Ord River Dam Outlet Valves
HVES in partnership with Acron Engineering were contracted to refurbish three 78inch Fixed Cone discharge Valves from the outlet works at the Ord River Dam, Western Australia. The Valves at this site were in service for approximately 40 years prior to being refurbished.
The onsite assessment identified that the valves had suffered significant cavitation and corrosion damage that had previously been unsuccessfully repaired with an epoxy filler. There was also excessive wear to the sleeve bearing guides which caused the sleeve to bind during operation. The valves were however structurally sound and well suited for refurbishment.
In conjunction with the comprehensive refurbishment HVES also upgraded the original metal seat to a resilient rubber seal which offers drop tight sealing performance. The seat geometry was also revised to eliminate the risk of future cavitation damage occurring. The refurbished valves were pressure tested in the workshop to verify structural integrity and sealing performance prior to being returned to site.
The three refurbished valves have now all been installed and commissioned, the first of which has been in service since 2010 without incident. The cavitation damage observed prior to refurbishment has not reoccurred.
Site
Ord River Dam in located near the town of Kununarra, Western Australia.
Before
As removed the valve was well worn with excessive bearing to sleeve clearance, this caused the sleeve to intermittently skew and bind up on the body when operated. Heavy damage, the result of cavitation and corrosion is observed on the cone edge.
After
Following a comprehensive refurbishment and modernisation the Valves were operated and pressure tested in the workshop to ensure they continue to meet the operating requirements.
New Hydraulic cylinders were also designed and installed. The cylinders incorporate a position transducer to allow monitoring of the valve position.
