Canadian contractor Water Bblasting & Vacuum Services Inc. broke through the limits of hydraulic demolition through hydroelectric power stations.
More than 400 miles north of Winnipeg, the Keeyask power generation project is being constructed on the lower Nelson River. The 695 MW hydroelectric power station scheduled to be completed in 2021 will become a renewable energy source, generating an average of 4,400 GWh per year. The energy generated will be integrated into Manitoba Hydro’s power system for use by Manitoba and exported to other jurisdictions. Throughout the construction process, now in its seventh year, the project has dealt with many site-specific challenges.
One of the challenges occurred in 2017, when the water in the 24-inch pipe at the water inlet froze and damaged an 8-foot-thick concrete pier. In order to minimize the impact on the entire project, the Keeyask manager chose to use Hydrodemolition to remove the damaged part. This job requires a professional contractor who can use all their experience and equipment to overcome environmental and logistics challenges while delivering high-quality results.
Relying on Aquajet’s technology, combined with years of hydraulic demolition experience, the water blasting and vacuum service company broke through the boundaries of hydraulic demolition, making it deeper and cleaner than any Canadian project to date, completing 4,944 cubic feet (140 cubic meters) Dismantle the project on time and recover nearly 80% of the water. Aquajet Systems USA
The Canadian Industrial Cleaning Specialist Water Spray and Vacuum Services was awarded a contract under a plan that not only provided the efficiency of completing 4,944 cubic feet (140 cubic meters) of cleanup on time, but also recovered almost 80% of the water. With Aquajet’s technology, combined with years of experience, water spray and vacuum services push the boundaries of Hydrodemolition, making it deeper and cleaner than any Canadian project to date. Water spray and vacuum services began operations more than 30 years ago, providing household cleaning products, but when it recognized the need for innovative, customer-centric solutions in these applications, it quickly expanded to provide industrial, municipal, and commercial entities High-pressure cleaning services. As industrial cleaning services gradually become the company’s core market, ensuring employee safety in an increasingly dangerous environment encourages management to explore robotic options.
In its 33rd year of operation, today the water spray and vacuum service company is run by the president and owner Luc Laforge. Its 58 full-time employees provide a number of industrial, municipal, commercial and environmental cleaning services, specializing in large-scale industrial cleaning applications in manufacturing, pulp and paper, petrochemical, and public engineering facilities. The company also provides hydraulic demolition and water mill services.
“The safety of our team members has always been the most important,” said Luc Laforge, President and Owner of Water Spray and Vacuum Services. “Many industrial cleaning applications require long hours of work in confined spaces and professional PPE, such as forced ventilation systems and chemical protective clothing. We want to take advantage of any opportunity where we can dispatch machines instead of people.”
Using one of their Aquajet devices-Aqua Cutter 410A-increased the efficiency of water spray and vacuum services by 80%, shortening the conventional scrubber cleaning application from a 30-hour process to just 5 hours. In order to meet the cleaning challenges of factories and other industrial facilities, Aquajet Systems USA purchased second-hand machines and modified them in-house. The company quickly realized the benefits of working with original equipment manufacturers to improve accuracy, safety and efficiency. “Our old equipment guaranteed the safety of the team and completed the work, but since most factories slowed down due to routine maintenance in the same month, we needed to find a way to maximize efficiency,” Laforge said .
Using one of their Aquajet equipment-Aqua Cutter 410A-Laforge increased the efficiency by 80%, shortening the conventional scrubber cleaning application from a 30-hour process to only 5 hours.
The power and efficiency of the 410A and other Aquajet equipment (including 710V) enables the expansion of water spray and vacuum services to hydraulic blasting, water milling, and other applications, greatly increasing the company’s range of services. Over time, the company’s reputation for providing creative solutions and timely, high-quality results with minimal environmental impact has pushed the company to the forefront of the Canadian hydraulic demolition industry—and opened the door to more challenging projects. This reputation has made water spray and vacuum services a shortlist for a local hydroelectric power company, which needed specialized solutions to deal with accidental concrete demolition work that could delay the project.
“This is a very interesting project-the first of its kind,” said Maurice Lavoie, general manager of the water spray and vacuum service company and site manager for the project. “The pier is solid concrete, 8 feet thick, 40 feet wide, and 30 feet high at the highest point. Part of the structure needs to be demolished and re-poured. No one in Canada—very few in the world—use Hydrodemolition to vertically demolish 8 feet thick. Concrete. But this is only the beginning of the complexity and challenges of this work.”
The construction site was approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from the contractor’s headquarters in Edmundston, New Brunswick, and 450 miles (725 kilometers) north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Any proposed solution requires careful consideration of limited access rights. Although project managers can provide water, electricity, or other general construction supplies, obtaining specialized equipment or replacement parts is a time-consuming challenge. Contractors need reliable equipment and well-stocked toolboxes to limit any unnecessary downtime.
“The project has many challenges to overcome,” Lavoy said. “If there is a problem, the remote location prevents us from accessing technicians or spare parts. The most important thing is that we will deal with sub-zero temperatures, which can easily drop below 40. You have to have a great deal of your team and your equipment. Only with confidence can bids be submitted.”
Strict environmental control also limits the contractor’s application options. The project partners known as Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership-including the four Manitoba Aboriginals and Manitoba Hydropower-made environmental protection the cornerstone of the entire project. Therefore, although the initial briefing designated hydraulic demolition as an acceptable process, the contractor needed to ensure that all wastewater was properly collected and treated.
The EcoClear water filtration system enables water spray and vacuum services to provide project managers with a revolutionary solution-a solution that promises maximum productivity while minimizing resource consumption and protecting the environment. Aquajet Systems USA “No matter what technology we use, we must ensure that there is no negative impact on the surrounding environment,” Lavoy said. “For our company, limiting environmental impact is always an important part of any project, but when combined with the remote location of the project, we know that there will be additional challenges. According to the previous site of the Labrador Muskrat Falls Power Generation Project From the above experience, we know that transporting water in and out is a choice, but it is costly and inefficient. Treating water on site and reusing it is the most economical and environmentally friendly solution. With Aquajet EcoClear, we already have the right solution. Machine to make it work.”
The EcoClear water filtration system, combined with the extensive experience and professional logistics of water spray and vacuum service companies, enables contractors to provide project managers with a revolutionary solution-one that promises maximum productivity while minimizing resource consumption and protecting the environment solution.
The water spray and vacuum service company purchased the EcoClear system in 2017 as a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to using vacuum trucks to transport wastewater for off-site treatment. The system can neutralize the pH of the water and reduce the turbidity to allow safe release back into the environment. It can move up to 88gpm, or about 5,238 gallons (20 cubic meters) per hour.
In addition to Aquajet’s EcoClear system and 710V, the water spray and vacuum service also uses a boom and additional tower section to maximize the Hydrodemolition robot’s working range to 40 feet. Water spray and vacuum services recommend using EcoClear as part of a closed loop system to circulate water back to its Aqua Cutter 710V. This will be the company’s first use of EcoClear to recover water on such a large scale, but Lavoie and his team believe that EcoClear and 710V will be the perfect combination for challenging applications. “This project tested our personnel and equipment,” Lavoy said. “There have been many firsts, but we know that we have the experience and support of the Aquajet team to turn our plans from theory to reality.”
The water spray and vacuum service arrived at the construction site in March 2018. The average temperature is -20º F (-29º Celsius), sometimes as low as -40º F (-40º Celsius), so a hoarding system and heater must be set up to provide shelter around the demolition site and keep the pump running. In addition to the EcoClear system and 710V, the contractor also used a boom and additional tower section to maximize the working range of the Hydrodemolition robot from the standard 23 feet to 40 feet. An extension kit also allows contractors to make 12-foot wide cuts. These enhancements greatly reduce the downtime required for frequent repositioning. In addition, water spray and vacuum services used additional spray gun sections to increase efficiency and allow the eight-foot depth required for the project.
The water spray and vacuum service creates a closed loop through the EcoClear system and two 21,000 gallon tanks to supply water to the Aqua Cutter 710V. During the project, EcoClear processed more than 1.3 million gallons of water. Aquajet Systems USA
Steve Ouellette is the chief director of the water spray and vacuum service company, responsible for the closed loop system of the two 21,000 gallon tanks that provide water to the Aqua Cutter 710V. The wastewater is directed to a low point and then pumped to EcoClear. After the water is processed, it is pumped back to the storage tank for reuse. During the 12-hour shift, the water spray and vacuum service removed an average of 141 cubic feet (4 cubic meters) of concrete and used approximately 40,000 gallons of water. Among them, about 20% of the water is lost due to evaporation and absorption into the concrete during the Hydrodemolition process. However, water spray and vacuum services can use the EcoClear system to collect and recycle the remaining 80% (32,000 gallons). During the entire project, EcoClear processed more than 1.3 million gallons of water.
The water spray and vacuum service team operates Aqua Cutter for almost the entire 12-hour shift every day, working on the 12-foot-wide section to partially demolish the 30-foot-high pier. Aquajet Systems’ American water spray and vacuum service and project management personnel integrated the dismantling into the complex schedule of the entire project, completing the work in a phase of more than two weeks. Lavoie and his team operate Aqua Cutter for almost the entire 12-hour shift every day, working on the 12-foot-wide section to completely demolish the wall. A separate staff member will come at night to remove steel bars and debris. The process was repeated for approximately 41 days of blasting and a total of 53 days of on-site blasting.
The water spray and vacuum service completed the demolition in May 2018. Due to the revolutionary and professional execution of the plan and innovative equipment, the demolition work did not interrupt the entire project schedule. “This kind of project is only once in a lifetime,” Laforge said. “Thanks to a dedicated team with experience and daring to adopt impossible innovative equipment, we were able to find a unique solution that allowed us to push the boundaries of Hydrodemolition and become part of such an important construction.”
While water spray and vacuum services are waiting for the next similar project, Laforge and his elite team plan to continue to expand their hydraulic blasting experience through Aquajet’s innovative technology and cutting-edge equipment.
Post time: Sep-04-2021