Case story | VACON® NXP Liquid Cooled

Danfoss drives prevent coastline flooding in

In 2019 the Zuiderzeeland District Water Board in the invested in new AC drives for three centrifugal 3x 850 kW pumps in the Buma pumping station in the town of Rutten. VACON® NXP Danfoss partner ENGIE Electroproject was awarded the order Liquid Cooled drives to replace the drives and associated tasks. for reliable water management Since then, the Danfoss VACON® AC drives have prevented the Noordoostpolder municipality from flooding.

www.danfoss.com The Zuiderzeeland District Water Buma pumping station Board is responsible for water management in the province The Buma pumping station The present pumps and the variable- of and limited parts was instrumental in draining speed 690 V motors from the Spanish of Friesland and Overijssel. the Noordoostpolder in 1941–1942, manufacturer Alconza have been In this region, the water board along with the Smeenge pumping in service since 2006. One of the looks after all dikes, waterways, station on the east side of the polder. AC drives began to suffer from an pumping stations and water The Vissering pumping station near increasing number of malfunctions, treatment plants to guarantee was constructed later on. Today, while spare parts were difficult safety as well as an adequate the Buma pumping station is still or even impossible to obtain. supply of clean water. It has seven essential to water level management To ensure the ongoing availability polder pumping stations (including in the polder. The pumping station of the pumps, the District Water three for the Noordoostpolder), is equipped with three large vertical Board decided in 2018 to replace five wastewater treatment plants, centrifugal pumps, each with a the existing AC drives. fifteen sewage pumping stations, maximum flow rate of 750 cubic meters and thousands of small dams, per minute with a head of 5.6 meters. pumps, and everything else Each pump is driven by an 850 kW Text: Ad Spijkers required to maintain the three-phase induction motor. Photos: Worcflow desired water level in Flevoland.

VACON® AC drives

Danfoss VACON® AC drives were Sales Engineer Bas Verhoog from Danfoss collaborates closely with the preferred choice of the water ENGIE Electroproject explains: companies like ENGIE Electroproject. board’s electrical engineers. “We design, execute and manage complete projects, and we handle upgrades along Sandro Posno, Senior Project Manager with any repairs to AC drives. We provide Electrical Engineering, prepared 24/7 service and have all required parts detailed specifications that included in stock. In an emergency, we can draw Danfoss Account Manager Ruud these AC drives. Given the scope on the Danfoss stock in Gorinchem. Versluis: of the investment, a public tender Danfoss maintains an inventory of AC “Over the years Danfoss has was not necessary. drives with a rated power of up to at least supplied tens of thousands 1000 kW. For this project, we had to replace of AC drives – big and small Posno: AC drives from a different brand. Our aim – to the water sector. was to keep the existing cabling, including “For this project I approached While the format installed supply cables as well as signal and motor three companies that I knew in the Buma pumping station cables, as much as possible. We labeled would be able to handle the job. is less common, large numbers and disconnected all existing connections, One of the reasons for inviting of small and medium-sized lifted the old panel out and installed the ENGIE Electroproject to tender AC drives have been delivered new one. We adapted the panels to the was that they have a lot of for sewage pumping stations, location, so we could connect all cables experience in the water sector. aerators, stirrers in wastewater to the same points at the same height They were awarded the order tanks, and so on. We do not and screw them tight. That guarantees because they had the most execute projects ourselves, the highest reliability and is the least time- complete and attractive bid.” but we know what matters and consuming option. Afterwards, all we what the requirements are.” had to do was adapt the water cooling.”

2 Danfoss Drives · DKDD.PC.965.A3.02 Operation

The water board already has VACON® and adjusting the AC drives to the right then the water levels in the rivers AC drives of the same type in operation speed. We basically don’t have to touch and the IJsselmeer would generally elsewhere, so there was little need the AC drives. If there’s a problem, be higher as well. In October 1998 to instruct the operating staff we scroll through the menus; there’s we had nearly 100 mm of rain in and maintenance department. no need to complete a seven-day 24 hours, causing temporary flooding training course just to do that. in large parts of the Noordoostpolder. Posno: “The speed does not vary much in We simply couldn’t get rid of the water. this type of large-scale pumping station. We can run one, two or three pumps, After that we built an additional large Due to the extensive inertia, it’s best to depending on how much water we pumping station (IJsvogel in Tollebeek) keep the pumps running at the same need to shift. All three at the same time to keep that part of the polder from speed as much as possible. The AC drives is unusual, and only happens when flooding in extreme situations. are controlled by a central PLC. ENGIE the water is very high. That would be Electroproject took care of configuring an unwelcome situation, because

Danfoss Drives · DKDD.PC.965.A3.02 3 Liquid cooling

The AC drives and motors are cooled with water. The cooling water flows through a heat exchanger in a closed circuit. The heat exchanger is cooled by the discharge water from the pump, flowing via a second closed circuit. In both circuits the water is circulated using variable-speed pumps. Liquid cooling is quieter than air cooling, which is an advantage in populated areas, especially in the summer with higher ambient temperatures.

Noise level

After a pleasant conversation, we took a tour through the pumping station, during which one of the motor and pump sets was started. The 28-pole motors run at approximately 23 Hz, which corresponds to 98 rpm. They are started with no load. When the pressure in the pump reaches a specific level, the outlet valve is opened and the station starts to discharge water. Thanks to the speed control and the sturdy design of the pump and motor, the noise level is surprisingly low, even in full operation. It’s possible to conduct a normal conversation next to the motor, which is higher than an average person’s head. This is pleasant, as are the AC drives installed in the cabinets, which are also quiet.

Danfoss Drives, 4401 N. Bell School Road, Loves Park, Illinois, 61111, United States of America, +1 888-326-3677 Danfoss Drives, 12 TW. Alexander Dr , Building 200 A, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States of America, +1 888-326-3677

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