Customer - USAF Vandenberg AFB / Pillar Point AFS

Case Study

Custom fiberglass enclosure to house a composite sampler in a difficult location

Customer / Consultant

USAF - Vandenberg AFB / Pillar Point AFS / Tetra-Tech (San Luis Obispo)

Problem

Working on behalf of Vandenberg AFB – Pillar Point AFS, Tetra Tech approached Openchannelflow with a custom need: 

Pillar Point AFS was planning to install a composite sampler and the exposed location of the site meant that the unit needed to be protected from the elements.  Pillar Points AFS is South of San Francisco along the Pacific Coast.  The Pillar Point location extends into Half Moon Bay and experiences extremes of weather – from strong, gusting winds to driving rain to wide temperature fluctuations.

In surveying the marketplace, Tetra Tech was unable to find a vendor offering a sampler enclosure that fit the site requirements.  The location where the sampler was to be installed had extremely limited access and a small installation footprint.  Off-the-self solutions wouldn't work and custom fabrication costs fom other vendors were far higher than budgeted.

Solution

While Openchannelflow did not offer sampler enclosures at the time, it was up the task.  With constant feedback from the customer, Openchannelflow designed and refined a solution to fit the Air Force’s needs. 

Openchannelflow’s engineering and production personnel have literally decades of experience in the design, fabrication, and application of enclosures for samplers, flow meters, chemical feed equipment, and more. In addition, the majority of personnel involved in the project also had similar experience with large fiberglass shelters (with footprints up to 300 sq. ft.).

The result was a compact fiberglass enclosure capable of meeting NEMA 3R weathertightness, housing the required sampler, and capable of being secured from tampering.

 

Image:  Ruthann O'Connor