Work well underway on dome assembly
The dome is now being assembled in Bunker 5 by team members from Bylor and Tissot using large steel panels (up to 9m x 4.5m) that are being shipped to site from France via the jetty. Work is now well under way on welding the panels together. Liner Ring 2 has also been fully erected in Bunker 6 and has been lifted onto a slab next to the area, in order to paint it and prepare it for its final destination.
On track to hit milestones
A third of the milestones have been completed ahead of schedule or on time. Kevin McNealey, EDF’s Head of Project Controls, said: “Our milestones are reflective of how the project is made up. Around a third of the project is currently being completed in factories across the world, while a third of the work takes place in engineering design. The rest of the work is completed by the team on site, and that’s why our milestones don’t just focus on the delivery of works on the construction site itself.” Workers are on track to receive the green light on several more milestones including commencing the steelwork erection on the Turbine Hall in Unit 1.
MEH work undertaken across Europe
Key parts of the site’s mechanical, electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) – MEH – manufacturing work is under way across Europe, as well as here in the UK. In France, Special Brides Service has forged six flanges for the containment heat removal system and in Germany, Bilfinger is on track to deliver pipework for the demineralisation station gallery. The MEH team has already taken over the gallery to get ready for permanent installation, and the temporary services team has commenced the small power and lighting installation.
Concrete table works begin
With the 15 Turbine Group (TG) columns now installed in Unit 1 by William Hare, the BylorConstruction team is now preparing to deliver the heavily reinforced concrete table that supports the turbine. The table is up to 5m thick and stands approximately 20m above the raft level. The table, once ready, is cast in a single pour of approximately 2,500m3 of concrete, which incorporates a significant number of embedded parts. Keep an eye out for news of the table pour, which is set to take place later this year.
Taken from The Point May 2021
