Two Giant Concrete Pumps to Fukushima

choi

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(1) 美派大型混凝土泵车助日冷却核反应堆. VOA Chinese, Apr 1, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20010401-JAPAN-US-PUMPS-119101029.html

, which is translated from
US Sending World’s Largest Pump to Cool Japanese Nuclear Reactor. VOA, Apr 1, 2011.
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/04/01/us-sending-worlds-largest-pump-to-cool-japanese-nuclear-reactor/


My comment:
(a) The title is kind of misleading. It is not 美, though US government might have helped/ coordinated.
(b) Summary of the news: A German company makes concrete pumps, two of which happen to be in US. Russia dispatches the world largest transporter plane to US and then brings the pumps to Japan.
(c) The German manufacturer of teh concrete pumps: 普茨迈斯特公司 Putzmeister
http://www.putzmeisteramerica.com/news/press_releases/article.cfm?pr_id=327&date_filter=02/01/2008

(i) German Karl Schlecht’s experience in his father’s plastering business provided the incentive for him to develop a way to ease the physically demanding work of a plasterer. Armed with revolutionary ideas, at Aichtal (a town 18 km south of Stuttgart) he founded the company in 1958 which he renamed “Putzmeister” to represent “plaster master.”
(ii) Its US subsidiary is based at Sturtevant, WI.

(2) Christopher Hinton, Japan Buys Giant Pumps for Fukushima; World’s largest pumps will be flown to Japan on world’s largest jet. Market Watch (a WSJ subsidiary), Apr 1, 2011.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-buys-giant-concrete-pumps-for-fukushima-2011-04-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Quote:

"The Putzmeister 70Z pumps are the largest in the world, and there are only three in existence.

"To get the pumps to Japan, they will be loaded onto the world’s largest jet plane, the Antonov An-225, of which there are only two in existence.

"The pumps were purchased from Ashmore Concrete Contractors Inc. of August, Ga., and Associated Concrete Pumping of Sacramento, Calif., through Putzmeister.

Note: One pump was at Georgia a few days ago.
Huge pumps from US to help in Japan nuclear crisis. Associated Press, Mar 31, 2011.
http://hosted2.ap.org/COGRA/d3444c3add384b05a39deb3258f13309/Article_2011-03-31-Japan%20Earthquake-Giant%20Pump/id-b497f5251a02441897ae1c150fbe6932
("Ashmore's company has used one of the two machines at the federal government's Savannah River site along the Georgia-South Carolina border. The plan is to load both of them onto airplanes — one at Los Angeles International Airport and the other at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — for April 9 flights to Japan")

The federal agency at issue was Department of Energy, according to CNN. The other pump was obviously near Los Angeles.

(3) Why is it called boom pump? Why 70? And what is the advantage of boom pump?

(a) concrete pump
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_pump
(There are two types of concrete pumps. The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck. It is known as a trailer-mounted boom concrete pump because it uses a remote-controlled articulating robotic arm (called a boom) to place concrete with pinpoint accuracy. Boom pumps are used on most of the larger construction projects as they are capable of pumping at very high volumes and because of the labour saving nature of the placing boom.)
(b) boom (n; Dutch, tree, beam):
"2a : a chain or line of connected floating timbers extended across a river, lake, or harbor (as to obstruct passage or catch floating objects)
b : a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
3a : a long beam projecting from the mast of a derrick to support or guide cargo"
www.m-w.com

Regarding definition 2, US used booms to catch leaked oil from BP.
(c) Giant pumps rushed from US to Japan to cool reactors. AFP, Apr 2, 2011.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1120217/1/.html

Quote:

"Two giant trucks equipped with powerful pumps and flexible arms with a 70 meter reach will be used to shoot water from giant hoses to cool the nuclear reactors, or cement to seal off the site, said Kelly Blickle, a spokeswoman with the US subsidiary of the German company Putzmeister.

"The equipment can also be operated via radio remote control -- an operator can be some two kilometers (1.2 miles) away while maneuvering the boom pump.

(4) Video clips.
(a) Fukushima Daiichi has used Putzmeister pump since Mar 22.

４号機プールへのコンクリポンプ車注水作業＝福島第１原発. Uploaded by jiji on Mar 22, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PutzmeisterAmerica?feature=mhum#p/f/0/tp7Ke2Am3BA

プール: pool
コンクリ ポンプ: concrete pump
原発 (short for 原子力発電所 げんしりょくはつでんしょ): nuclear power plant

(b) But Japan has asked for world's largest pumps, which are in US.

Putzmeister 70Z Meter. Uploaded by PutzmeisterAmerica on Jul 8, 2010.  
http://www.youtube.com/user/PutzmeisterAmerica?feature=mhum#p/f/4/RitNmclyvgA


※ 修改:．choi 于 Apr  2 14:29:41 修改本文．[FROM: 129.10.0.0]

choi

本文通过一路BBS站telnet客户端发布


(1) 美派大型混凝土泵车助日冷却核反应堆. VOA Chinese, Apr 1, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20010401-JAPAN-US-PUMPS-119101029.html

, which is translated from
US Sending World’s Largest Pump to Cool Japanese Nuclear Reactor. VOA, Apr 1, 2011.
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/04/01/us-sending-worlds-largest-pump-to-cool-japanese-nuclear-reactor/


My comment:
(a) The title is kind of misleading. It is not 美, though US government might have helped/ coordinated.
(b) Summary of the news: A German company makes concrete pumps, two of which happen to be in US. Russia dispatches the world largest transporter plane to US and then brings the pumps to Japan.
(c) The German manufacturer of teh concrete pumps: 普茨迈斯特公司 Putzmeister
http://www.putzmeisteramerica.com/news/press_releases/article.cfm?pr_id=327&date_filter=02/01/2008

(i) German Karl Schlecht’s experience in his father’s plastering business provided the incentive for him to develop a way to ease the physically demanding work of a plasterer. Armed with revolutionary ideas, at Aichtal (a town 18 km south of Stuttgart) he founded the company in 1958 which he renamed “Putzmeister” to represent “plaster master.”
(ii) Its US subsidiary is based at Sturtevant, WI.

(2) Christopher Hinton, Japan Buys Giant Pumps for Fukushima; World’s largest pumps will be flown to Japan on world’s largest jet. Market Watch (a WSJ subsidiary), Apr 1, 2011.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-buys-giant-concrete-pumps-for-fukushima-2011-04-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Quote:

"The Putzmeister 70Z pumps are the largest in the world, and there are only three in existence.

"To get the pumps to Japan, they will be loaded onto the world’s largest jet plane, the Antonov An-225, of which there are only two in existence.

"The pumps were purchased from Ashmore Concrete Contractors Inc. of August, Ga., and Associated Concrete Pumping of Sacramento, Calif., through Putzmeister.

Note: One pump was at Georgia a few days ago.
Huge pumps from US to help in Japan nuclear crisis. Associated Press, Mar 31, 2011.
http://hosted2.ap.org/COGRA/d3444c3add384b05a39deb3258f13309/Article_2011-03-31-Japan%20Earthquake-Giant%20Pump/id-b497f5251a02441897ae1c150fbe6932
("Ashmore's company has used one of the two machines at the federal government's Savannah River site along the Georgia-South Carolina border. The plan is to load both of them onto airplanes — one at Los Angeles International Airport and the other at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — for April 9 flights to Japan")

The federal agency at issue was Department of Energy, according to CNN. The other pump was obviously near Los Angeles.

(3) Why is it called boom pump? Why 70? And what is the advantage of boom pump?

(a) concrete pump
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_pump
(There are two types of concrete pumps. The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck. It is known as a trailer-mounted boom concrete pump because it uses a remote-controlled articulating robotic arm (called a boom) to place concrete with pinpoint accuracy. Boom pumps are used on most of the larger construction projects as they are capable of pumping at very high volumes and because of the labour saving nature of the placing boom.)
(b) boom (n; Dutch, tree, beam):
"2a : a chain or line of connected floating timbers extended across a river, lake, or harbor (as to obstruct passage or catch floating objects)
b : a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
3a : a long beam projecting from the mast of a derrick to support or guide cargo"
www.m-w.com

Regarding definition 2, US used booms to catch leaked oil from BP.
(c) Giant pumps rushed from US to Japan to cool reactors. AFP, Apr 2, 2011.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1120217/1/.html

Quote:

"Two giant trucks equipped with powerful pumps and flexible arms with a 70 meter reach will be used to shoot water from giant hoses to cool the nuclear reactors, or cement to seal off the site, said Kelly Blickle, a spokeswoman with the US subsidiary of the German company Putzmeister.

"The equipment can also be operated via radio remote control -- an operator can be some two kilometers (1.2 miles) away while maneuvering the boom pump.

(4) Video clips.
(a) Fukushima Daiichi has used Putzmeister pump since Mar 22.

４号機プールへのコンクリポンプ車注水作業＝福島第１原発. Uploaded by jiji on Mar 22, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PutzmeisterAmerica?feature=mhum#p/f/0/tp7Ke2Am3BA

プール: pool
コンクリ ポンプ: concrete pump
原発 (short for 原子力発電所 げんしりょくはつでんしょ): nuclear power plant

(b) But Japan has asked for world's largest pumps, which are in US.

Putzmeister 70Z Meter. Uploaded by PutzmeisterAmerica on Jul 8, 2010.  
http://www.youtube.com/user/PutzmeisterAmerica?feature=mhum#p/f/4/RitNmclyvgA


※ 修改:．choi 于 Apr  2 14:29:41 修改本文．[FROM: 129.10.0.0]

choi

本文通过一路BBS站telnet客户端发布

Tokyo requested one from Sany, which decided to give it free of charge.

Press release: Mission Started--Sany Concrete Pump Used at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Sany Group. Mar 29, 2011.
http://www.sanygroup.com/group/en-us/media/25890_for_special_list_text_content.htm
("In order to minimize the radiation received by the pump operators, Sany service engineers have developed a wireless remote control system for the concrete pump. Through this system, the operators can manipulate the concrete pump while keeping a 2 kilometers distance from it. So far, Sany is the only manufacturer that applies remote control technology to truck mounted concrete pump")

The last sentence is apparently false.  

But the only news report from Japan was dated Mar 21, 2011; no follow-up. So it is unclear why Tokyo needs the two from US.

※ 修改:．choi 于 Apr  2 15:37:54 修改本文．[FROM: 129.10.0.0]

choi

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I have tried my best, but still can not find anything in English that distinguishes boom pumps made by Putzmeister AND Sany. In other words, the two brands are not mentioned in the same Fukushima report, except one (see (3) below). Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has websites in Japanese or English, neither of which mentions pumps at all (reportedly TEPCO Digest on Mar 22 did mention a pump without mentioning the brand (title: "Concrete Pump Car completed watering Unit 4 spent fuel pool (20:30pm Mar.22)"--though it should be Putzmeister 58--but I can not find it).

However I just now found three useful pieces in Putzmeister websites.

(1) Another four Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete pumps for Fukushima. Putzmeister, Mar 28, 2011 (pressinformation no. 1628).
http://www.pmw.de/cps/rde/xchg/pm_online/hs.xsl/9419_ENU_HTML.htm

Quote:

"Since Tuesday, 22.3.2011, a 58-metre Putzmeister large-boom pump has been pumping water for cooling at the atomic power plant in Fukushima.

"A few days ago, the Japanese operator decided to use another four Putzmeister machines at the damaged reactor blocks in Fukushima: Two 62-metre-high machines with 6 arms (M 62-6) and two 70-metre-high machines (M 70-5). All the machines are from Germany. The two 70-metre pumps are to be taken from construction sites in the USA. The first machine will probably be flown from Stuttgart to Japan on 31.03 in an Antonov wide-bodied aircraft, and the other machines will be flown in during the following days.

My comment: More than reported yesterday are (a) Russians' involvement and (b) five Putzmeister pumps altogether.

(2) Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete pump is used to cool Fukushima. Putzmeister, Mar 22, 2011 (pressinformation no. 1627).
http://www.pmw.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3C6E00FC-E2A3C65F/pm_online/hs.xsl/Concrete%20pump%20is%20used%20to%20cool%20in%20Fukushima_ENU_HTML.htm
("The Putzmeister M58-5 that is being used in Fukushima was intended for a customer in South-East Asia and was redirected to Japan so that it could quickly reach the nuclear power plant")

My comment:
(a) A web page very similar to this one:
Press release: Putzmeister 58-Meter Cools Japan's Nuclear Reactor. Putzmeister, March 2011 (no exact date).
http://www.putzmeisteramerica.com/news/press_releases/article.cfm?pr_id=390&date_filter=03/01/2011
("In 1986, after the tragic accident at Chernobyl, Putzmeister helped to make reactor block 4 safe again at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In total, 11 Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete pumps and stationary pumps were used")
(b) Regarding China. Mar 19, 2011 Sany received SOS from TEPCO to buy one. Sany gave one 62 pump. Carrier Suzhou shipped the pump from Shanghai to Osaka, taking 46 hours (Mar 22 to 24), according to Sany website.

The latest:
Press release: Sany Concrete Pump Spraying Water to No. 1 Reactor. Sany, Apr 2, 2011.
http://www.sany.com.cn/group/en-us/media/25953_for_special_list_text_content.htm
("Mar 31st, the concrete pump donated by Sany Heavy Industry has started")

(c) What I can not figure out is why TEPCO asks Sany for more pumps, now that China is much closer and at least one is free.
(d) So far English-speaking world almost has not heard of Sany's kindness and its concrete pump n Fukushima.

It is possible that Chinese are not good at public relations. In the 2010 Haiti earthquake, few outside China knew China sent a team (which China claimed to be the first foreign team to arrive, beating even US). China did not well communicate what it had done there, either, befoe hastily pulling out.

(3) James T Areddy, China Concrete Pumper Gets Into Nuclear Effort. China Real Time, Mar 22, 2011.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/03/22/china-concrete-pumper-gets-into-japannuclear-effort/
("Sany isn’t the only construction equipment maker contributing to the radiation containment effort. Concrete pumps from Putzmeister Holding GmbH are also working at Fukushima, according to the German company’s website. (Putzmeister reportedly has experience from Chernobyl and pumped concrete for the world’s tallest building). Meanwhile, U.S. engineering giant Bechtel is reportedly flying over a remote-controlled robotic water sprayer")

Note: XIANG Wenbo 向 文波


【 在 choi 的大作中提到: 】
: Tokyo requested one from Sany, which decided to give it free of charge.
: Press release: Mission Started--Sany Concrete Pump Used at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Sany Group. Mar 29, 2011.
: http://www.sanygroup.com/group/en-us/media/25890_for_special_list_text_content.htm
: (以下引言省略...)

--