"If there is no other option other than to build the substation in a flood risk area then the most effective way of protecting critical plant and equipment is to elevate it above the level of the flood."

UK Power Networks - Engineering Design Standard  EDS 07 0106 4.1  - Substation Flood Protection.

Cost Effective Mitigation

Avoiding the need for costly, vulnerable whole-site barriers, raising assets on screw piles is suitable for both new sites and upgrading existing substations.

With site upgrades, screw piles can be installed without removing existing services or foundations. There is no concrete, no excavation spoil, and no curing delays.

As screw piles work in both tension and compression, they provide excellent resistance to overturning forces, ideal for substations, gantries and transmission structures.

Flood mitigation structures that cannot fail.

To protect a substation from a 2m depth of flood water, you can either surround it with a 2m high barrier or raise it 2m above the ground.

Barriers, whether permanent or temporary are systems with potential points of failure. A permanent barrier around a site has often been installed as a retrofit solution but if any single element fails then the whole site fails. More fundamentally, if the barrier is overtopped by as little as 1mm then the whole site floods and all assets are impacted to the full depth of the flood.

In contrast, when an asset is raised above the ground on a deep foundation (that is not subject to water uplift or scour), then the mitigation cannot fail for it's planned performance. And should the flood level excede the planned for height, the asset will only flood to the depth that the water has exceeded that height (1mm instead of 2m and 1mm).

FLI Substation & REB Staging

Cable management can be integrated into the staging frame to simplify installation and allow good access to the cabling from the top of the platform.

FLI grillages consistently have smaller footprints than consultancy submitted designs.

Our standardised products reduce design time and require fewer piled foundations, saving RRV shifts.

Lattice Superstructures in Energy

FLI design, manufacture and install steelwork in energy markets, including:

• Transmission
• Nuclear
• Rail Electrification
• Offshore wind and solar farms

We carry IRQA CCFC EN 1090 Factory Production Control.
ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 3834 & ISO 14001.
Fit 4 Nuclear, Joscar Supplier Accreditation & Constructionline Gold.
RISQS verification & SCI membership.
 

Upgrading sites with existing foundations.

Screw piles and grillages can be used to bridge redundant concrete foundations. This means sites can be upgraded with larger structures and new layouts without having to excavate, pour or cure concrete.

Each screw pile can be installed within minutes, enabling rapid site upgrades with new layouts or larger structures.

Screw piles and steel grillage foundations are available for all structure sizes, from cabinet platforms up to the largest transmission pylons.

Screw piles pages

Any structures below floodwater levels will always be vulnerable.

Bunds, whether temporary or permanent, carry an inherent risk of failure. FLI’s elevated substation foundation approach using extended screw pile foundations provides the most robust method of protecting critical assets from flooding.

For more information, get in touch