation in 1993, uses ‘grey’
water supplied by the local sewage works
to generate steam for its turbines, thereby
reducing the consumption of expensive
potable water. The condenser is air-cooled
rather than water-cooled to further reduce
water consumption.
Harsco Infrastructure – USA
Fax: +1 717 763 6424
Email:
Website:
The self-propelled platform is
lowered into place
Harsco Infrastructure’s design employs powered self-propelled
work platforms suspended from a steel framework