Hollywood Road Digester Penetration Strengthening
Digester penetration reinforcement incorporating an engineered Tyfo 2X alternative and protective finish at Hollywood Road WRF.
Delta Structural Technology completed a carbon fiber retrofit for the Hollywood Road Water Reclamation Facility digester mixing improvements in Amarillo. The scope addressed pipe penetrations in the digester tanks. It also included development of a value-engineering alternative using a heavier Tyfo carbon fiber system to meet the project’s strengthening criteria with a revised reinforcement arrangement.
- Market
- Water & Wastewater
- Services
- CFRP digester-opening reinforcement
- Location
- Amarillo, Texas
Project challenge
The project specified FRP reinforcement at digester pipe penetrations as an alternative to the concrete-repair approach. An earlier composite design had been prepared during project development. After award, Delta evaluated a revised material option intended to reduce the installation effort associated with the original multilayer arrangement while maintaining the required strengthening criteria.
Project approach
The proposed alternative used Tyfo 2X carbon fiber following engineering analysis of the revised system. Delta’s scope included sealed calculations and drawings, concrete surface profiling, reinforcement layout and epoxy saturation of the receiving surface and fabric. Placement was to follow the engineered drawings. The scope also included UV-resistant paint after the composite work and provided for pull-off testing after curing if required by the engineer of record.
Delivery and coordination
Huseman Engineering’s penetration requirements and the project addendum framed the design task. Attached pipes or conduit were to be removed or loosened by others before installation access. Delta included rolling scaffolding and system submittals. The design-change process therefore connected the original penetration requirement, the alternate fiber system and the practical preparation needed at the tank walls.
Project significance
The Hollywood Road project illustrates how a composite system can be reconsidered during project delivery without changing the underlying strengthening objective. Its distinctive feature was the proposed transition to a heavier carbon fiber arrangement for digester penetrations. The case highlights engineering review as the connection between a value-engineering idea and an installation-ready reinforcement detail.
