The fight against noise, with a view to protecting operators and preserving the neighborhood, is a major aspect of a petrochemical complex construction project, which often requires energy production equipment to meet particular specifications, inherent in this field of activity: gas turbines are often used in such a context.
ITS took part in the fight against the noise of an industrial site: it came, in the contxet of an industrial soundproofing project, to limit the noise emissions of 3 combustion turbines and related equipment as part of the construction of a petrochemical complex on the East Coast of the United States of America.
Thus, the turbines themselves (unit capacity greater than 40 MW) as well as the gas modules and the associated generators were considered.
It is not easy to soundproof such sources of noise (the overall sound power level of the turbine approaches 140 dBA) so as to obtain a sound level of the order of 80 dB (A) at 1m, taking into account the technical constraints of all kinds imposed by the context of such a project: however, it is the common lot of ITS and of some of its trading partners for a long time.
The different constraints of such projects are known, as are the solutions to be given to the various problems that arise; the specific rules applicable to the construction and selection of equipment are under control and are the subject of a continuous improvement program on the one hand to be sure to always offer the best value for money and on the other hand enable smooth sales management, even when technological innovations that break with previous designs and practices are implemented.
In the context of the fight against the noise of this industrial site, soundproof buildings have been designed and constructed to limit the transmission of noise through an envelope (vertical walls and roof) made of removable metal acoustic insulation panels to allow maintenance operations. Of course the sizing of these buildings took into account site constraints (snow, wind, seismic risks).
The ventilation system meanwhile, was the subject of special attention, to allow (by means of fans being very noisy themselves) the evacuation of the heat dissipated by different enclosed equipment while having a moderate impact on the sound environment, which has made it necessary to use absorption silencers, which must be optimized for their acoustic and aerodynamic performance.
An ambitious time schedule has contributed to the fact that this project of fight against the noise of an industrial site, whose deadlines have been met, mobilized sustainably all the energies available for its success.