Page 45: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2016)

Venezia Nuova, the installation of 78 in- Venice from tides as high as 3 meters. tem in addition to the Mo.S.E external needed, is the availability of the system: dependently operated steel gates across The ? exible design allows operators security system. The signals gathered an exceptionally redundant design, fur- the three inlets should shield the lagoon to completely close all inlets simultane- from more than 50,000 devices provide ther reinforced by the geographic sepa- from both major and minor ? oods. ously, or vary the level of closure at each the data to position and maintain the bar- ration of redundant components, brings “The Mo.S.E. concept is unique: no- site independently depending on winds, rier at the 45-degree angle, with a vari- the availability of this system to unprec- where else in the world, where the same atmospheric pressure and tide level. ance of 1 degree – an amazing endeavor edented levels.” issue of high waters occurs, a system of There are a variety of critical require- when taking into account the pressure of The capacity of ABB’s Symphony barriers like the one in Venice has been ments which will be compulsory for water on the barrier and the continuous Plus control system to easily integrate implemented. Usually, barriers remain the success of the entire defense. From tidal movement. electrical and ? eld equipment is an im- visible as infrastructures above the sea a structural point of view, the barriers “For what concerns ABB’s scope of portant differentiator, as is the platform’s surface. The Mo.S.E. option instead is should not interfere with normal mari- supply, the integrated electrical and au- unique ability to be easily scaled and hidden on the seabed surface and their time traf? c ? ow and host infrastructure tomation solution is one of our strong customized for different sizes and com- movement is managed by the injection to safeguard the area, which demands suits: our competence in both automa- plexities of application. ABB’s control of compressed air or salt-water,” said also vigorous safety from a system point tion and electrical products and systems system is also easy to maintain, as the

Mascheroni. of view through a sophisticated anti-in- is renowned and testi? ed by thousands main components are redundant (con-

The 20-m-wide gates are between 18.5 truder and protection systems to keep out of references in power and water. The trollers, switches, servers) and most can – 29.5 m in length and consist of hollow, unauthorized entries. system provided to Mo.S.E. features be quickly replaced.

hinged metal boxes that are ? xed to large Symphony Plus latest technology, the “The biggest challenge will be to en- prefabricated 23,000-ton concrete bases Digital Flood Defense control system managing the automa- sure the position of the barriers is always embedded into the sea ? oor. When the ABB provides ? eld instrumentation tion and electrical system enabling the the one needed independently from the control room is alerted to high tides or and control and I/O devices that will co- barrier movement. ABB is not new to varying pressure of water and air into storm surges, the water inside the barri- ordinate operation of the entire ? ood de- such peculiar project: they count in fact and outside the barriers. The variance of ers is pumped out with compressed air, fense system. This consists of managing a number of references in automating 1 degree might seem nearly indiscern- and the gates lift into position aided by the different operational, architectural many ? ood barrier projects in The Neth- ible, but it may affect the system ef? - their own buoyancy. In just 30 minutes, and safety functionalities for ? ood bar- erlands,” said Mascheroni. “Essential ciency. With reference to the installation the entire barrier system can be risen, riers, navigation locks and breakwaters, for the reliability of the Mo.S.E. project, activity, dif? culties are mainly related isolating the lagoon and protecting while integrating with ABB’s safety sys- to make sure it works when it is most to the actual position of the equipment, underwater in harsh environments,” said

Mascheroni.

The Mo.S.E. barriers are expected to provide a ? nancial return within 50 years due to the hopeful reduction in costs from damage to the cities structure and contents. But despite the pure return on investment, Venice is a priceless treasure whose safeguard cannot be enumerated.

“Digitalization and Internet of Things (IoT) are the new wave to bring innova- tion and value added services to a tech- nology portfolio. Although in automa- tion we were already providing ‘intranet of things’ throughout our DCS systems, the opportunity generated by the digi- talization and big data is tremendous in terms of both new services and solu- 4 tions,” said Mascheroni. “ABB is taking an additional step ahead with our con- cept of the Internet of Things, Services and People (IoTSP), namely by connect- ing inextricably Services and People to *All images courtesy: ABB technology. Data collected from super- intelligent devices will drive advanced services that make use of actionable information derived from them, while people will be the ultimate recipient of the advanced analytics for conscious and accurate decision-making.”

This Mo.S.E. project with the ABB intelligent systems, showcases a wealth of cutting-edge innovation and technol- ogy. As sea levels rise across the world, ? ood barriers may become more digi- talized. Intelligent automated and elec- trical systems will be required to help control these defenses ef? ciently, protect from cyber intervention and to maintain consistent reliable defenses for decades to come. www.marinelink.com 45

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