120,000 litres of chilled water running through a bypass which had to be frozen and then cut, above a live data centre which had to remain operational 24/7.

On the 22 & 23 May 2023, the Klimatec team were asked to complete one of the riskiest jobs they have ever had to do in a live data hall environment for a private client near London.

 The requirement was to install a double regulation valve on a chilled water bypass to allow for better regulation of the system. The data halls would have to remain live at all times and the customer could not be exposed to any downtime with the cooling system.

Their primary concern was if the ice plug failed, which would release 120,000 litres of chilled water which would be catastrophic.

On 22 May, the existing bypass valve was fully isolated and the system tested. The insulation was stripped back and the trace heating isolated.

• 120,000 litres of chilled water was frozen with liquid nitrogen

• Installed double regulation valve to existing pipework

• Pipe was cut using plasma cutter and angle grinder

• Data hall had to remain live and operational

• High risk project which was managed professionally and without issue, including all works and finishing

• Pipework was painted with red oxide and temporarily insulated ready for third party contractor

On 23 May, in partnership with Industrial Sitework Solutions LTD (ISSL), and Pipe Freezing and Hot Tapping LTD, the 10” pipework was frozen using 1,200 litres of liquid nitrogen.

The welder installed a socket and valve arrangement to allow for the valves and ice plug to be tested. Once certain that everything was holding up and no water was able to bypass the valve, a section of pipework was cut using a plasma cutter and angle grinder.

New 10” flanges were welded into position using a combination of MIG and TIG, dependant on the flange location either onto the fabricated stool piece or the original pipework.

Once all joints were welded, the stool piece was lifted into place using a block and tackle, followed by the 190kg crane lifting the 250mm double regulating valve.

All of the bolts were fitted and tightened before the system was pressure tested using the system pressure only. The client was on site the entire time and witnessed that all joints were water tight and allowed us to remove the freeze pocket from the pipework and defrost the ice plug.

By close of play, all of the pipework had been painted with red oxide and was temporarily insulated ready for completion as part of the chiller project by R2 Insulations LTD.