Rijkswaterstaat commits to technical safety
Safety is always about deduction of insecurities. Rijkswaterstaat has high deployed on technical safety in the Roertunnel, and considered all consequences for technical practicability and costs at the same time.
Committed to technical safety
The Roertunnel (A73 at Roermond) is the longest land tunnel in The Netherlands. Willem van Houten has been responsible for validation and verification of tunnel and traffic technical installations ever since the realization phase.
HyTEPS Active Filters
Van Houten: “I took measurements at the source (Point of Transition) and deeper in the installation. Measuring, analyzing, interpreting and advising resulted in four active filters of HyTEPS, one for each service building that supplied the tunnel. After the measurements, analyses, and advice we opted for four active filters of HyTEPS, one for each service building that supplied the tunnel. The advantage of this type of filter is that it reduces harmonic pollution and corrects phase shift (Cosinus Phi). We correct the Cosinus Phi within the standard to 0.86 (standard is 0.85). We could go higher, but I have chosen for not loading the filter above approximately 60%. We have 40% spare capacity for all situations (like calamities) that need additional installation capacity. We again stay within the standard.”
Remove uncertainties
“Power Quality is more than energy saving”, says Van Houten. “Polluted current or reactive power is converted into heat. This can be that high that fire arises. Improving power quality also reduces the risk of faults, reduces extra wear and maintenance in sensitive electronic components, lighting and electromotors. The return on investment of the filters is approximately four years. They are technically and economically an essential factor; not only in tunnels but also in factories and offices. That is also safety: removing uncertainties.”
