Verity Helps Streamline Nuclear Power Plant Construction Project
The United Kingdom currently generates around 15 to 20 per cent of the nation’s electricity from nuclear energy. To support the UK Government’s commitment to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050, Hinkley Point C in Somerset is under construction. This is the first new nuclear power station to be built in the UK in over 20 years and will provide low-carbon electricity for around 6 million homes. The electricity generated by its two EPR reactors will offset 9 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, or 600 million tons over its 60-year lifespan.
As part of the project, Balfour Beatty UK is responsible for delivering the complex marine and tunnelling works and constructing the structures for the critical infrastructure needed to supply cooling water to the power station. This project involves the construction of three tunnels under the Bristol Channel, with offshore concrete heads allowing sea water to pass into the tunnels.
Balfour Beatty used ClearEdge3D Verity software system to ensure that a key part of the project was completed accurately, on time, and on budget.
"With such a small tolerance on either side of the lifting lugs, we needed to ensure the data and measurements we were giving were accurate – with ClearEdge3D's Verity software, we were able to do that.”
Working Within Tight Tolerances
Through the delivery stages from design to offshore execution, precision was vital with very tight construction tolerances required. Once complete, the system will be connected to the seabed via vertical shafts, capped with intake and outfall heads. The intake structures are 44 meters long, which is roughly the length of four double-decker buses, and around eight meters high, weighing more than 5,000 tons each.
The structures were constructed at a purpose-built facility at Balfour Beatty UK’s site in Avonmouth, Bristol. Large steel alignment frames were then installed on top of the heads to enable future lifting and piling operations.
Lifting lugs were cast into the reinforced concrete heads and these were then matched against bespoke handling frames. The accuracy of the fit was critical due to the 5mm tolerance available for alignment, allowing for the installation of the lifting pins and the subsequent safe offshore lifts.
Tom Bush, Digital Project Delivery Coordinator at Balfour Beatty, explained: “It’s no surprise that using cranes to rotate and position the large fabricated structures on to the concrete heads is an incredibly challenging task, and we didn’t have any room for error. While we were constructing the concrete heads, fabricators were building the alignment frames. With such a small tolerance on either side of the lifting lugs, we needed to ensure the data and measurements we were giving were accurate – with Verity software, we were able to do that.”
“Being able to accurately verify the position of each individual lifting lug on each of the concrete heads through Verity allowed us to provide detailed as-built information."
Verification of Installed Work
The team used our Verity software, which rapidly compares point cloud data with design and fabrication models for verification of work. Balfour Beatty UK used the software to compare real-time data being supplied by the survey team on-site against initial drawings, to ensure the lifting lugs were aligned with the tolerance available. Inaccuracies were discovered during the first comparisons, and so changes were fed back to the fabricators and rectified early on.
Verity was also used to run several scenarios and create a digitally accurate approach that saved Balfour Beatty UK time and money, as well as strengthening health and safety precautions. The software translated data collected on-site into a digital model, providing accurate demonstrations of the rotations and twists of the installed lifting lugs on each of the heads, with immediate access to the latest data and comprehensive digital display models helping to streamline the process.
Tom Bush continued: “Being able to accurately verify the position of each individual lifting lug on each of the concrete heads through Verity allowed us to provide detailed as-built information, within a short period of time and remove the risk of expensive of time-consuming errors taking place when it came to fabricating and fitting the alignment frames. This was key to enable the project to keep on schedule.”
The Hinkley Point C project exemplifies the tremendous potential of precision and innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Balfour Beatty UK’s utilization of our Verity software showcases the transformative power of technology in constructing critical infrastructure with unmatched accuracy and efficiency. Follow this link to learn more about Verity!
