Tag: Siemens

High-tech suspension bridge for Istanbul

High-tech suspension bridge for Istanbul

Siemens is ensuring the safe and smooth operation of what will be the world’s fourth-longest suspension bridge — a structure that will have a main span length of 1,550 meters and rise 60 meters above the Gulf of Izmit, south of Istanbul, Turkey. The bridge, which is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2015, will be one of the safest in the world. Among other things, its stability and mechanical stress loads will be measured and analyzed by more than 400 sensors that will also enable it to be closed immediately in dangerous situations. The picture shows one of the existing suspension bridges in Istanbul which desperately need relief of traffic congestion.

Siemens is ensuring the safe and smooth operation of what will be the world’s fourth-longest suspension bridge – a structure that will have a main span length of 1,550 meters and rise 60 meters above the Gulf of Izmit, south of Istanbul, Turkey. The bridge, which is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2015, will be one of the safest in the world. Among other things, its stability and mechanical stress loads will be measured and analyzed by more than 400 sensors that will also enable it to be closed immediately in dangerous situations.

The bridge across the Gulf of Izmit is the central component of a planned 420-kilometer highway link between Istanbul and Izmir. It’s also one of many forward-looking infrastructure projects that have been launched as Turkey prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a republic in 2023.

Siemens is supplying all electrical and electromechanical components for the bridge, including power supply systems, bridge, roadway, and interior lighting equipment, fire protection solutions, sensor systems for monitoring the structure’s stability, a traffic monitoring system, and the control center that will analyze and process all data.

The so-called Structural Health Monitoring System is very important for the safe operation of the bridge. This system will continually measure, among other things, longitudinal and transverse stretching movements and stress loads on the road sections leading up to the main span. Special GPS sensors will register oscillations of the 250 meter-high bridge piles down to the last millimeter, while wind and temperature measuring units will also provide information that indicates whether the bridge can be crossed safely. To ensure the all-steel bridge doesn’t rust in the misty air of the Sea of Marmara, the humidity in all interior chambers and on the sheathed support cables will be automatically kept below 40 percent. The bridge will also be equipped with video cameras (CCTV systems) that monitor traffic flows. All data will be forwarded to the control center in realtime, which will make it possible to close the bridge if stress loads get too high. Taken together, these measures will lengthen the service life of the bridge and guarantee traffic safety.

Provided by Siemens

April 11, 2013
Turkey’s $5 Billion Smart-Grid Plan Seen Boosting Ties With U.S.

By Ercan Ersoy – Feb 11, 2013 4:43 PM GMT+0100

Turkey will spend $5 billion on smart power grids by 2015 to boost network efficiency, allowing North American companies to expand, the U.S. government said.

The U.S. sees “substantial opportunities for closer cooperation between the Turkish government and energy companies and U.S. companies that provide smart-grid technologies,” according to a statement from the consulate in Istanbul, which will hold a conference in the city tomorrow on grid investments.

Turkey, forecasting annual power-demand growth of 6.3 percent in the next two decades, has already lured investors including General Electric Co. as its energy industry expands. The country is bucking the trend of most emerging European nations, where retail electricity use trails growth in incomes.

The jump in demand increases the need for smart grids, which allow power generators and users to monitor consumption and reduce costs by saving energy in transmission. Turkey is seeking to boost efficiency of supply after demand grew 5.1 percent last year, while generation expanded only 4.2 percent, according to data from Turkish Electricity Transmission Co.

“If the utilities want to take advantage of this, the accurate metering and billing that smart grids can provide will be vital,” said Chris Rogers, a utilities analyst for Bloomberg Industries in London. “As Turkey becomes richer, more air- conditioning, solar power and electric vehicles will be bought, which also need smart grids to function properly.”

Smart meters installed across Europe will increase by an average 18 percent a year through 2020, peaking in 2018, according to projections from Bloomberg Industries. GE, Germany’s Siemens AG and Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S are among providers of power-generation equipment in Turkey, where the government is selling off operating rights for distribution grids to boost investment and reduce debt.

via Turkey’s $5 Billion Smart-Grid Plan Seen Boosting Ties With U.S. – Bloomberg.

February 13, 2013
Siemens to equip the world’s fourth longest suspension bridge with traffic control technology

Siemens to equip the world’s fourth longest suspension bridge with traffic control technology

28/09/2012 06:17 (1 Day 02:03 minutes ago)

The FINANCIAL — In the construction of the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world, Siemens will be the general contractor responsible for the development, installation and commissioning of all components and systems for the traffic control technology.

The six-lane bridge is part of a freeway project linking the cities of Istanbul and Izmir in Western Turkey. The customer is the Japanese company IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. The volume of the contract for Siemens is worth around 17 million euros. Commissioning is scheduled for 2015.

Siemens is equipping the almost three-kilometer-long freeway bridge at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey with state-of-the-art traffic control technology. This includes the traffic control system, monitoring technology and components for the technical infrastructure such as communication and camera equipment, energy supply, lighting and ventilation. As Siemens reported, the nucleus is the integrated operations and traffic control technology center. The traffic control system combines all operating and traffic data in the control center, guides the traffic flows and monitors the situation on the freeway bridge. The operations control technology controls lighting, ventilation and energy distribution and supply on the bridge.

The region around Izmir is prone to earthquakes and therefore requires special monitoring technology. Integrated seismic sensors therefore monitor the stability of the local infrastructure and supply data on the state of components and buildings continuously. Any damage or deformation is detected and reported at an early stage.

Siemens is also supplying components for the technical infrastructure such as camera surveillance technology and emergency call control centers for the new building in Turkey. Plus the complete lighting system for the bridge, deck and air traffic as well as dehumidification systems for girders, cables and pylons. A SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system will be used for the process monitoring and control of the system.

The construction of the bridge and the 420-kilometer-long highway between Istanbul and Izmir is part of the largest freeway project in Turkey to date. This new six-lane bridge connection will cut the travel time between both cities from eight to four hours. The new freeway will also relieve inner-city traffic congestion in Istanbul. The newly constructed highway will shift the traffic to the Istanbul suburbs and lessen congestion in the city center.

via The FINANCIAL – Siemens to equip the world’s fourth longest suspension bridge with traffic control technology.

September 29, 2012
Siemens to supply Turkish tunnel project

A view of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Turkey is launching major road and tunnelling infrastructure projects.

Siemens is to equip the Dorukhan Tunnel between Mengen and Devrek in Turkey with the latest power, lighting and ventilation equipment, along with the associated safety and communications systems.

The order was placed by KGM (Karayollari Genel Müdürlügü), Turkey’s General Directorate of Highways, and has a value in a single-digit million euro figure.

The turnkey handover of the new system is scheduled for January 2012. A project to equip the DAK (Düzce-Akcakoca-Eregli) tunnel system in the province of Zonguldak, placed with Siemens by KGM at the end of 2011, is already nearing completion.

The Turkish Transportation Ministry is currently mounting a great effort to develop the country’s highway network. In September 2009, together with Turkey’s General Directorate of Highways, KGM, the ministry presented plans for 12 new highway routes, which are due to be realised by 2023.

In the provinces of Kastamonu, Zonguldak and Düzce on the Black Sea, extensive construction projects are either already being realised or currently being triggered.

One such construction project is the 1,050m-long Dorukhan Tunnel on the Kastamonu Highway. Siemens is responsible for power supply and distribution for the tunnel, and will supply the entire communications and automation equipment.

The safety systems will include camera and video surveillance based on CCTV (closed circuit television). The Automatic Incident Detection System not only helps recognise traffic jams and accidents, but can also detect any smoke build-up.

With the help of sensors, modern lighting and ventilation systems monitor visibility and air quality. All of the ventilation, lighting, traffic control and safety systems are connected to the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) control system, which also monitors them.

via Siemens to supply Turkish tunnel project | ConstructionWeekOnline.com.

June 27, 2011