LCJ Engineers were involved in the installation of a new cooling tower at Sun Metals corporation (SMC).
Our works included:
- Structural design and documentation of the support structure for the new cooling tower including:
- Access bridge between the support tower and the existing building.
- Stairs for maintenance access to the Cooling Tower fan.
- Foundations (plinths) for various equipment.
- Concrete set-out and level control.
- Modifications to existing apron slab (beyond the footprint of the new tower)
- Certification (Form 16) of the construction by a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).
The new tower is a self cleansing circular tank manufactured by Outotec. It is expected that this tank will require less future maintenance than the existing rectangular tanks – the existing tanks are rectangular in shape and require regular maintenance to prevent and treat corrosion.
The floor beneath the tower is lined with acid proof bricks and will need to fall to a central drainage pipe.
To suit operations, access to drive a truck under and through the tower was required. The truck is to be able to collect any discharge from the drainage pipe off the cooling tower. The base beneath the tower is bunded (roll over bund where traversed by vehicles) and has been constructed to fall and drain onto the adjacent electrolyte ground floor slab.
Modifications were required to the existing apron to construct the base beneath the tower.
Speed of construction was a significant consideration for the design and construction of the facility.
