Chiller Replacement and Plant Upgrades

C&S designed the replacement of a 3,200-ton back-pressure steam chiller equipped with eight 300hp magnetic-bearing compressors, the largest of its kind in the world today. The new chiller is a replacement of an existing 3,500-ton back-pressure steam chiller.

C&S’s BIM services team was deployed to provide a 3D scan of the existing facility. Utilizing the Leica RTC360 lidar scanner, the team was able to bring the B87 chiller plant to life by capturing the existing conditions within an 1/8-inch accuracy in only a few hours.

Other plant upgrades included the following installations:

• 400hp variable speed, vertical in-line chilled water pump and 2.4kV-480V step-down transformer
• Nine harmonic filters applied to variable frequency drives (VFDs)
• Active front-end VFD and associated 2.4kV-480V step-down transformer for an existing 700hp chilled water pump

Due to the emphasis on sustainability with this project, in total, 15 VFDs were added to the electrical distribution system.

C&S investigated the existing concrete deck and steel framed floor to assure the system had sufficient structural capacity to support the 117,000 pound chiller. C&S also designed significant conduit support system.

C&S was responsible for performing full construction administration as part of this project, including weekly construction conferences, on-site investigation and coordination with contractors, and RFI and submittal review.