Allnorth was engaged to provide multi-discipline engineering services to support an industrial client with the engineering of dewatering improvements to their pulp machine. This included piping and rotating equipment scope of work to ultimately re-install a top felt surrounding the lumpbreaker roll at their mill facility in Alberta.
In this role, Allnorth was responsible for the engineering to support the vendor-provided equipment. This included vacuum pump modifications, various dewatering equipment (separators, seal pots), vacuum piping, and overall balance of plant scope. In addition to performing mechanical, structural, process and electrical engineering, the team utilized 3D scanning technology to effectively integrate the design in an existing congested mill environment.
Allnorth used an innovative approach to maintain the vacuum and capacity of the existing vacuum system, while adding a new vacuum user without the addition of a new vacuum pump. Allnorth’s vacuum system solution required overall minor piping modifications to the existing vacuum pump headers. A speed change (increase) was specified for one of the vacuum pumps, meeting the vendor’s required capacity requirements and subsequently the client received a process guarantee.
Allnorth successfully addressed some of the challenges presented by the varied mill environments of the project which spanned two floors of the facility. It ranged from a very humid operating floor prone to corrosion, while the remainder of the facility was less problematic and generally dryer. Stainless steel materials were specified for the operating floor in close proximity to the pulp machine, while on the lower levels, typical galvanized or painted materials were used. This required engineering consideration for both mechanical portions of the scope (pipe supports, bolting) as well as structural (new steel).
RESPONSIBILITIES
- 3D scanning & modeling
- Vacuum system analysis
- Specification of vacuum pump speed changes
- Vacuum piping design (ASME B31.3 & ASME Section VIII)
- Pipe stress analysis
- Isometrics and tank GA drawings
- Structural engineering for existing pipe support steel and operating floor
- Onsite construction support
- Process hazard assessment and updates to facility P&IDs
LOCATION
Alberta
