Alberta, Canada
Modular Pumphouse Structures
Scope/Solutions
Pumphouses for slurry transport in the northern Alberta oil sands are traditionally field-erected from individual structural steel pieces and founded on large concrete piles, which is costly and time-consuming in the harsh environment. Additionally, the pumphouses are often used for just a few years and then relocated, requiring dismantling the steel framing and abandoning the foundations. Our client wanted to make the structures modular and transportable so they could be built off-site and relocated in the future. SGH led a multidisciplinary team to develop a modular pumphouse design.
SGH worked closely with the owner, operators, maintenance personnel, equipment vendors, module contractors, and module transporters to develop the configuration and design criteria. The project team first developed a prototype pumphouse and then completed a final design that could be constructed as a standardized, repeatable module. Highlights of our work include:
- Designing the structure for the module base to withstand lifting, transporting, and operating forces, and to support the large centrifugal pump drivetrain, equipment, and building enclosure
- Designing an insulated gravel pad foundation system, eliminating the need for piles and cast-in-place concrete and greatly reducing construction cost and duration
- Overseeing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and instrumentation subconsultants and coordinating equipment within the compact pumphouse space
- Performing dynamic analysis of the machinery, all-steel module base, and gravel pad foundation to ensure that machine vibrations were within acceptable limits without adding massive concrete foundations
- Engaging a structural steel detailer to prepare fabrication drawings and files to facilitate construction of multiple, identical modules on demand without repeating the shop drawing process for each project, based on the structural design
Project Summary
2014
Key team members
