The US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has announced the Phase 1 winners of its Seal Team Fix Challenge, a prize competition aimed at developing emergency solutions to seal pressurised dam conduits and improve dam safety. Five teams have each received awards of US$50,000 and will progress to the next stage of the programme, drawn from a total prize pool of US$575,000.
The competition seeks practical, rapidly deployable methods to address rare but high-risk failures in outlet works and power penstocks across USBR’s water and hydropower infrastructure in the western US. In the event of uncontrolled flow through a large conduit, USBR requires a solution that can be installed under pressure to quickly stop or reduce releases and protect personnel and downstream communities.
Participants were asked to design temporary sealing systems capable of operating under live hydraulic conditions. Phase 1 focused on concept development. The selected teams will now move into prototype design, followed by laboratory-scale hydraulic testing in later phases.
The Phase 1 winning entries reflect a range of mechanical and inflatable sealing approaches:
- HYDRA – Hydraulic Dam Retention Assembly, by TAB Technologies, combines a metal anchoring structure with an inflatable bladder to block flow in conduits ranging from 3 to 25ft in diameter.
- Inflated Torpedo Tubes with Ventilation, by Team Venturi, uses streamlined inflatable tubes and controlled air pockets to reduce flow and form a wedged seal.
- HydroSeal Dynamic Multi-Flow Expanding Barrier, by Full Circle Solutions, deploys inflatable hoses that use water flow for positioning, offering a modular and portable system.
- Roller Seal Fix, by Jan Beetge, uses a high-strength elastomeric composite designed to form a seal against concrete under high pressure.
- Fix the Dam Leak, by Bill Rollins, scales up the principle of a drain stopper to seal large-diameter conduits at significant depth.
“These innovative solutions demonstrate the power of crowdsourcing to tackle complex engineering challenges,” said Bobbi Jo Merten, a civil engineer at Reclamation’s Technical Service Center. “We’re excited to see how these concepts evolve in the next phase of the competition.”
In Phase 2, the five teams will develop functional prototypes in preparation for physical testing in Phase 3. Further details on the challenge and the selected concepts are available via the competition platform hosted by HeroX.
