Location:
Northern New Jersey natural gas-fired generating station.
Pain Point:
Sudden arctic cold weather led to the breakage of a significant cooling water “beetle” pipe, causing a decrease in power generation capacity and a heightened risk of equipment overheating.
Generating Station’s Challenge:
Swiftly regain the cooling tower's functionality to ensure safe and dependable power generation at full capacity, while reducing potential revenue loss from an unforeseen outage.
The Challenge’s Impact On Day-to-Day Operation:
The cooling tower reduces the temperature of condenser water that has been heated by steam, which is utilized to spin the generation turbine. This process converts the steam back into liquid form, enabling the water to be reused. A loss or decrease in this capability heightens the risk of the plant overheating and potentially shutting down. Maintaining the integrity of the cooling system is vital for ensuring system reliability and safe, efficient operations.
A natural gas-fired power generating station in Northern New Jersey faced a critical challenge when an essential cooling water “beetle” pipe suddenly ruptured due to extreme arctic temperatures and pipe aging. With power generation capacity at risk and the potential for overheating, the plant needed a rapid and effective solution to avoid an operational shutdown.
Responding swiftly, our team mobilized within hours. By 2 pm on the same day, skilled crews were on-site, implementing a repair plan. The challenge was significant—a large gap between pipe sections made realignment, reattachment and resealing difficult. Using innovative materials like Belzona 1111 NF2 composite repair epoxy resin paste and Belzona Superwrap fiberglass and carbon fiber wrap systems, our team repaired and reinforced the structure, ensuring durability and reliability.
Working from Saturday afternoon through late Sunday night, the team successfully restored the cooling system within 36 hours of the initial emergency call. This rapid response minimized downtime and reinforced the trust the power plant had in our expertise.
This success underscores our unwavering commitment to safety, teamwork, and innovative problem-solving—key factors in delivering critical infrastructure solutions when they matter most.
Large cooling tower with damaged beetle pipe at New Jersey power generating station.
5:30 pm Saturday: Pipe joint prepped for refit with damaged sections cut out.
1 pm Sunday: Belzona 1111 is used to fill the gap and bond sections together.
2 pm Sunday: Interior view of the joint showing Belzona paste and Superwrap.
6:30 pm Sunday: Field technicians apply Belzona carbon fiber Superwrap II.
For more information about our emergency pipe break repair service, and other industrial solutions, please contact the Banks Industrial Group team today via email or by calling 856-687-2227.