Supplemental Technical Information to Foundation and Arrangement Plan

Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-Steel-Areas in primary

concrete and how to cast Secondary Concrete

Please note:
© 2011 Exclusive Copyright for this documentation by WKV AG.
The following documentation is for information and description only. The documentation is only allowed for communication between WKV AG
and its customer. Duplicating this documentation and passing it on to third parties is strictly prohibited.

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Table of Contents
WKV Powerhouse Civil Work Information ......................................................... 3
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 3
Purpose of this document............................................................................................................ 3
Responsible party for the proper execution of No-steel-areas and Secondary
Concrete.................................................................................................................... 4
What if No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete are not executed properly? .. 6
WKV Foundation Plan Details............................................................................... 6
WKV Arrangement Plan Details ........................................................................... 6
No-Steel-Areas ......................................................................................................... 7
What they are .............................................................................................................................. 7
How you can find No-steel-areas in the Foundation Plan .......................................................... 7
Why No-steel-areas definitely make sense ................................................................................. 9
What happens if there are no No-steel-areas?........................................................................... 11
Steel in the No steel area....................................................................................................... 11
What if there is no concrete at all?........................................................................................ 11
Secondary Concrete .............................................................................................. 12
What it is ................................................................................................................................... 12
How to identify Secondary Concrete in the Arrangement Plan................................................ 12
How to manage Secondary Concrete works successfully......................................................... 13
Option: Raised turbine foundation or flush powerhouse floor ................................................. 16
Make your construction site look like this .......................................................... 17
Examples for improper execution of powerhouse foundations ........................ 18
WKV Erection and Commissioning Crew at Your Service .............................. 23

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WKV Powerhouse Civil Work Information

Introduction
As a water to wire supplier, we strive to deliver to you the best service available. “Water
to Wire” is what we promise, and it is exactly what we do.
The best components represent significant value on their own, but will only come to real
life when properly installed and wired. All the necessary high-grade machinery and
switchgear will be delivered by WKV AG and will also be installed, tested and commis-
sioned by our engineers.
Powerhouse design and erection is a crucial step within the whole hydropower project. If
done well, all machinery can be easily positioned and firmly fastened for a lifetime. If
not, the whole project will be significantly delayed for one thing, and might be in com-
plete jeopardy if things really go wrong here.
Powerhouse design and erection also represents a project phase that calls for open, hon-
est, trustful and successful cooperation between project partners. To establish a solid
foundation for communication, we create the Foundation Plan and the Arrangement Plan
to show you our vision of the hydropower installation. Doing so, we strive to create a ba-
sis where everyone involved has the same understanding of what needs to be built.
It’s understood, though, that there is no such document in the world that has the power to
answer all questions possible. So, for the sake of our common project, may we kindly in-
vite you to ask us any question that you may have.

Purpose of this document

The purpose of this document is to answer questions that may come up when you read
Foundation and Arrangement Plans.
Furthermore, we want to clarify responsibility issues in order to avoid conflicts and pro-
ject delay due to misunderstanding or lacking information.

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Responsible party for the proper execution of No-steel-areas and

Secondary Concrete
You, our customer, are responsible for the proper execution of powerhouse foundations,
which include No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete.
This is outlined in several documents which WKV and you share. In this document here,
WKV assumes that you have read, understood, agreed to and accepted these documents.
For example, in the Order Confirmation, the following text paragraphs are usually to be
found:

II Supplies and Services

…
II.2 BY OTHERS
 Penstock and civil structure.

Pos. 12 Erection and Commissioning

…
To be provided by the customer:
 Secondary concrete works
…
IV SUMMARY OF PRICES
Locally: - Secondary concrete for all the foundation works

In Arrangement Plans and Foundation Plans, the following statements are made:

 Calculation and design of the secondary concrete and steel reinforcement is the
responsibility of the customer.

 Reinforcements and dimensions of building (construction) components as well

as stress analysis (static) are not part of WKV`s responsibility and to be pro-
vided by the customer.

To further clarify this issue, we strongly recommend that you carry out the following
steps in order to prepare the construction site for machine installation:
 thoroughly read Foundation Plans and Arrangement Plans,
 be sure that you understand every detail of the Foundation Plans and Arrangement
Plans,
 discuss with WKV and your building contractor every little detail that is not
100 % clear to you,
 demand a project plan from your building contractor that outlines the building proc-
ess in detail and let him present this project plan to you,
 hire another building contractor, if you don’t feel comfortable after the presentation,
and start again at the previous point,

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 make sure that your building contractor calculates powerhouse statics properly in or-
der to meet foundation forces requirements as outlined in the WKV Arrangement
plan,
 use static calculation and develop primary and secondary concrete reinforcement de-
sign, paying special attention to keep No-steel-areas free from steel reinforcement,
 choose the proper concrete quality:
2
 minimum pressure resistance of 25 N/mm ,
 do not use any concrete additives that rise concrete curing temperature exces-
sively for Secondary Concrete.
 plan your crane with care, so that the crane will reach all the places where you need
help in lifting heavy machinery, installing switchgear cabinets and the like.
 build the powerhouse according to binding WKV specifications, as far as critical
points are concerned:
 No-steel-areas,
 foundation heights and dimensions, levelling, axis alignment, steel reinforce-
ment design, surface quality,
 concrete quality,
 door height and width,
 crane hook height, crane capacity,
 cable conduits,
 waterproof cable run seals where cables penetrate walls,
 waterproof compound / foundation sealing where draft tube penetrates power-
house floor
 Check all topics mentioned and correct critical points, if you find they are not done
according to the Foundation Plan and the Arrangement Plan.
If you should feel any need for further clarification, or want questions answered, please
do not hesitate to contact your project engineer at WKV.

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What if No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete are not executed

properly?
As you are responsible for the proper execution of powerhouse foundations, which in-
clude No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete, you will bear all additional cost due to
improper execution of powerhouse foundations. Usually, the result of improper execution
of No-steel-areas is expensive, time-consuming rework of the machine foundations and
related extra cost for tools, WKV Erection Specialists working time, and project de-
lay. Read on to see some examples for improper execution of powerhouse foundations.
It’s understood that we also show you exactly how No-steel-areas have to be and why
you need to make sure that the No-steel-areas are made as we specified them in the
Foundation Plan.

WKV Foundation Plan Details

The Foundation Plan is designed to transfer all information to you that’s needed to pre-
pare the construction site for the installation of the WKV Turbine, WKV Generator,
WKV switchgear and peripheral components.
The Foundation Plan thus contains lots of information. Not all of it needs extra explana-
tion, since the information basics are all designed according to international conventions
that are known and understood by competent building contractors around the globe.
Experience showed, however, that what we call No-steel-areas seems to be a concept
that needs attention.
On the following pages, we will cover these topics:
 what No-steel-areas are,
 how you can find No-steel-areas in the Foundation Plan,
 why No-steel-areas definitely make sense
 what happens if you don’t care for No-steel-areas when casting the primary
concrete.

WKV Arrangement Plan Details

The Arrangement Plan, on the other hand, is designed to show you how the machinery
and components are installed inside the powerhouse. Put the corresponding sheets of
Foundation Plan and Arrangement Plan side by side on your table. This will answer many
questions instantly.
The function of the Secondary Concrete is to strongly hold big components like the
draft tube, the turbine, the generator in place and to really integrate these components into
the whole building structure. As these central machinery components are in direct contact
with all the forces like mass moments of inertia, water hammer, torques, axial thrust,
weight, expansion due to temperature and so on, they need to be safely held and counter-
balanced by a strong powerhouse construction.
On the following pages, we will cover these topics:
 what Secondary Concrete is,
 how you can find Secondary Concrete in the Arrangement Plan,
 how you deal with it successfully,
 what happens if the Secondary Concrete is poorly made.

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No-Steel-Areas
What they are
Actually, “No steel” is not 100% correct. There is steel reinforcement inside the concrete,
but it is located at a minimum distance under the surface. The minimum distance is vari-
able, depending on the length of the fastening bolts for the turbine or alternator feet. To
identify the actual minimum distance, look into your foundation plan.
At the No-steel areas, the reinforcing steel is curved to form a groove, as shown in the
following figure:

Figure 1.: Foundation plan detail

This block, vertically cut out of primary concrete foundation, shows how you have to
form the steel reinforcement at No-steel-areas.

How you can find No-steel-areas in the Foundation Plan

Figure 2.: Foundation plan detail, showing turbine foundation

This is how No-steel-areas look in the Foundation Plan. See next picture to get a better
impression of how this section looks like in reality:

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Figure 3.: Similar Section of Foundation Plan, 3-dimensional view

As you can see, No-steel-areas are not visible, once the steel reinforcement is already
covered with concrete.
We developed the grey rectangle to indicate the No-steel-areas, where the steel rein-
forcement is bent to form a groove as shown in Figure 4.:

Figure 4.: Foundation Plan legend on every Foundation Plan sheet to clarify No-steel-
area concept and minimum depth of steel reinforcement.
Read on to find out, what this is good for.

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Why No-steel-areas definitely make sense

It’s all about how we put into place, adjust and finally fix the turbines, generators and
other powerhouse equipment. To cut it short, we will show you how we fix the turbine
into place.

Figure 5.: Placing the turbine on its prepared foundation

This is how it looks like in the schematic, 3-dimensional view, once the turbine has been
brought in:

Figure 6.: WKV turbine put into place.

Remember where the No-steel areas are? Jump to Figure 2. or Figure 3. to recall.
Exactly. It’s where the turbine feet stand now. The surface must be free from steel rein-
forcement so the turbine feet find space to stand on, smooth to adjust the ton-weight tur-
bine housing, and hard to effectively support the fine-tuned turbine position.

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Figure 7.: No-steel-areas where turbine feet stand on ground

Next, the turbine position is thoroughly fine-tuned by the WKV Erecting Machinist. Be-
cause, in the end, tenths of millimetres count. The WKV Erecting Machinist fine-tunes
the turbine position with screws to achieve the exact position. A firm grip to the ground is
a must when adjusting the turbine housing, that’s why WKV uses chemical anchor bolts
to provide a reliable anchor point.
This is why it is so important that you keep the No-steel-areas free from steel rein-
forcement:

Figure 8.: Chemical anchor bolts in concrete foundation to fix the turbine
To set the chemical anchor bolts, the WKV Erecting Machinist drills holes at just the
right places. Drilling a hole 35 mm in diameter into concrete is one thing, but if there is
steel reinforcement inside, we’re in trouble. The drilling machine will get hot or, even
worse, will burn out, drills will wear fast, get stuck in the hole, deviate from their destina-
tion…No fun at all, exhausting, ineffective, expensive, time-consuming and, after all,
unnecessary and avoidable.

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What happens if there are no No-steel-areas?

What if there is steel reinforcement where the WKV Erecting Machinist wants to drill the
fixing hole for the turbine?
What if there is no concrete at all?

Steel in the No steel area

Drilling the holes and setting the chemical anchor bolts takes approximately 1 hour per
turbine foot point. In case things really go well.
In case there is steel in the concrete where the WKV Erecting Machinist wants to drill the
hole, the entire procedure will take him days instead of hours.
Days that cost your money, days that delay the project.
Not to speak of additional expensive premium-quality drills.

What if there is no concrete at all?

In the past, we have also seen people making holes where we marked No-steel-areas. Of
course, it is no fun explaining to a concrete worker that he has to fill this hole again
which he has created thoroughly a short time before.
Before filling the holes with concrete to fix the problem, measures must be taken to pro-
vide for a strong, reliable connection to the surrounding primary concrete. Simply pour-
ing concrete in there will not lead to satisfying results, because it will come loose easily.
When things have gone wrong already, please talk to us so we can cooperatively solve
the problem.
All in all, better avoid this kind of trouble and bend the steel reinforcement as shown
here, in order to keep No-steel-areas free from any obstacles.

Figure 9.: Foundation Plan legend on every Foundation Plan sheet to clarify No-steel-
area concept and minimum depth of steel reinforcement.

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Secondary Concrete
What it is
Again, we will use the turbine installation process as an example.
Going back to Figure 8., let’s assume the turbine is fixed with chemical anchor bolts now.
Would you expect those bolts to bear all the forces mentioned? We suppose not. But they
will at least keep the turbine exactly in position for the steps ahead: Making the Secon-
dary Concrete to integrate the turbine into the whole powerhouse force compensation
structure.
Looking into the Arrangement Plan, it is highly likely that you will find a picture similar
to Figure 10, although this is only a part cut out of the plan:

Figure 10.: Turbine integrated into powerhouse structure with Secondary Concrete (high-
lighted)
You can see how the Secondary Concrete completely surrounds the lower part of the tur-
bine housing and the entire turbine feet, completely filling the pit which has been made
to receive the turbine before. Once the concrete has cured, the turbine will not move
anymore. Now, this provides a solid fundament for a turbine to stand in for decades,
don’t you think?

How to identify Secondary Concrete in the Arrangement Plan

A corresponding mark in the Arrangement Plan’s lower right corner helps you identify
the areas where Secondary Concrete is needed:

Figure 11.: Sign for Secondary Concrete in Arrangement Plan

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How to manage Secondary Concrete works successfully

There is steel reinforcement required in the secondary concrete in the same manner as the
steel reinforcement in the primary concrete.

Figure 12.: Steel reinforcement work done for Secondary Concrete

Follow these instructions to manage Secondary Concrete works successfully:

 Develop steel reinforcement design for Secondary Concrete in time, before WKV
Erection Machinists arrive on construction site.
 Be aware that you are responsible to create a steel reinforcement design and
Secondary Concrete machine foundation which is capable of transferring all
forces (as specified in the Arrangement Plan) into the powerhouse structure.
 Steel reinforcement design must specify minimum 50 mm distance from walls,
ground, top surface and machines (see Figure 13.). Steel reinforcement must
not break through Secondary Concrete surface!
 Bring necessary steel for all Secondary Concrete work on construction site in time,
before WKV Erection Machinists arrive on construction site.
 Hire competent and trained concrete workers to support WKV Erection Machinists.
 Bring all tools and accessories that are needed to form steel reinforcement and build
concrete sheeting.
 Talk to your local concrete supplier and make necessary planning to get concrete for
all Secondary Concrete work on construction site when needed.
 Instruct concrete workers to weave the new steel reinforcement tightly into the steel
loops that come out of the primary concrete. It is very important that the Secondary
Concrete tightly bonds to the primary concrete structure.

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Figure 13.: Steel reinforcement work done for Secondary Concrete, distance needed from
surrounding concrete surfaces to guarantee good integration of steel reinforcement into
Secondary Concrete block.
After all steel reinforcement is brought in and positioned, it’s time for the concrete.

Figure 14.: Secondary Concrete integrates turbine into powerhouse structure

See next page for important points to check for Secondary Concrete.

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Check these points when Secondary Concrete work is ahead:

 Choose and order correct concrete quality from your concrete supplier.
2
 minimum pressure resistance 25 Newton / mm ,
 do not use any concrete additives that rise concrete curing temperature exces-
sively for Secondary Concrete
 Double-check your calculation for concrete amount. Running out of concrete at this
phase must not happen!
 Stay in touch closely with your concrete supplier and the supporting WKV Erection
Machinists to have the concrete on the construction site right in time.
 Plan how you want to bring the concrete to the machine foundation (Secondary Con-
crete area).
 Clean up drive-way in time to bring concrete to the machine foundation (Secondary
Concrete area) without delay.
 Double-check that all concrete sheeting is stable enough to carry the load.

Figure 15.: Concrete sheeting for Secondary Concrete needed here.

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Option: Raised turbine foundation or flush powerhouse floor

Figure 16.: Step in powerhouse floor (Option)

When you get the Foundation Plan and the Arrangement Plan, it’s still time to discuss is-
sues like the final powerhouse floor design. Better yet, talk about it when you actually
design your powerhouse.

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Make your construction site look like this

Figure 17.: Construction site neatly prepared for effective work. Workers wear safety
clothing, hard hat, gloves, safety shoes. Primary concrete foundation for generator (fore-
ground) is in good shape, cable conduits covered to provide a safe working area.

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Examples for improper execution of powerhouse foundations

Figure 18. Steel reinforcement in No-steel-areas (No-steel-areas in Foundation Plan de-

tail highlighted). Steel needs to be cut out, drilling holes a problem.

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Figure 19.: No concrete in No-steel-areas, steel reinforcement not usable

Figure 20.: No steel reinforcement available to connect Secondary Concrete steel reinfor-
cement,

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

Figure 21.: Steel reinforcement too close to surface, penetrates concrete surface
where it should be covered with 50 mm concrete minimum.

Figure 22.: Steel reinforcement of Secondary Concrete not woven into primary concrete
steel reinforcement. Steel bars must not touch ground, must be 50 mm above ground.

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Figure 23.: Foundation too high

Figure 24.: Foundation surface not suitable

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Figure 25.: Foundation wrong

Figure 26.: No cable conduits built into primary concrete, extensive rework needed

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Horizontal Francis Turbines: No-steel-areas and Secondary Concrete

WKV Erection and Commissioning Crew at Your Service

Senior Supervisors Bernhard Wernet and Thomas Bleile with crew

Our erection crew has erected hundreds of hydropower plants in more than 40 countries
around the globe. No doubt, these guys will also be happy to perform at your site!
The WKV scope of supply of the hydropower station is completed by conducting erec-
tion and commissioning of the unit by highly skilled and specialized WKV engineers. It
is a matter of quality philosophy that the pre-assembly of the unit in our production facili-
ties in Germany is done by the same crew who will come to the site for erection and
commissioning.
Doing so we make sure that all material at site is perfectly pre-manufactured and can
be assembled on site in the shortest time possible and with highest accuracy. The prin-
ciple of having the same crew responsible both in our workshop and at site is a guarantee
for a short and efficient erection and commissioning period.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there should be any questions left unanswered. We
will be happy to discuss any of the topics mentioned above, and if you like, many more.

Yours sincerely,
WKV Wasserkraft Volk AG, Gutach, Germany

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