From lserna at nrao.edu Wed Sep 1 17:35:24 2010 From: lserna at nrao.edu (Lew Serna) Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:35:24 -0600 Subject: [Escoordminutes] ES Coordination Minutes- Aug 2010 Message-ID: <4C7EC71C.3040408@aoc.nrao.edu> Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, at 10:30 am, in the LL CB conference room. Attending were Lew Serna, Ramon Gutierrez, Guy Stanzione, Brent Avery, and Bob Broilo. BUDGET ?RFQ orders for FY 2010 are no longer being accepted. September 22 is the cutoff date for FY2010 purchase orders <$3K. VSQ demolition is ordered and must be committed by November. Use ARRA account numbers for labor and materials for all VSQ demolition work. VLBA foundation work is funded and a trip to HN and NL are scheduled for September. Money for the MK el bearing change is still not available nor is there money for the SC TT visit that was tentatively scheduled for October as yet. Track Equipment spares are on order from ARRA funds. VLBA ?MK Elevation bearing grease samples for the ?EL synchro side? bearing still show metal particles. Fewer metal flakes showing in the monthly samples reported thus far probably due to flushing out of the bearing with grease. HN suffered a catastrophic azimuth wheel axle failure. The TT trip to HN that was scheduled for this year was combined with the wheel repair. The maintenance visit to FD is complete. The BR visit is complete. FY 2011 TT Visits are to NL, OV, SC and PT. NL foundation repairs were conducted in July. The Rail joints were found to be cracking. Bob replaced most of the joints at NL. More are on order for the HN foundation in the event they have cracks too. The HN foundation repair is scheduled for 9/20/10-9/27/10 and a visit to NL will follow to complete repairs on 9/28/10-10/01/10. Use Account #533610.XXXX.VLBA for material and travel. KP will require one each wheel assembly to be replaced. A short shaft should be used on the spare wheel since it will fit assemblies at all sites. Repair of the St. Croix Subreflector is in progress. MK dish panels that were damaged will need to be repaired for spares. The new dichroic panel material is acceptable and will be used to make future dichroic panels. SC TT Bin will need an inspection and certification before it can be shipped to SC. AZ BEARINGS ? The purchase requisition for 6 new bearings has been submitted with delivery in October. We have one spare bearing on hand usable as the emergency spare. Older grease samples show that antennas 25, 10 and 20, are candidates for scheduled bearing changes. Antenna 25 has the worst sample. An estimated three weeks in the AAB are required before a bearing change can occur. Parts from the bearings removed from antennas are needed for measuring and fitting of new parts and should be stored until they are scheduled to be shipped for repair. Fourteen bearings have been replaced to date. It may be desirable to refurbish bearings as well. PROJECTS: CONTROL BUILDING STAIRWAYS?The CB balcony stairways will be replaced with an improved design conforming to ADA. A new concrete landing will have to be poured at the base of the eastern stairway and the steps replaced. The ?western? stairway repairs are complete. The eastern stairway is barricaded to prevent its use. Work on the eastern stairway will continue as the workload and funds permit. It will cost approximately $7K- $10K to complete. ST Croix PAINT MAINTENANCE VISIT?a crew was sent to St. Croix in April to continue brush painting the areas where bleed through is evident. All new paint Is holding up well. A follow up painting program at SC would cost around $17K per visit. The site techs are doing some painting spot repairs until enough yearly funds are made available for regular follow up painting trips. VLA ANTENNA FOUNDATION MOVEMENT? A problem with north arm antenna foundation movement needs to be investigated. It appears that the two rearward station pillars have been slowly separating over the years at CN5, CN6, CN7 and BN5 with BN5 being the worst. They have separated far enough in about 33 years that 1 bolt (one on a reward pad) can no longer be used to secure the antenna pad to the foundation pillar. Modification of the CN5, CN6, CN7and BN5 plates are complete and the plates are reinstalled. This will solve the immediate problem of setting down antennas on these foundations. If the pillars are moving apart it is felt that there may be no practical way of preventing the movement. It is believed that if this is the case it would be more desirable/practical to build an additional foundation next to the bad ones. Another option is that if the pillar movement is very slow it may be adequate to modify/redesign the mounting plates in order to make up and correct for the movement. In any case it would be desirable to get inspection of the foundations and a recommendation for action. A cost estimate for an inspection has been requested to an outside firm. Markers have been set for taking measurements to try and see which pillars are actually moving and at what rate. No change has been observed between loaded and unloaded measurements thus far. Recent Measurements taken continue to show no movement. GENERATOR REPAIRS? Minor leaks were noticed at the engine rear seals and it is desirable to install a better fuel filtering system. This work would cost around $12K and has been put on the funding wish list. HOT WATER LOOP. A project is submitted to install a hot water loop using Correlator waste heat: The difference between the summer load and winter load is mostly due to heating (at least 300kW). However, even during the coldest mornings the cooling tower is ventilating correlator waste heat into the atmosphere. We already use some of the heat in the Control Building, but by extending the hot water loop to other buildings, we may be able to reduce our power demand. The WIDAR correlator will have an even higher heat output to work with. This project mainly consists of burying a hot water loop and using heat exchangers similar to what many complexes of buildings use. Payback on this project could be as quick as 1 year. Bob Broilo will investigate and provide further information. This project has the potential to save $250K/year on our power bill. VLA AZ GEARBOX?s -- Antenna 6 and 7 gearboxes? have been replaced. The spare will need to be repaired. A plan to change oil on around 10 antennas per year is underway VSQ?s- A decision to raze VSQ buildings has been made. Demolition efforts are underway. The fire alarms can be disconnected. Special abatement plan to remove the asbestos flooring will have to be followed. A plan to schedule training and removal of the asbestos is necessary. Stimulus funds should be committed by November. Use account # 110.XXXX.AR110 Diesel Tank /Gasoline Dike- Gasoline Dike repairs have been completed by ES Div personnel. A report is due from the NACE certified inspector. The diesel tank containment also needs upgrading and will not meet state regulations after 2011. A double-walled tank will replace the tank now in place. The upgrade will include pressurized fuel dispenser. Work will begin on September 20. Fuel will be burned down by September 17 so no standby generators will be available from September 17 to September 23. The tank replacement will be performed by a contractor. EVLA; Civil? VLA site Utility Transformer and Generator Transformers will be marginal once the EVLA full load is on line. SEC has ordered a new 3MW utility Transformer and delivery is expected in September. Installation would take place in October. A Hatch PM will likely be coordinated with the installation of the Utility Transformer. Bob has ordered a 3MW Generator transformer which should be shipped on 28 September. EVLA Antennas?Antennas will remain in the D array until 9/13/10. SAFETY REPORT: Safety Officer not present. ANNOUNCEMENTS: 8/27/2010 ? Last day to submit approved Purchase Reqs. requiring RFP 9/15/2010?Last day to submit receipts for clothing allowance reimbursements. 9/22/2010?Last day to submit approved Purchase Reqs. Under $3K for FY2010. 9/16/2010?End of summer party. PEPs: ES Division PEP?s are complete and delivered to HR.