Norfolk Naval Shipyard uses a custom, all-in-one low-profile clamshell from Tri Tool to rapidly and safely repair a critical component onboard nuclear-powered vessels.
OVERVIEW
Located in Portsmouth, Virginia, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is the oldest and largest naval shipyard in the United States and specializes in repairing, overhauling and modernizing nuclear-powered ships and submarines.
CHALLENGE
While conducting routine maintenance onboard a nuclear-powered vessel, the service team at NNSY encountered a tee with elbows and a reducer on both sides that had failed and needed replacement. To save the tee and everything downstream of it, NNSY needed a solution that could mount on the tee, perform chipless cutting and J-prep, and offer easy set-up to enable operators to get in and out of the nuclear environment as quickly as possible.
SOLUTION
Within five months, Tri Tool customized the 8885 low profile clamshell to create a unique solution that could sever, roller cut, counterbore, and J-prep bevel with a single structural set-up. The hardened-steel, low profile clamshell mounts to the contour surfaces of the tee: it bolts and machines on the top of the tee (3 inch diameter) and unbolts and machines on the side of the tee (4 inch diameter).
VALUE
Easy-to-use and set-up, Tri Tool’s custom low-profile clamshell combined helps reduce NNSY’s labor and time requirements for replacing these tee and elbow components, which are present on a number of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered vessels. Moving forward, Tri Tool will provide on-site training to equip NNSY’s service and maintenance team with specific product know-how for greater efficiency and faster commissioning of future projects.
To learn more about how Tri Tool’s custom engineering and precision machining solutions and services can help you improve readiness, save time and money, and optimize performance, contact our Government specialists at Government@TriTool.com or call 916-288-6800.