Acebron Group Performs the Pressure Tests Successfully
At Acebron Group we have completed the manufacture of four sliding-type gate valves, the operation of which consists of vertically moving a shutter by triggering an oleo-hydraulic cylinder. The gate valves that we have manufactured under the design and specifications of our client are “BUREAU” type , with a rectangular section of 1,000 x 2,000 and are specifically designed for bottom drains. The equipment is suitable to operate both in partial and total openings, and its most notable characteristic is that the closure is metal-metal, giving a greater equipment durability with minimal leaks throughout its useful life.
CLIENT: Inhisa Hidráulica SA is a company with extensive experience on making hydromechanical equipment for reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants, such as rectangular and circular sliding gates, radial spillway and bottom gates, hollow jet valves, cofferdams, forced conduits, etc. Among its works it also counts with complex rehabilitation of spillways and bottom drains, making deep seals through underwater works.
LOCATION: Dam DARNIUS BOADELLA
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
- We have manufactured four gates and each set weighs approximately 12,000 kg making a total of 48,000 kg, in addition to the rest of accessories such as shields, air adductions and by-pass conduit.
- They are made of carbon steel, stainless steel and bronze.
IMORTANT GATE PARTS:
- Upper and Lower Body: It is characterized by being the surroundig valve inside which the obturator element is housed.
- Shutter: It is the closing element, through its movement the opening or closing of the valve is achieved.
- Dome: It is the connecting element between the bodies and the actuating cylinder.
- Drive cylinder: It is an oleohydraulic cylinder prepared to operate the gate with the maximum load of the reservoir.
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
The gate valve has a closing / sealing system through metal-metal union; bronze with stainless steel on the sides and lintel and stainless steel with stainless steel on the Slab.
SCOPE OF OUR WORK:
The scope of our work was the complete manufacture of the gates, including boilermaking, machining, surface treatment, mechanical assembly and quality controls. It should be noted that the mechanical assembly must be lapping by hand, where the seal / tightness cannot be more than 1 hundredth, which makes it an extremely precise work, with no margin for error.
PREASSURE TEST:
The tests carried out on this equipment consist of two main phases: a leakage test at the equipment’s working pressure (45 mwc in this case), which is the maximum water column of the reservoir, and the second test consists of resistance to a load equivalent to 150% of the working water column.
Finally, after gauging and verifying the leaks at these two pressures, an opening is carried out under a resistance load to verify that the oleo-hydraulic cylinder is capable of opening in the worst possible case scenario.
We carry out all this process in collaboration and under the instructions of our client, delivering world-class job. Proof of this are the reduced leaks obtained during the tests after the manual adjustment process, which have always been below 10% of the admissible leaks established by the applicable regulations.
