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Dual System Lives on at NASA's Plum Brook Station
Author(s) -
Puzak Robert M.,
Kimpton Arthur
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
opflow
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1551-8701
pISSN - 0149-8029
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8701.2004.tb02717.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , dual purpose , life support system , aeronautics , meteorology , marine engineering , engineering , aerospace engineering , geography , mechanical engineering
This article discusses a multiyear project by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to make improvements to the dual water system at the Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. The dual system consists of a raw water system for cooling processes and fire protection that uses untreated water pumped directly from Lake Erie via two pumping stations, and a treated water storage system that uses treated water from the Erie County Department of Environmental Services (ECDOES), stores it in an underground reservoir and pumps it into two elevated water storage tanks. NASA contracted with an outside contractor to perform hydraulic analysis of the water systems and to provide recommendations on improving them. Flow tests were performed to collect data needed to calibrate both models; once calibrated, multiple scenarios and analyses were run for both systems to meet the NASA objectives. This article details the solid engineering rationale that the study provided for NASA to justify the needed capital improvements and changes to the system.