Custom Fabrication Project for Shell Canada
Shell Canada required a massive 306’ tall x 8’- 8” diameter flare stack with a 4’ diameter internal riser to be fabricated, tested and shipped in (4) sections ranging up to 139,000 lbs and 90’ long. The sections were shipped with the platform brackets and piping pre-installed so it could be quickly and easily erected at their Albian Oil Sands Facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Once completed the stack weighed over 245 tons.
- All outer shell and internal riser shell welds required 100% complete joint penetration (CJP) welding. Radiography inspection was required on 100% of all T-Joints and 10% random radiography on all other circular and longitudinal seams. Welding needed to be performed in the flat position so welding machine set-up needed to be aligned and adjusted to track evenly. Design and build articulating fixtures for the Submerged Arc welding machine so the circular complete joint penetration (CJP) shell welds could be performed by the Submerged Arc and Flux Core automated tracking welding machines.
- The 42” riser had to be inserted into the stack and supported at dead center of the outer stack. Conventional lifting devices like overhead cranes or conventional forklifts could not be utilized to do this and so a moving dolly system was designed and built to safely insert the riser into the outer stack.
- Through working with our engineers and transportation company Mammoet, it was determined that custom shipping saddles were required. These were then designed and manufactured. We worked with Mammoet to come up with a trailer arrangement and route survey. The long stack sections were self-supporting so it was decided to ship with the steering dolly on the rear end.
The custom engineered flare stack was delivered on-time, on-budget and without incident. Shipping it in the (4) large sections, with all exterior components already installed, minimized costly field work and allowed for an accelerated field installation to help maintain the project schedule.