Gulf Construction Online - Ham Baker penstocks for stormwater system

Contractors

The penstocks, which will be hydraulically operated. are being installed by Ham Baker in Dubai.

Ham Baker penstocks for stormwater system

01 December 2020

Ham Baker, a global leader in the penstock design-and-build sector, says it has completed the installation of the world’s largest penstocks for Dubai’s Deep Tunnel Storm Water System. The three off 3,000-mm-wide by 5000-mm-deep stainless steel super duplex S32750 penstocks are the biggest and highest specification of their kind ever built anywhere in the world.

The penstocks, which are capable of 63.9 on/off seat pressures, are to be deployed in Dubai as part of the Deep Tunnel Storm Water project that commenced construction in 2018, says Ham Baker.

The Dubai Deep Tunnel Storm Water System is being built by the Dubai Municipality to protect homes and businesses from the impact of flooding and rising groundwater. The project will drain 40 per cent of the entire urban area of the city.

It will serve the whole of Dubai South, which is home to Dubai’s new airport. The system has five elements: a groundwater and stormwater collection network; a 10-km, 10-m diameter, 45-m-deep tunnel; a holding pond; a high-efficiency pumping station; and a sea outfall.

The penstocks, installed and commissioned by the Ham Baker team will be hydraulically operated and will play an integral role in controlling the flow of water in a system that has been designed to handle up to 6.5 million cu m of rainwater. Ham Baker was commissioned with the build due to its worldwide reputation as the experts on Penstock design and build.

The team at Ham Baker 3D modelled the penstocks using cutting-edge design software and the finished penstocks were subjected to rigorous testing in a brand-new facility at the operating site in Stoke on Trent (UK) that is capable of testing penstocks of this magnitude.

Of the new build, David Pye, the sales and marketing director for Ham Baker, says: “It was rewarding that Ham Baker was approached to provide these penstocks.”

“Our legacy and reputation as experts in this field is undoubted and after many months of design and build the team are on the ground in Dubai, installing and commissioning as we speak,” he adds.