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Ventilation….Underground?

By December 16, 2022No Comments2 min read

We get to do some really cool stuff at Encorus!  Some of those things have taken place across the country, near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Several projects at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant have required our design group to think outside the box in order to find better solutions to the toughest problems.  The site’s Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) was one of those.  This system is designed to provide 540,000 cubic feet per minute of filtered air to the underground portion of the site.  Encorus designed six 1,000 HP fans for the project.  Each fan is 20 feet tall and weighs 44,000 pounds.

After completing the design, Encorus Group oversaw their fabrication and testing at the Clarage manufacturing facility in Pulaski, TN, and then saw them off as they began the thousand mile journey to WIPP.  Work is currently underway on an air intake shaft to feed the SSCVS – one of the only parts of the system visible above ground!  When complete, the shaft will reach a depth of 2,275 feet below ground.  This $288 million project is an investment in the facility’s infrastructure which will allow it to operate safely and compliantly for decades.

Encorus Group’s other projects at the site include other ventilation systems as well as fire protection and communication systems.