The Australian Stainless Steel Development Association (ASSDA) award category Fabricator Project of the Year was accepted by Arcus Wire Groups’ International Sales Manager Josh Sheedy and Group Operations Manager Shaun Salmon for its recent large hamma® duplex 2205 project. The project involved manufacturing, fabrication, and testing of hamma® duplex 2205 cable assemblies in its Gold Coast facility prior to exporting to the Middle East.
The cables form part of a guiding system for draft tube gates and stop logs of the lower surge shaft for a 344MW pumped storage Hydroelectric Power station designed to provide flexible backup power and stability to the national electricity grid of Israel, the project is the first hydroelectric power station of its kind in the county.
The project required 8 identical wire ropes 110 metres in length and 35mm in diameter, with construction of half-locked coil with an internal core of a large diameter wire. It needed to be capable of a permanently applied load of 100kN in a marine application with very corrosive water similar to seawater. A long working life was required and once in place, maintenance of the cables is not possible. The project required one part of the cable to be submerged permanently in water with highly corrosive properties and the other part in the air, with air temperatures at a maximum of 45 degrees and humidity of up to 75%. 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel was ultimately chosen as the material for use in the wire rope and fittings on the project due to its suitability for the cable guiding system in the environment and its reliability and cost-effectiveness.
