Underground Construction - February 2021 - 38
REHABTECHNOLOGY
Robots Tackle Underground Pipe Repair
Wisconsin Companies Develop Automated Unit for a Safer Solution
FR S IT
L O O K
Dan Thompson
Repairing underground water pipes can be
a deadly job. As an industrial accident in
1984 in Idaho illustrated, workers above
ground can sometimes be at risk, too.
38
FEBRUARY 2021 | UCONonline.com
The Oneida Power Plant disaster
claimed the lives of four men when a pipe
burst in a power plant. They were knocked
unconscious by a sudden blast of water,
then drowned after they were swept into
the freezing Bear River.
More than 3,000 cubic feet of water
per second was released, washing the
men, a maintenance shop and even
vehicles into the water. The crew had
finished routine maintenance on a turbine
generator and opened a valve controlling
the water flow from penstock to the
turbine. The valve malfunctioned, causing
a " water hammer " - a powerful surge of
water - to develop, rupturing the 12-foot
diameter penstock. A faulty weld made on
the penstock joint about 35 years before
the disaster led to the rupture.
While the men were above ground when
the accident occurred, it pinpoints the
inherent dangers working on water, sewer
and other underground pipes. In 2017, a
worker in Arlington, Ill., died in a sewer
lining project. That same year, five men
were killed in Colorado when a flash fire
engulfed a platform inside the penstock
where they were performing maintenance
work. The workers used handheld radio
to communicate with co-workers and emergency responders for 45 minutes before
succumbing to smoke inhalation.
The dangerous work being performed
by workers in underground pipes is still
done mostly through manual labor. Robots,
however, are beginning to take on that
dangerous assignment.
Remote Orbital Installations LLC (ROI)
http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - February 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - February 2021
Contents
Underground Construction - February 2021 - Cover1
Underground Construction - February 2021 - Cover2
Underground Construction - February 2021 - Contents
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 4
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 5
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 6
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 7
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 8
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 9
Underground Construction - February 2021 - 10
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Underground Construction - February 2021 - 38
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Underground Construction - February 2021 - Cover3
Underground Construction - February 2021 - Cover4
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