The station’s two reactors power more than two million homes – and its regular mandatory maintenance periods require extensive planning with the National Grid to minimise disruption to the network.
With more than 12,000 separate pieces of work taking place during the nine-week shutdown, our experienced teams knew the stakes were high to ensure their projects were completed within the available timescales.
Having worked with EDF for more than 20 years, our longstanding relationship and excellent working relationships with engineers and project managers at various EDF sites across the UK made CSC the natural choice for this work. The energy giant knew it could rely on our teams to deliver the work to a high standard – as well as completing the project on time, and on budget.
The drum screens form an essential part of the power station’s cooling water intake system, acting as the first defence against things like shells, fish and sediment from the vast amounts of seawater they draw in.
Our first step was to dismantle and remove the corroded steel access and maintenance platforms which would be replaced once the works were completed.
The deteriorated concrete was removed using hydrodemolition – a process that uses a high-pressured water jet with pressures up to 36,000 PSI to take out the old concrete leaving the steel reinforcement in place. Next, the corroded reinforcements were cleaned and replaced where required and a cathodic protection system installed.
We installed wooden formwork before spraying with Sika Gunite, a fast-setting cement-based repair mortar, in accordance with BS EN 1504 concrete repair standard.
The final stage involved installing new GRP (glass reinforced plastic) access and maintenance platforms to replace the deteriorated steel ones we had removed earlier in the process.
Our highly skilled teams were on site 24 hours a day, for 24 days, working in 12 hour shifts to ensure the project was completed on time and on budget.
The completed project was signed off by external bodies Tony G and Partners and Vector Corrosion Technologies to ensure standards were met.
As with all our large-scale projects, our directors Mark and Mick remained in on site throughout to oversee the work and ensure delivery points were met.
All CSC operatives undergo regular training to ensure their knowledge and qualifications are up-to-date and are Confined Space and Water Jet Association qualified. The employees who worked on this project were also NVQ-level trained in concrete repair by CITB.
