Control of Debris and Dust from the Treatment of Grade 4 Tower Steelwork (G4T)

Completed

Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
National Grid Electricity Transmission

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 November 2013

01 November 2014

12 months

£205,000

Power

London

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, National Grid Electricity Transmission

The key deliverables of this project will include; The adaptation of recognised methodologies (debris netting, hand-held vacuum, industrial vacuum with manifold system) for mitigation of the effects of cleaning structural steel work and the demonstration of the effectiveness of these solution for use on National Grid’s overhead line towers during outage & non-outage conditions. The creation of a procedure/manual to support ongoing implementation of the techniques developed. The success of the project will be based on the following criteria The identification of an appropriate, cost effective approach to capturing dust and debris during the abrasion process of preparation for re-painting through assessment and demonstration of three potential options. The development of supporting documentation to assist the approach being implemented within National Grid.

During the preparation phase of G4T Steelwork, hand-held powered wire brushes (and other similar devices) are used to remove old paintwork and surface rust. This dust and debris has been identified as an issue in certain sensitive environments. This needs to be controlled and contained to mitigate health, safety and environmental risks to which there is no current solution. Three different potential methods of capturing the dust and debris are to be considered to help mitigate the risks, these three methods are; Fine debris netting Hand-held vacuum collection Industrial vacuum with manifold system Each will be assessed during this project to help identify the most appropriate, cost effective and successful approach and will be demonstrated on several unused towers located away from environmentally sensitive areas to ensure a solution has been proven to work.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above

09/08/18