Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | NIA_SGN0014 | |
| Title | Tornado Max | |
| Status | Completed | |
| Energy Categories | Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas) 100%; | |
| Research Types | Applied Research and Development 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100% | |
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Project Contact No email address given SGN |
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| Award Type | Network Innovation Allowance | |
| Funding Source | Ofgem | |
| Start Date | 01 August 2013 | |
| End Date | 01 January 2016 | |
| Duration | 29 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £21,798 | |
| Industrial Sectors | Energy | |
| Region | South East | |
| Programme | Network Innovation Allowance | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Project Contact , SGN (100.000%) |
| Web Site | http://www.smarternetworks.org/project/NIA_SGN0014 |
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| Objectives | The aim of this project is to design, develop and evaluate an attachment to be used with the current Tornado tool, which is light, requires minimal maintenance and user friendly. To achieve this the key objectives are to: Develop, test and review design drawings of the new equipmentProduce and review at least one Tornado Max adaptorTrain SGN employees in use of the Tornado Max adaptorEvaluate the performance of the sample system through field trialsProduce a technical report detailing the outcomes of the project In order to determine whether this project has been successful or not it will be reviewed at key milestones set throughout the project listed above, this will ensure value for money is received by the customer, with the avoidance of unnecessary expenditure. Key outcomes of the project will be: The development of a piece of equipment which utilises the existing Tornado toolingField trial data clarifying the effectiveness of the equipment to remove build up of gas from confined spaces in property structures and small quantities of water and grit from valve chambersAn improved reoccupation time for evacuated residents as a result of gas in propertiesProduction of a technical report detailing the project outcomes | |
| Abstract | On average across SGN we deal with approximately 44,762 gas escapes per year, excluding interference damage repairs. A problem has been identified when dealing with residual gas in properties following the repair of a leak, when gas often gets trapped in cavities inside of buildings or in concrete floor annuluses due to minimal air movement. Until the amount of gas in these spaces is removed the occupants of the property who have been evacuated can not return to it. A piece of equipment called the ‘Tornado’ is currently used widely across the industry to suck residual gas out of the ground when a large area is saturated with gas from a leak to aid pinpointing the origin of the leak. The Tornado is placed on the road surface and compressed air is passed through the body of the unit, causing a vacuum which sucks the trapped gas out of the ground and vents it in to the atmosphere. However, this device cannot be used to extract trapped gas from buildings. The development of the Tornado Max, an adaptor to be connected to the Tornado, will facilitate the use of compressed air to remove trapped gas from the areas of buildings’ structures where the gas is trapped. This will speed up the reoccupation process following an escape and greatly reduce the impact on the customer. The adaptor will also make removing residual gas from abandoned pipes easier and aid operatives in the safe removal of small amounts of water trapped in valve chambers in the ground. This project aims to tackle such concerns by improving and extending the design functionality of the Tornado air powered vacuum device that is currently utilised throughout the gas industry. This project is concerned with exploring incremental improvements that can be applied to the Tornado air powered vacuum device by adding to the current tornado design an attachment which will allow it to be connected to a " BSPT (British Standard Pipe Thread) threaded purge hose to focus the suction power provided by the unit in a specific area. This is a technical project where initial development and production of working drawings will be undertaken prior to designing and manufacturing a working model. Field trials will be carried out using 45 samples of the tornado adaptor provided by Pipetech Ltd to selected field operatives spread across three depots in SGN’s Scotland, South and South East England licence areas to ensure testing across a varied demographic of SGN’s networks. If the trials covering the use and effectiveness of the new adaptor prove to be a success this equipment will generate benefits for licensees, particularly in reducing the time spent reoccupying customers who have been evacuated from a property. The methodology will be as follows: Pipetech to research, develop, and produce working drawings. Pipetech to produce a maximum of 2 working models and test. Any required changes to the design will be made following agreement between SGN and Pipetech. Drawings to be submitted to SGN for assessment pre prototype production. If suitable, SGN to provide written approval to Pipetech to proceed with batch manufacture. Production schedule submitted to SGN followed by fortnightly progress reports of project. Production of 45 Tornado Max units for trialling purposesDelivery to sites and provide training to support field trial in 3 depot locations, Scotland, South and South-East. Assessment made on the success and suitability of the product developments bySGN.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 17/12/18 | |
