HYDRO ENGINEER WRITES "OPEN LETTER" TO NALCOR CEO STAN MARSHALL

Guest Post Written by James L. Gordon, P.Eng. (Ret'd)

OPEN LETTER TO NALCOR CEO STAN MARSHALL 

Dear Mr. Marshall,

I write concerning safety issues with respect to the Muskrat Falls Project, and specifically concerning the North Spur.

You have probably been advised by your staff that, while the North Spur does indeed present significant technical challenges, they have been addressed by competent professionals, and so are no cause for concern.

In my professional opinion, such a conclusion is incorrect, and dangerously so.

Let me summarize the current situation at the North Spur, as I see it:

The North Spur Dam at Muskrat Falls will be the first dam ever built containing quick (or marine) clay in the dam body, and on a quick clay foundation.

DESIGN ENGINEER BAFFLED BY EXTENT OF MUSKRAT TL FLAW REPORTED BY CBC

Guest Post Written by J. P. Schell, P. Eng (Retired)

On June 18, 2016, I received an e-mail from Jim Gordon, P. Eng. (Retired) attached to which was a CBC News item entitled “Nalcor investigates inconsistent patterns on Muskrat Falls transmission lines". Gordon, who has frequently commented on aspects of the Muskrat Falls project on the Uncle Gnarley Blog, asked what I thought of the issue. My comments are as follows.

From the pictures included in the CBC News item it is apparent the outer strands of the line were squeezed too close together, causing one strand to “pop out” by an amount which is about half the strand diameter as shown in the photo.  (Source: CBC) 

Transmission line conductors are formed by wrapping aluminum wire strands around a central wire as illustrated in the image below. (Source: internet). Layers of strands are added, with the wrap direction alternating to avoid line coiling, until the desired thickness is attained.