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Fall 2023

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TALES OF A ROAD WARRIOR: EDM SAVES THE DAY!
By Derek Kleinschmidt and Steve Earney

Today’s nuclear plants can generate
revenue in the area of $55,000 per hour.
When problems develop, the team called
in for repairs must respond quickly with
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well coordinated response.

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As the summer 2023 season approached, utilities around the country prepared for the demand on the power grid.
One of the Southern U.S. BWR nuclear generating stations discovered a problem with one of their large cooling control
valves. Specifi cally, it was a 78” Condenser Circulating Water (CCW) butterfl y valve.
This valve is opened when additional river water needs to be brought in to cool the reactor. This is common during
the peak demand of summer months when the river water heats up. This large valve is actuated and held open by a
3-phase AC motor operator. When the pinned joint between the operator and valve stem failed, fl ow forces caused the
valve to be stuck closed. Three shear pins were sheared off, not allowing the valve stem to rotate.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Steve Earney is the Director of
Derek Kleinschmidt is the
President and co-owner of
Service and Sales for Hydratight
EDM Zap. Derek works out
Operations. Steve works out
of Hydratight’s Red Wing Min-
of EDM Zap’s Montgomery,
nesota offi ce and coordinates
Illinois offi ce. Derek also is
a co-owner of Motion Simple,
management level. In addition to
a design engineering
nuclear work, Hydratight supports
company with a focus on projects world-wide at a senior
shipbuilding, fossil, oil/gas, and
custom automation.
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industrial applications.
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