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Welland Locks
Search for an Efficient and Environmentally-friendly Alternative
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The 44 km-long Welland Canal overcomes a height difference of around 100 meters between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie by means of eight locks. Seven of these locks have a lifting capacity of approx. 14 meters. Lock 8, at Lake Erie, is where the final adjustment to sea level takes place, with a lift of between 0.3 and 1.2 meters.
After the ship has been steered safely into the lock chamber, the enormous gates close and 91 million liters of water flow into the lock, enabling through passage.
The previous drive solution of motors and winches required high maintenance, it was slow and operated with limited accuracy. The open gears, chains and steel cables were a danger both to personnel and the environment, as they required constant lubrication, the lubricant being washed into the canal.
The operators of this waterway, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), required an economical, safe, reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to the aged electromechanical drives, gears, chains and steel cables.
Rexroth was awarded the contract to modernize the locks of the 9 m-deep and 33 m-wide Welland Canal. The work was to take place in the depths of the Canadian winter, during which time there is no traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway.
In the winter of 2003/2004 Rexroth completed a pilot project at Lock 6 by upgrading two Mitre Gates and four Taintor Valves.
In the winter of 2004/2005 Rexroth Canada employees ventured into the cold once again: Lock 7 was modernized with one ship arrestor, six Mitre Gate cylinders and six Taintor Valve cylinders. The last phase is due for completion in the spring of 2009.
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