CASE STUDIES
Click on any of the below HCS Case Studies and learn more on how our trash racks and rakers* have delivered debris capture solutions for various water intake needs.
Offshore Intake Screen
Nuclear Power Plant – Two Rivers, WI
At the Two Rivers, WI Nuclear Power Plant, the submerged offshore HCS intake screen provides cooling water for the power plant. The intake is 30 feet in diameter and several feet. below the surface of water. The intake screen was fabricated with HDPE blades at six-inch clear spacing.
The HCS trash racks were mounted in a pultruded FRP frame which was attached to the existing steel support structure.
The racks have now been in service for many years and are performing well. The racks have not experienced any fouling from marine growth. Ice and wave action have also not been a problem.
Cooling Tower Intake Screens (Non-Metallic)
HCS’s objective for this project was to provide a fine mesh screening system that would exclude ½” and larger debris from the cooling towers that were experiencing heavy debris and silt loading.
The intake is located in close proximity to the pumps preventing easy access to the area. This would require an extremely long reach for any crane to install and service these screens. Weight was a major factor in the design as it reduced the size and expense of the crane.
HCS provided the fine mesh screens consisting of pultruded FRP structural framework with ½” x 12 gauge 304 ss mesh.
The screens were built in two sections and were assembled in the HCS factory prior to shipment, resulting in minimal assembly time for the customer.
The use of pultruded FRP structural shapes allowed HCS to provide a frame capable of withstanding a five-foot head differential while weighing only a few thousand pounds.
A total of seven fine mesh screens were fabricated for this customer.
Cooling Tower Trash Racks and Flow Straghteners
Nuclear Power Plant – Illinois, 2000MW Capacity Case Study
The trash racks and flow straighteners were 19-feet deep by 16-feet wide with a clear spacing of 2 ¾”. Materials used in the fabrication and assembly of these units included: pultruded FRP structural components and HDPE blades.
The trash racks were shipped fully assembled and ready for installation. They came with lifting lugs so they could be lifted from the trailer and placed directly into the well. Each unit weighted less than 6,000 lbs. and is capable of five-foot differentials at flows in excess of 100,000 gpm.
The Nuclear Power Plant uses an open canal to return water to the cooling towers. The trash racks provide a coarse screening of debris which wash into the canal, as well as debris that grows in the canal. The pump hydrodynamics dictated flow correction which the 12-inch blades provided.
Fine Mesh Intake Screens
Victoria Texas Power Plant
The trash racks with frames for the Victoria Texas Power Plant were fabricated using HDPE for the blades, pultruded FRP structural members for the frames and 316 stainless steel for the hardware.
The screens are being used in a series of two so that one rack can be removed for cleaning while one rack is still in place to minimize downtime.
The racks were made of unitized construction to allow for easy installation and removal by lifting as one piece. They were designed to withstand a five-foot differential at a flow of 60,000 gpm.
There were a total of 12 racks at 12’4” tall by eight feet wide for the circulating water pumps.
All of the racks had a one-inch clear opening between the blades. This allowed an open area of approximately 75 percent.
These racks were shipped fully assembled and ready for installation from Watertown, WI to Victoria, TX.
