ODINFLoat®
Spillway and Tailrace Boom – Boater Safety Barriers
Designing floating booms for use below dams in spillways and hydroelectric tailrace areas requires specialized knowledge that only comes with experience. Our first tailrace boom was installed in 1998 in Eastern Ontario. Since that humble start, we have combined detailed engineering and Flow-3D modeling with actual field observations of our tailrace booms and spillway boat barriers.
The result are today’s ODINFloat, the most rugged, and durable floating barrier for the toughest challenges. You won’t find a more durable tailrace float and spillway barrier than the Worthington designed ODINFloat and here’s why.
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ODINFloat® HDPE combines the most advanced material technology with Worthington’s 25+ years designing tailrace and spillway barriers to provide dam safety engineers the most reliable solution for floating boat barriers above floodgates, below open spillgates and in the tailraces of hydroelectric power plants.
ODINFloat features include:
- Long-term durability with a 50-year pontoon service life.
- Exceptional impact resistance.
- Smooth, non-stick, chemically resistant surface.
- UV Stabilized.
- Water-tight design.
- Corrosion free.
- Resistant to -140F
- Internal EPS foam fill
- Thick-walled design
- Will never require touch up surface treatments
- Patented self-rotating design.
- Available in multiple diameter/length configurations.
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ODINFloat® is made from one material, high-strength, 100% virgin HDPE polymers. But unlike all other HDPE production, the proprietary dual-extrusion ODINProcess results in a durable 4mm thick outer layer integrated with a 28mm thick internal carbon-black HDPE. All of this is produced in a single, continuous pipe extrusion process. ONE Material - TWO Colors.
Worthington offers a lifetime no-peel guarantee on all ODINFloat barriers.
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When it comes to intelligent spillway boom design, yellow beats black or orange booms hands down. Black HDPE cannot be seen on the water especially in low light conditions. Did you know that 8% of males and 2% of females are color blind? When they see an orange log boom, it may look grey or it might blend in with the background to them.
The color orange is only 63% as visible, when measured in brightness, as Yellow booms. In low light conditions such as dawn, dusk, or even on an overcast day, the orange booms will be hard to see until the last minute. Yellow is the brightest color on the spectrum and the safest color for any floating barrier boom installation where people may be on the water.
ODINFloat® is not only designed to be tough, but it should also be visible. Forget about orange. YELLOW IS THE NEW ORANGE.
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ODINFloat® is designed with ease of installation and ease of operation. We want ODINFloats to freely rotate to lessen the boom line tension. ODINFloat® features a thick-walled HDPE pipe extending laterally though the center of each boom. This allows the use of high strength alloy chain to be extended through the center of each boom so that it will rotate freely while maintaining exceptional strength. Designed with a patented chain retaining device, the ODINFloat® will rotate freely without allowing through chain to edge-load and wear the internal HDPE pipe.
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Offered in standard diameters of 610mm, 900mm and in special cases up to 1.2m and in lengths up to 12m.
ODINFloat® floating barriers are designed with safety in mind. Whether you install these above a dam in the headpond or below in tailrace or spillways, the intent is to keep boaters, fisherman, kayakers, and other intruders outside of designated or dangerous flow areas.
ODINFloat® is designed to be visible and above water in high-flow turbulent conditions where smaller booms less than 50cm in diameter quickly submerge below the water in flows as low as 0.5m/sec.
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At the heart of every ODINFloat® system are pontoons with our lifetime warranty, made from tough, durable, co-extruded HDPE pipe. Each ODINFloat is capped with a unique fusion welding process. This process creates a joint that becomes stronger than the pipe itself. ODINFloat tailrace boat barriers and spillway barrier systems offer the best design for your hydroelectric or dam project. They are durable, low maintenance and do not require seasonal removal.
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Material: ASTM D3350, HDPE (PE44544 C/E)
Process: Co-Extrusion
Color: Yellow per FS13655
Yield Strength (min): 63,052 kgs (139 kips)
Ultimate Strength (min): 108,415 kgs (239 kips)
ODINFloat®
The most advanced high-flow spillway and tailrace floating barrier
USE CASES
Headpond Spillgate Booms
Open floodgates and spillgates are a danger to any boater on the water. The high flows draw boaters towards the gates and when engines are too small or fail to start, the results are fatal. Dam owners have a responsibility to protect the public from these dangerous conditions. ODINFloat® booms provide the solution while minimizing the potential to capture debris versus other barrier types.
Tailrace Boom and Spillway Boat Barrier
The waters below open spillgates and hydroelectric tailraces are turbulent, high flowing, and the water itself is highly aerated. Boats in these waters are easily sucked upstream towards the most dangerous flows while the super-aerated water causes the boats to lose buoyancy and sink. ODINFloat® booms are designed to withstand the rigorous conditions while protecting the public from danger and dam owner from risk.
Floating Safety Barriers
Large bodies of water often require a highly visible floating safety barrier to prevent unwanted entry but without acting as a floating debris boom. ODINFloat® barriers are the ideal solution offering variable spacing between floats and diameters suitable for any body of water.
Low Head Dams River Boom
Low head dams are often called killing machines. From upstream, the water looks like an infinity pool with the dam only becoming visible once the boater is too close to safely turn around. ODINFloat is an ideal solution to provide high visibility upstream of the dam while also minimizing the potential for large scale debris retention.
Frequently Searched Together
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FERC Dam Safety Signage
Your existing dam warning signs are not to current best practices for public safety around dams. Worthington’s dam signage program will supercharge your sign program.
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BoatBuster®
Boat barrier floats designed for headpond, spillway and tailrace areas where you need to prevent boater passage but still all debris to move past.
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EPC – Engineering, Procure, Construct
Whether you need a few boom tension calculations or a complete turnkey solution to engineer, procure and install, Worthington EPC Services is the place to start.
