SAMUC Hydroelectric Power Plant
Located in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala
The SAMUC hydroelectric project has two pipelines that lead to the same powerhouse: the SAMUC I pipeline in DN 400 and the SAMUC II pipeline in DN 600.
Both were built with a cable crane transport system due to the complex pipe installation conditions.
Supply
In the case of SAMUC I, the entire penstock pipeline was executed with DN400 locking system pipe in bitumen –the optimal diameter for this project– which covered sections of different pressures up to a PMA of 52 bar.
In this pipeline, we encountered slopes of around 480% (78º) –almost vertical conditions in some cases– so it was carried out using a cable crane transport system.
Project Success Keys
- Making an impossible project viable, safe, and profitable
- Supervision and control up to the pressure test by the design team itself.
Benefits and Advantages
- No need for concrete blocks. No expansion joints
- Very high installation performance: Lok&Play
- Very complex areas. Extreme slopes
- Admits very high pressures
- With or without trench
- No welding, no problems. Even in flooded trenches
- Minimal head losses
- Operation guarantee, without breakdowns or service interruptions
- Replacement of obsolete steel pipes
