Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis | High Speed Balance Facility

PROJECT NOTES

Tarlton served as General Contractor for a capital project addition to the existing 170,000 sf turbine-generator repair and testing facility for Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis. Central to the project was assembly and construction of a new spin cell that gives MD&A the ability to perform high-speed testing and balancing of generator fields and steam turbine rotors in-house, rather than through a third party out of state. Tarlton self-performed all the heavy concrete work.

We went to great lengths to ensure safe operation of the spin cell through containment, since pieces of equipment undergoing testing may weigh up to 90 tons and are spun at up to 3,960 RPM. The spin cell sits on a concrete pad supported by 104 12-inch H-beam piles extending to bedrock, roughly 70 feet below grade.

Once the spin cell (delivered in nine sections) was assembled and placed, we pumped 1,775 cubic yards of 5,000 psi concrete around it at a thickness of 7 feet, further strengthened by 580 tons of rebar. That’s a lot of rebar!