Click here to see all the 2016 awards entries
Product / project title: Product / project owner: Product / project location: Date completed: Construction standard (if any): Overall height / length (feet, inches): Column height (feet, inches): Diameter (feet, inches): Capacity (US gallons): Steel tonnage used (US tons): Steel thickness (inches):
(2) LPG Spheres, ASME Section VIII. Div. 2 EP Petroecuador Cuenca, Ecuador, S.A. March 2016 ASME Section VIII, Div. 2 81’ -6” 43’ -9” 75’ -9” 3,371,330 1,688 1.950”
PRODUCT / PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SPECIAL FEATURES:
The project consists of (4) LPG Spheres located in the South American country of Ecuador. Two (2) of the LPG spheres are located in Cuenca which is in the Andes Mountain range, and the other two (2) are located in La Troncal which is a remote area of the coastal region. The product/project nominated for award are the two (2) spheres located in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The two (2) LPG Spheres were designed to ASME Section VIII, Div. 2. The design pressure is 250 psi. The design included analysis to comply with ASCE 7 and a local seismic code. The steel plate was purchased in Europe, shipped to the United States for fabrication, and then shipped to the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador. From the port of Guayaquil, approximately 1,688 tons of steel were trucked over the Andes Mountains reaching a peak elevation over 10,000 ft above sea level before arriving at the construction site with elevation of approximately 8,200 ft above sea level.
Experienced supervision mobilized to site, hired and trained local craft labor to erect and weld the spheres. Welding was performed on plate assemblies prior to erection, and at heights after erection of the assemblies. Due to the thickness of the steel plate, preheating of weld seams was required. NDE requirements included 100% volumetric examination of weld seams which was performed with ultrasonic testing methods during the day shift, and radiography at night. After completion of all welding and NDE, the spheres were post weld heat treated to 1050 degrees Fahrenheit.
The spheres were successfully hydrotested, completed, and delivered to the customer meeting high standards of excellence in both quality and safety. The fabrication, construction, heat treatment, and testing was witnessed by a certified ASME Inspector who visited the project and certified/stamped the spheres upon completion. The project was completed with zero recordable safety incidents under difficult working conditions and a high percentage of inexperienced local labor.
Due to the unique location, difficult conditions, and successful completion of the (2) LPG spheres located in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, this project demonstrates value, excellence, and versatility in steel fabrication.
35,000 MT Double Wall Ammonia Storage Tank Dyno Nobel (General Contractor KBR) Waggaman, LA March 2016 API 620 & API 625 101’ -11” - 166’ -2” 9,246,021 2212 1.287”
The tank is a 35,000 MT (metric ton) capacity, double steel wall, single containment Ammonia Storage Tank designed to API 620 Annex R and API 625. It is the integral storage component of a new Natural Gas fed Ammonia facility that will produce up to 2300 metric tonnes of ammonia each day and is one of the first onshore ammonia plants built in the U.S. in the past 20 years. The liquid anhydrous ammonia is stored in an open topped, cylindrical flat bottomed inner tank, which has a 160’-2 diameter and is 97’-0 high. The outer steel tank is 166'-2 diameter and 101'-11 high and is a cylindrical flat bottom tank, designed as an insulation container (perlite), with a self-supporting umbrella roof. The tank also contains an internal suspended insulation deck.
Extremely unique to this Ammonia tank is an Acoustic Emissions system implemented to allow for in-service inspection of the mechanical integrity of the inner tank shell. The installed system consists of one-hundred and twenty six (126) sensors mounted to the outside of the inner shell ring using a high strength epoxy and inside a specially crafted pipe assembly. These sensors are specially designed so that they can exist in an ammonia vapor environment without degradation of the sensors and cables. They have rarely before been implemented in the Ammonia tank industry. The sensors were located in an evenly spaced fashion around the shell, at all ring levels, and designed so as to not interfere with the shell weld seams. Each sensor cable was carefully routed through the insulation in the annular space and out through one of four openings in the outer tank shell to a junction box at grade for functional operation.
Other unique items for this Ammonia Tank project included the provision of Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) Test coupons and testing, keyed interlocks on the PSV isolation valves, and a shell mounted spring hanger for the C4 shell nozzle. Finally, a very unique detail was used for the inner tank's bottom drain nozzle in which the nozzle extended completely down through the elevated pile cap foundation before turning horizontal.
Product / project title: Product / project owner: Product / project location: Date completed: Construction standard (if any): Overall height / length (feet, inches): Column height (feet, inches): Diameter (feet, inches): Capacity (US gallons): Total Capacity (US gallons): Steel tonnage used (US tons): Steel thickness (inches):
Appelt Phase III Tank Construction Oiltanking Houston, L.P. Channelview, TX July 2016 API 650 60’ -0” to 24’ -0” - 123’ -0” to 216’ -0” 2,200,000 Each 216’ DIA Tank 17,300,000 8478 3/8” to 1.12”
The scope of the above referenced project included responsibility for the design, engineering, material procurement, fabrication and field erection of nine (9) miscellaneous Internal Floating Roof Tanks:
- (7) 216'-0" Dia x 60' H
- (1) 158'-0" Dia x 60' H
- (1) 123'-0" Dia x 60' H The tanks were designed and built in accordance with API 650, 12th Edition. Design/Testing Criteria for these tanks were as follows: a) Design Specific Gravity = 1.0
b) Product Specific Gravity = 1.0
c) Test Specific Gravity = 1.0
c) External Design Pressure = 0.036 psi
e) Minimum Design Metal Temperature = 30 deg F
f) Design Temperature = 180 deg F The project was completed ahead of schedule, on budget and to the Clients satisfaction. This third and final phase concluded the successful completion of 31 total tanks for Appelt Phase I, II & III.
Red Gate Water Tower Improvements City of St. Charles St. Charles, IL August 2016 AWWA D100 167’ -4” - 86’ -0” 1,500,000 441 1.5” Max
This tall, striking and distinctive 1,500,000 gallon Elevated Tank sits beside the scenic Fox River and welcomes travelers to the City of St. Charles as they go up or down the Fox River or cross the Red Gate Bridge. With help from their consulting engineer, the City selected this all welded steel beauty over other materials due to enhanced aesthetics, a tough local union environment and the all winter weather construction ability of welded steel that reduced the schedule. The poor soils made the tank design complicated requiring 16” diameter, 60 foot long, augercast piles to support the 12,495,000 pounds of water when the tank is full of water. The tank fabrication and construction to produce the smooth double curve structure required extremely accurate pressing and welding of the almost 1.5” thick steel that is just not possible with other materials. With an 86 foot diameter ball, the 80’ x 180’ tight site made construction of the foundation and tank very challenging requiring additional logistics and planning. A long lasting fluoropolymer paint system was used on the exterior graphics that enhances the tank. The burgundy ST. CHARLES lettering on two sides and a large fox (12’ x 19’) on the other two sides both pop out against the brilliant white circumferential stripe at the center of the bowl promoting the City and the Fox River. The lower cone and upper band were painted a teal color that also contrasts against the brilliant white background. This Tank promotes and demonstrates the flexibility and aesthetics of steel designed structures that other materials just can’t deliver and provides a tank the community certainly is proud of.
Christen Hill Reservoir North Coast County Water District Pacifica, CA October 2016 AWWA D100, Sec. 14 67’ -0” - 108’ – 0” 3,750,000 365 1/4” to 15/16”
This project was a challenge to erect and paint due to its hilltop location in a high wind region, but the most significant aspect of this project is the specification implement by the water district to mitigate future corrosion problems in the tank roof.
Instead of utilizing minimum requirements of the AWWA D100 standard which results in inaccessible areas in the tank roof structure, the water district specified that all roof laps must be sealed and additionally that the supporting rafters must also be seal welded to the roof plates.
In lieu of conventional construction, the tank manufacturer designed a structure utilizing single-span, integral formed structural roof panels for the roof system. This design reduced the required welding by approximately 50% thereby reducing the magnitude of weld shrinkage distortion to be accommodate by the erection methods. With the fully seal welded roof system, the roof and integral structure were easily coated and will be easy to maintain for many decades into the future. The strength and flexibility of steel are exemplified in this project by the ability to produce the single span roof panels at the minimum specified thickness of 1/4".
By utilizing this approach of specifying above the minimum D100 requirements for the tank roof system, this tank has just begun its journey to membership in the highly respected STI/SPFA Century Club.
Product / project title:
Product / project owner: Product / project location: Date completed: Construction standard (if any): Overall height / length (feet, inches): Column height (feet, inches): Diameter (feet, inches): Capacity (US gallons): Steel tonnage used (US tons): Steel thickness (inches):
Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Ethane Cracker Field Post Weld Heat Treated Tanks Chevron Phillips Chemical Baytown, TX March 2016 API 650 39’ -0” and 37’ -0” - 44’ -0” and 32’ -0” 650,000 Combined 150 5/16” average
Overall seventeen (17) Carbon Steel Tanks were built for the Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Plant in Baytown, TX which is an addition to their existing plant. These tanks were needed for process and storage needs of the World Scale Ethane Cracker that CP Chemical built. This is the first world scale cracker to be built in the United States in almost 20 years and increased ethylene production at the Cedar Bayou plant by over 3.3 Billion pounds per year. This process works by heating ethane to very high temperatures to "crack" the molecule into smaller molecules in order to make plastic. Ethane is a component of Natural Gas, and the low price of Natural Gas is the driver for the construction of this project. This is a massive size project with a project cost of over $6 billion and a footprint of almost 50 football fields and 350 miles of piping needed. Over 10,000 people will work on this project.
Very unusually, due to the process requirements of the ethane cracker, two (2) of the field erected tanks had to be completely field post weld heat treated. These tanks were 39' and 37' in diameter with a shell height of 44' and 32' respectively. Due to the process requirements, the roofs had to be a self-supported dome roof. In order to field post weld heat treat the tanks, they had to be heated in the field to over 1200 degrees F. Great care and analysis had to be taken in designing both the tanks and the foundations so that this could be performed without damaging the tanks or the foundations. If the foundation was not protected, the concrete would crack at these temperatures. It is very common to perform this process on small assemblies for tanks (flush cleanout doors), or on shop built tanks, where these can be rolled into a furnace. However, this is a very unusual process to perform on field erected tanks, and is only performed domestically several times in a decade. There is no design code that dictates how to perform this, or how to design the tanks in this case. To perform this work, all sides of the tank, including the tank bottom, had to be wrapped in insulation and the tank had to be cooked using gas furnaces to achieve the temperature required.
All of the tanks received internal and external coatings supplied. The challenges for field coatings were to 1) mitigate chloride contamination, and 2) perform the blast and paint process in a very tight work site with numerous other contractors in the area. With thousands of workers at site everyday and numerous other contractors in the immediate area this was a large challenge. This challenge was further magnified by that due to the post weld heat treatment, no shop primer could be applied to the exterior surfaces (the heat would melt off the coatings). So the entire tank exterior had to be field blasted and field painted. Given as this is inside of the boundary line in a major chemical plant this posed significant containment challenges.
Product / project title: Product / project owner:
Product / project location: Date completed: Construction standard (if any): Overall height / length (feet, inches): Column height (feet, inches): Diameter (feet, inches): Capacity (US gallons): Steel tonnage used (US tons): Steel thickness (inches):
Ike Recovery Infrastructure and Thermal Energy Storage Tank University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX September 2016 AWWA D100 87’ -0” - 65’ -0” 2,070,000 260 .52” Average
While there are always challenges inherent in building a standpipe, it is especially challenging when the standpipe is on the shore of the Texas Gulf Coast. When the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX needed chilled water for cooling and efficiency, they had no choice but to make a standpipe given the limited real estate available in a resort town. To achieve the performance requirements of their cooling system, and the fit within the tight site, the standpipe had to be constructed. A 65' diameter by almost 90' tall Chilled Water Thermal Energy Storage Standpipe was fabricated. This standpipe was designed to store 16,000 Ton Hours of Thermal Energy.
Further complicating construction was that the standpipe was just one part of major facilities expansion in a continually operating university. At the same time the standpipe was constructed a three story maintenance facility building was being constructed 8' away from the south side of the standpipe. A parking deck was 5' away from the east side of the standpipe. A pump building was 20' from the west side of the standpipe. An elevated water storage tank was 30' from the north side of the standpipe. And lastly, working gas pumps and pipelines were within 50' of the standpipe.
The standpipe and the diffuser within it had to be constructed, painted, and insulated on a site in an urban area with limited real estate and many other construction workers working adjacent to our work site. This presented challenges during every phase of construction. Particularly troublesome was the application of the coatings for the tank exterior. Two (2) coats of epoxy phenolic were required. Given the other construction workers and close proximity of buildings, containment was a must. However, when a building is within 5' of the shell wall, special precautions need to be taken, even when containment is provided.
In the end the Thermal Energy Standpipe was constructed, tested, painted and insulated, and the UTMB was very satisfied.
(12) Vessels - Savannah Georgia Harbor ReOxygenation Project Army Corps of Engineers Savannah, GA October 2016 ASME 22’ -0” - 12’ -0” 6,000 120 ½”
PRODUCT/PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Savannah River drains a basin of over 10,000 square miles, touching the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, and is a bustling industrial port.
A partnership, which includes the Georgia Ports Authority, EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, is installing twelve aeration ASME pressure vessels along the Savannah Harbor to mitigate oxygenation capacity loss due to the deepening of the Harbor. Deepening the channel by up to six feet allowed passage of deep-draft vessels in the Port of Savannah.
The oxygenation system includes twelve coned 316L stainless steel pressure vessels, which will dissolve 15,000 pounds per day of bulk pure liquid oxygen from each vessel into the harbor to help equalize the ecological system. The aeration vessels were designed for +100/-6 psig at 150 degrees F. according to ASME Sec. VIII, Div. 1, with spot radiography performed per code. Water quality monitoring is conducted at specific points in the river at different locations and water depths. Monitoring includes dissolve oxygen, pH, specific conductivity, temperature and salinity.
(3) Tanks - 2016 Winery Tank Expansion Trump Winery Charlottesville, VA June 2016 - 20’ -0” - 11’ -3” 15,000 Each and 45,000 Total 15 10 ga, 12 ga, 14 ga.
The winery expansion required (3) jacketed insulated tanks with integral dimpled thermal cooling transfer panels on the primary tank shell. This configuration with stainless steel insulation jacket makes steel the material of choice as it affords significant increase in durability and protection of the insulation over conventional PVC jackets.
Special shipping fixtures were required, but the 14 ga. insulation jacket is durable enough to survive the cross country shipment without damage.
(6) Monoscour Gravity Water Treatment Filter Tanks Graver Water Systems - Arizona Public Svc. Palo Verde Nuclear Station Tonopah, AZ October 2016 API 650 20’ -8” - 15’ -0” 14,000 500 ¼”
Six Monoscour Filter Water Treatment tanks were fabricated from 2205 duplex stainless steel. Each set of three tanks incorporated a split box on top feeding the tanks. The tank dimensions were 12' diameter x 20' high. Overall dimensions are 15' diameter x 20'-8" height. The tanks incorporated three separate compartments for filtration and cleaning, and included internal and external piping, handrails and caged ladders.
The operation Monoscour filter tanks consist of two major operations: filtration and cleaning (commonly called backwashing). The two operations occur sequentially, with the cleaning phase made of up discrete steps. The particulate matter is removed by passing the feed stream through a multimedia filter bed, consisting of sand and anthracite during the service operation. The depth and types of media are selected based on the individual characteristics of the water being treated. The suspended particles are removed through various mechanisms, which include straining, adsorption, interception, impaction, sedimentation, and flocculation.
Product / project title: Product / project owner: Product / project location: Date completed: Construction standard (if any): Overall length (feet, inches): Diameter (feet, inches): Steel tonnage used (US tons): Steel thickness (inches):
Calumet Tarp Pump Station Improvements City of Chicago Chicago, IL September 2016 AWWA C-208 7’ -2” x 7’ -5” 54” x 36” 8 ¾”
This fitting is a 54" x 36" eccentric reducing 90 degree elbow. The fitting material is carbon steel, 3/4" thick with an elaborate support/ stiffener ring design to withstand the high pressure required by this system.
Tulalip Water Pipeline Segment 2 The Tulalip Tribes Everett, WA August 2016 AWWA C200 7,800’ 44” & 37” 612 .625” & .250”
This project consisted of two different segments. The first segment of this project required the pipe in be installed at a depth of over 100 feet. The 37" pipe had to be installed using a horizontal directional drilling method. The pipe had to pass under a busy street intersection and under several railroad lines and spurs.
The 2300' lineal feet of 37" x 5/8" wall thickness pipe was fabricated with end matched cut for butt-welds to be made in the field. The pipe was fusion bond epoxy coated and lined. The pipe sections were laid end to end and welded. The joint coating and lining were pre-formed before the pull could begin. The pipe was raised into position using fourteen cranes and several dirt ramps to achieve the proper entry angle into the tunnel. In one pull, lasting over 24 hours the pipe was successfully installed.
The 5500' lineal feet of 44" x 1/4" wall thickness was laid using bell and spigot joints. This pipe had to be cement lined and polyethylene tape wrapped. Several special fittings were had to made, in order to avoid the buried utilities and accommodate existing field conditions.
Horse Creek Flume Rehabilitation Project Ft. Lyon Canal Company Las Animas, CO December 2015 AWWA 11’ – 1 ¼” 10' – 4” - 5/8”
PRODUCT/PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SPECIAL FEATURES: ALL 316SS SPECIAL EXPANSION JOINT FOR HORSE CREEK FLUME The Horse Creek Flume consists of an elevated 123" inside diameter steel pipe with an approximate length of 392 ft. The function of the flume is to carry water from the Ft. Lyon Canal across Horse Creek. The existing flume has significant corrosion and the purpose of this work is to furnish and deliver to the work site for the Owner new steel pipe, structural steel supports and miscellaneous metals for replacement of the existing flume. The expansion joint is a sleeve type joint. Steel for the joint was fabricated from plate meeting the requirements of ASTM A240, Stainless Steel Type 316. The stainless steel packing gland is used to compress the packing. Working Pressure: 150 PSI
Test (Surge) Pressure: 225 PSI Longitudinal Pipe Welds NDT 100% Radiography Circumferential Fillet Welds 100% Magparticle tested Movement: Up to 10" Movement
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: High Build, Waterborne, Direct-to-Metal Tank Coating
Painters in tank fabrication shops apply coatings containing flammable solvents that have a high odor and are fire hazards. These coatings contain VOCs and HAPs and affect permits and licensure. Shop owners have been asking for “something better” for many years. Now they have it.
Our product is a high build coating that is applied direct-to-metal, dries quickly, is corrosion resistant, and allows tank shops to achieve fast “throughput” without the usual bottlenecks caused by waiting for paint to dry. Best of all, it contains 0 VOC and 0 HAPS, and uses harmless water as its solvent. And, because it’s an acrylic coating, it has long term color and gloss retention. If specified, our product can also be applied over acrylic, epoxy, or zinc-rich primers.
Tanks can now be painted within a wide range of shop temperatures (40F to 120F, for example) and will be dry-to-touch in about 30 minutes … a remarkable advancement in waterborne coatings. Our product is also resistant to inorganic acids, alkalis, and isopropyl alcohol.
Example: Blue color applied on a 400 barrel production tank at ~4 mils DFT.
Paul WindhamFisher Tank Company
Receive toolbox talks, information on OSHA issues and regulations, and other important safety updates from the STI/SPFA, direct to your inbox.
Have notifications about upcoming STI/SPFA educational courses including webinars and seminars sent direct to your inbox.