Orbital Welder For Dounreay Tested In New Facility At Bower
23rd April 2009
Dropping a large three metre stainless steel container from a great height might seem like a bizarre concept, but it's all in a days work for the PFR project team.
Storage of the spent fuel from the former fast reactor needs to be safeguarded from all potentially hazardous conditions. In order to prove the robustness of the 100kg container a replica model was subjected to a computerised simulated drop followed by an actual six and a half metre drop in the new NES Engineering Ltd off-site test facility at Bower in Caithness.
This phase of the project also included the design and manufacture of a unique remote orbital welding system adapted to remotely seal the container lids from within the PFR caves and to leak test the weld to ensure the container is fully sealed.
The £400k contract was awarded to Nuvia who subcontracted the manufacture and testing of the containers to local firm NES Engineering Ltd, who also manufactured the orbital welding equipment.
"Managing the fuel legacy safely and securely on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a crucial part of the site closure programme," explained Simon Coles, PFR decommissioning manager.
"These containers and associated equipment are vital to the fuel strategy for the Dounreay site and for the decommissioning of PFR. The project was delivered to time and cost, which is a credit to the team and all contractors involved."
On completion of the tests the equipment will be shipped to Dounreay for mounting in the reactor hall cave mock up. Remote assembly trials will be carried out on the welding station to ensure it can be assembled within the confined cave environment and to train operators to use the equipment in safe and clean surroundings.
The irradiated fuel will be packaged into the new containers for long-term storage and held in an on-site facility pending a decision for re-use or management elsewhere.
Dounreay will require anywhere from two hundred to one thousand of these fuel storage containers during the decommissioning of the site.
Diagram shows a 3D image of the Remote Orbital Welding System (ROWS) as it will appear in the IFC, showing an irradiated fuel container in place ready for welding
Related Businesses
Related Articles
He joins from AtkinsRealis, where he was market director and delivery lead for its nuclear decommissioning and waste services business, and officially takes up the post today (18 November 2024), He succeeds John Grierson who has served as interim MD since May. NRS CEO Rob Fletcher said, "I am very pleased that Dave Wilson has agreed to join the team at Dounreay.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group have announced five organisations as winners of this year's supply chain awards. Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, The Decommissioning Delivery Partnership, PA Consulting, Antech and The Higher Activity Waste Thermal Treatment Tranche 1 Team are the big winners in this year's supply chain awards.
Find out what has been happening at UKAEA in our monthly newsletter. Read about our recent activities and upcoming events.
With a degree in electrical and electronic engineering and a keen interest in the nuclear sector, Anouschka knew Sellafield would be the best place for her to begin her career in the industry. That career has already seen her relocate from Sheffield to Cumbria and scooping the title of Sellafield Ltd Graduate of the Year.
More than 140 graduates have started at Sellafield Ltd. Over 140 graduates have just started their exciting careers with the company in a range of business and technical disciplines, supporting Sellafield Ltd in its mission to create a clean and safe environment for future generations.
Find out what has been happening at UKAEA in our monthly newsletter. Read about our recent activities and upcoming events.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group has on 26 September 2024 published its 2023 to 2024 socio-economic report detailing a record investment in projects across the UK. Over the last five years, the NDA group has invested £60 million in projects that enable permanent and sustainable change in its site communities, leveraging many millions more from partners.
Today, the ponds inside the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (or as we like to call it, Thorp) are used to store nuclear fuel that has been used in the UK's 7 operational nuclear reactors. Before taking on this new mission, Thorp reprocessed 9,000 tonnes of used nuclear fuel from around the world, generating an estimated £9 billion in revenue for the UK over 2 decades.
Over 100 graduates join the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group today as applications open for 2025. As applications open for 2025, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group also welcomed its largest ever cohort of graduates today, with more than 100 new recruits ready to support delivery of one of the world's most important environmental programmes.
In a world-first, a fully autonomous robot has been used to inspect the inside of a fusion energy facility. In a world-first, a fully autonomous robot has been used to inspect the inside of a fusion energy facility.
