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| Some mechanical rooms within the new Jenks Math and Science Center will remain visible to students to serve as a living classroom that displays green technologies. |
Jenks Public Schools, in Oklahoma, is scheduled to complete a $20.8 million Math and Science Center in August 2011. The 90,000-square-foot building will house 24 math and science classrooms, several community areas, a 120-seat planetarium and a large multipurpose room.
Designers on the project are aiming for LEED Silver certification for the building, which will incorporate several efficiency-boosting measures. At the heart of the building will be a robust geothermal system to provide heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC). Four 1.2-kilowatt wind turbines will generate a small portion of the building's electricity, while horizontal and vertical louvers will control sunlight access to the spaces within the building. An automation system will coordinate all components to work in unison to optimize the efficiency of the building.
Environmental Loop Services (ELS), a local contractor, are veterans at installing all types of geothermal well fields that feed into ground source heat pump systems. In all of the geothermal fields they install, one thing is constant – polyethylene pipe. Polyethylene is the pipe material of choice because of the pipe's flexibility in adjusting to shifts in the ground, the wide range of operating temperatures and the ability to resist corrosion from chemicals in the ground.
At Jenks' Math and Science Center, ELS drilled 216 wells with each reaching a depth of 400 feet. The wells will hold a loop of 800 feet of 1-inch polyethylene pipe that is then fused to headers that lead to the mechanical room indoors. The 216 vertical wells comprise a closed vertical loop system, the most popular geothermal system installed across the United States today.
A closed vertical loop system works with a ground source heat pump by circulating water or an antifreeze solution through the pipes buried below the Earth's surface. In the winter, fluids in the pipes collect heat from the earth and carry it through the system and into the building. When temperatures outside rise, the system reverses and the pipes work to cool the building by taking heat pulled from the building and putting it back into the ground.
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| Bundles of 1-inch coil loops are staged at McElroy's Tulsa facilities as work begins on a new geothermal HVAC system. |
Before all of the school building's internal green technologies were to be installed, vertical loop fields were constructed on the east and south sides of the building. ELS divided the geothermal well fields into banks of 27 wells, with seven ditches of 27 wells on the east side of the building. An additional bank of 27 wells was required south of the facility. In total, ELS installed more than 32 miles of 1-inch piping into the field.
As with most educational construction projects, deadlines centered on having the building finished and furnished by the start of the 2011 school year in August, putting all contractors and subcontractors to the test. ELS personnel answered the tight deadlines by adhering to a tight week-by-week work program. Personnel started drilling the first well on August 23rd last year and finished the last header on November 9th. The last week on the site may have been the most challenging.
"We had to build the header, dig it, tie it in, pressurize it up, get it inspected, backfill it and compact it in seven days," recalls Jeremy Garrison, production manager for Environmental Loop Services. "That's how every week seemed to be – with very tight deadlines."
To complete all the butt fusions for the well field, the ELS team used a Rolling 28, PitBullŪ 14, 2LC, Socket Tooling and Sidewinder™. PE pipe sizes on the project ranged from 8 inches to the 1-inch vertical loop sizes. The PitBull 14 and 2LC came into play the most often, as both are capable of fusing the 1-inch pipe from the loops into the headers. The 14 can fuse pipes from 1-inch IPS to 4-inch DIPS, while the 2LC can fuse pipes as small as 1/2-inch CTS to 2-inch IPS.
ELS's preference is to do fabrications in their Tulsa, Oklahoma facility, but the dynamics of the job site required the pipe and McElroy equipment to perform on site.
"We did most of the fabrication on site," said Garrison. "The problem was that we built some of it here in 40-foot lengths to take them out to the site and fuse it into the system. The new construction is near existing buildings, sports facilities and around student parking. It was congested and we couldn't get our trailers in and out easily."
After completion of their work on the Jenks Math and Science Center, ELS was approached by McElroy to convert one of two manufacturing facilities to a geothermal HVAC system. When complete, the McElroy Fulton Assembly Plant will be the company's third building that relies on ground source heat pump technology, polyethylene pipe and a closed vertical loop system.
Again, Environmental Loop Services will face tight deadlines as McElroy aims to have the system installed before the hot and humid Oklahoma summer arrives. Sixty-five wells will be installed near and under an existing parking lot, all while the manufacturing facility remains open.
Inside the facility, the well field will connect to several 10-ton AAON SB Series geothermal heat pumps to cover the 60,000-square-foot facility.
While ELS works this week during spring break to get McElroy's new system installed, they are on target for a well-deserved summer vacation.
Sincerely,
Tyler Henning
P.S. – Do you have an interesting job site that you would like to share? McElroy is always looking for fusion job sites where HDPE is being used and fused to solve an infrastructure problem. Contact Tyler Henning, public relations specialist at (918) 831-9286 or by email at thenning@mcelroy.com
Special Notice:
McElroy Manufacturing would like to do some product testing on job sites using heavy-wall 36- to 48-inch polyethylene pipe in the United States. If you have a job site running in the near future, please let us know by emailing mcnews@mcelroy.com with “Field Test” in the subject line.
The 1LC can butt fuse ½” CTS to 1” IPS (16mm to 34mm) service sizes. McElroy engineers designed the heater to locate on guide rods built into the unit, similar to the entire line of McElroy fusion machines. The compact design allows for fusing in tight confines. The 1LC also incorporates these features:
- Locking cam to maintain force during the cooling cycle
- Conventional facer design with ball-bearing construction and gear driver for long life
- 3.8-to-1 mechanical advantage
- Jaws that use the same inserts as the original MiniMc™
- Serrated jaws and inserts to keep pipe from slipping during the fusion process.
If you are looking for a premium rental experience in the United States and Canada – you now have options. On March 1st, McElroy launched the Certified McElroy Rental program with select McElroy distributors. Certified McElroy Rentals are backed by Genuine McElroy Parts, factory-trained inspectors and factory-trained mechanics to ensure the rental machines are the most reliable fusion rentals in the industry. You can find a Certified McElroy by visiting www.certifiedmcelroy.com and using the Certified McElroy Rental locator.
Through March 2011, McElroy University has held six classes. If you want to further your pipe fusion education, there’s still an opportunity to come to Tulsa to learn from the pipe fusion experts! There’s 11 classes left in the school year, ranging from Operator Qualification to Troubleshooting and Rebuild to Advanced Productivity Tools Qualification. Visit www.mcelroy.com/fusion/training to read class descriptions or register for a class today!
In just a few days’ time, McElroy will be at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG show in Las Vegas. The show opens March 22nd and closes on the 26th. McElroy is located at Booth S-750 and will have a large range of equipment on display, including:
The Alliance for PE Pipe will visit Texas at the end of March. The road show and expo offers educational opportunities regarding HDPE piping systems with the ability to ask questions of industry experts. If you’ve ever had questions about design, supply, installation, maintenance or repair of HDPE pipe systems, this is the show to attend. Each show is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and features a complimentary lunch.
The Alliance for PE Pipe Road Show and Expo will be at the following locations:
- San Antonio on March 29th
- Austin on March 30th
- Houston on March 31st
- Dallas on April 1st
Here are pictures from the training in Mexico:
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If you have photos from a job site, we’d love to see them! Yours may be chosen for the next issue of McElroy Connections. Simply email your photos to Tyler Henning, at thenning@mcelroy.com.
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A busted sewage pipe in Australia is getting the #HDPE treatment. http://ow.ly/4bg2K Mar 10th |
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That's right - We're bringing the MegaMc 1600 to #conexpoconagg. Fuse up to 65-inch #hdpe! http://ow.ly/4aPXS Booth S-750 Mar 9th |
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Who is ready for #conexpoconagg? Only 13 days left to go. What are you most excited to see? Mar 8th |
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Did you know there was a premium McElroy rental option out on the market? Equipment World magazine does: http://ow.ly/4aa07 Mar 8th |
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Just found this job site story on Performance Pipe's site. See how #HDPE can be installed through pipebursting methods. http://ow.ly/49vEI Mar 7th |
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Going to #ConExpo? We just found this really great ConExpo application for Apple devices: http://ow.ly/47ovb Mar 3rd |
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Visit www.certifiedmcelroy.com to find a participating distributor near you! These machines are inspected by us, so they work for you! Mar 3rd |
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The most reliable fusion machine rentals in the industry are now very easy to find. Visit CertifiedMcElroy.com to learn more about the new Certified McElroy Rental program. Mar 3rd |
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Good news for #HDPE! Plastic is the fastest-growing pipe material through 2015 - PlasticsToday.com http://bit.ly/gJNOqu Mar 2nd |
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This week marks the 30th Anniversary of our 1st McElroy University training session! There's still time to train in 2011: http://ow.ly/45Mvp Mar 1st |
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Sidney Township in Michigan is enjoying the benefits of #HDPE & fusing lengths of pipe together for a directional drill. http://ow.ly/42OZ6 Feb 24th |
Alliance for PE Pipe WaterWorld Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Plastics Pipe Institute
