CLEVEDON: Hydro International is launching the Hydro Brake Optimum, a new flow control that promises to set new performance standards and achieve significant construction cost savings for sustainable drainage (SuDS) projects.
Hydro-Brake Optimum represents a significant milestone in the development of the vortex-flow technology first pioneered by Hydro in the 1980s and backed by a continuing investment in research and development ever since.
Hydro-Brake Optimum dispenses with the need for a range of sizes and types and instead provides the specifier with built-in flexibility to size each unit to precisely suit the requirements of the site. In this way, considerations such as installation space constraints can be perfectly balanced against the required hydraulic performance.
Hydro’s existing range of Hydro-Brake Flow Controls already provides significant savings in surface water storage over conventional flow controls. Now the Hydro-Brake Optimum offers up to a further 15% saving when compared to other vortex flow control devices.
By saving on surface water storage, Hydro-Brake Optimum therefore promises outstanding savings in excavation costs and frees up more land for building to maximise the developers’ return on investment.
“It’s no secret that other products on the market are based on Hydro technology and that specifiers often nominate a Hydro-Brake ‘or equivalent’,” said Alex Stephenson, director of Hydro’s UK Stormwater Division. “With forthcoming new National Standards for SuDS in England and Wales and legislation already in place in Scotland, builders merchants can be secure in the knowledge that Hydro-Brake Optimum will meet customers’ required performance standards.
“In future it will be particularly important for contractors to appreciate that the new Hydro-Brake Optimum has no equivalent. It can be tempting for a contractor to save costs by changing from the specified flow control, but in the case of Hydro-Brake OptimumT this would result in a change of the engineered performance and could render the customer liable for a design failure.”
New adjustable inlet plates are available to provide up to 20% alteration in the forward flow rate, to provide clients with the option of future-proofing against climate change or site-modifications. The new Hydro-Brake Optimum also offers up to 20% larger clearances than other vortex flow controls leading to a reduced risk of blockage. Manufactured out of high grade Stainless Steel, Hydro-Brake Optimum is able to withstand the forces of even the most intense storm event without deforming.
Hydro has increased the range of time-saving installation options including, lugs, push-fit spigots, flat or curved mounting plates, penstock or slide mounts and removable units. The Hydro-Brake Optimum is also available pre-fitted to a purpose-built precast reinforced concrete chamber.
Hydro-Brake Optimum has received independent accreditation for its performance and design from both the BBA and WRc.
