BROOKE ARMY MEDICAL CENTER (BAMC)

Chiller Design Review & Commissioning

Sys-Tek was hired to provide engineering review, analysis, commissioning, and balancing for the Central Equipment Plant. We broke this project into two separate phases. Phase I addressed immediate concerns and Phase II addressed upgrades and energy efficiency improvements. The Central Plant included a 7,500 TON chiller plant in a primary/secondary pumping configuration with a 2,000 BHP steam plant operating at 125 psi.

Phase I – Project Review & Site Inspection

The objective was to collect pertinent data such as equipment size, piping configuration, and pumping schemes so that we could develop a chiller plant load profile. We reviewed equipment shop drawings, operation logs, and interviewed operating personnel so that we were able to find out all we could about the chiller plant operation as well as historical operation. We took field measurements, performed deadhead pressure tests, and using our vibration analysis tools, we measured the current vibration on all pumps and chilling equipment.

The first phase also included commissioning and system balancing. The initial commissioning process focused on the chiller plant as installed. This included acceptance testing, capacity testing, internal failure and recovery tests, and reporting the annunciation of alarms under abnormal conditions. These results were analyzed and documented. Integration testing was provided, which assessed the interaction between the systems with one another to highlight normal and abnormal operating conditions.

Phase II – System Energy Upgrades & Computer Modeling

Under this phase, a computer model of the chiller systems and piping distribution was created. The model provided insights to system operation that was otherwise unobtainable. We reviewed and made improved efficiency and operation recommendations for the new steam boiler plant. We prepared an operating schematic from our field data and reviewed all documentation on site including O & M Manuals, shops drawings, and parts lists. Retro-commissioning focused on energy and efficiency upgrades as well as improved system operation through control sequencing. Energy efficient upgrades implemented under this phase were validated and fine-tuned under the commissioning process. This phase of commissioning took place after upgrades were completed as recommended from our initial site inspection and project review.