T
he evacuated pump stations in Jefferson Parish of New Orleans did not stand a chance against the force of water surging through during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As a city below sea level on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans relies on engineered drain- age systems, including a number of pump stations,
to force water out of the canals and waterways surrounding the city into the gulf and Lake Pontchartrain. With electricity out and station operators evacuated, the pumps sat idle. With the pool of water on the outside higher than normal during the hurricane, the water to be drained out of the region had no direction to go but back into the parish. “Tat was a consideration in the design of the type of pump [for the new
station in the West Closure Complex of the Gulf Intercoastal Water Way],” said Tim Connell, Army Corps of Engineers project manager for the pump station. “We wanted to make sure if there was ever a condition where the pumps didn’t work, there was no way to have backflow from the outside into the area we are trying to drain off.” Te new $500-million pump station operates at the point where New Or-
leans’ Harvey and Algiers canals meet. Te station consists of 11 massive pumps designed to pump 19,140 cu. ft. of water per second. It was constructed in less than two years as part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ region-wide plan to avoid another devastating flood. Smaller drainage pump stations in New Orleans operate year-round to keep
water levels safe throughout a typi- cal rainy season. Te record-breaking station was built in case of emergency and likely will be used roughly once every three years during storm surges and hurricanes, Connell said. Te pump station is designed to keep the pumps going on diesel generators should the electricity go out. Te next time a storm hits, it will be up to the pumps—and their castings— to keep water flowing up to 800,000 gallons per minute from flooding the West Bank area of New Orleans.
Speed a Priority Hurricane season looms menac-
ingly in New Orleans after Katrina, so the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on an aggressive timetable to complete the West Closure Com- plex project by July 2011. Te Army Corps of Engineers had to work fast (the project was approved in early
The casting supplier was required to prove dimensional accuracy of the stainless steel propellers with cloud scanning and laser scanning. May/Jun 2012 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60