No_6_October_-_November_-_December__1958 — Page 45

HINKLEY POINT ATOMIC POWER

STATION

B

An impression of the power station, showing (A) Two reactors,

each with

6 steam

raising units (B) Turbine hall with 6 main

and 3 auxiliary

steam turbo- alternator sets

(C) Workshops and

administrative

blocks

Some 2,200 cubic yards of concrete fabrication

of

work оп pressure

vessels,

Work began at Hinkley Point in De- cember 1957, and considerable progress has been made in the ten months since. The Station being built for the Central Electricity Generating Board by the English Electric, Babcock & Wilcox, Taylor Woodrow atomic power group is the largest atomic power station in the world (500 MW) now under construction.

It is not only by far the largest of

have been placed for the foundations of steam-raising units and associated pipe- the four natural uranium, gas-cooled, the 250 ft. gauge track to carry the work. An area of 215 ft. x 200 ft. by

under con- 240 ft. high Goliath crane, capable graphite-moderated type now

12 inches thick concrete has been laid tons. Erection struction in the United Kingdom, but lifting 400

of the giant to form the pressure vessel erection area, its net electrical output of 500 MW from

crane is due to begin shortly.

whilst another area 227 ft. x 100 ft. has been laid two reactors will

for hydraulically be something like

To enable the construction of the tur- бо

testing the per cent

is more than

expected from bine house

steam-raising units. and cooling water system other reactors of comparable size, and it with its associated pumphouse and tun- A large Arcon type building, covering will be the first to provide electricity nels to start work on a 3,500 ft. long an area of 168 ft. x 138 ft. has been within the average generating cost at pre- seawall has been completed, some 21,000 erected for fabricating the steam-raising sent applicable in the United Kingdom cubic yards of concrete having been plac- units, and another Arcon building 218 It. (.65 pence per unit). These advances are ed in tidal working conditions; 70,000 x 67 ft. has been built for shot-blasting the result of careful design study, sq. yards of foreshore having been re- purposes (i.e., cleaning all tubes and coupled with the choice of a site which claimed in forming the sea defence. elements which go into the steam-raising provides freely for the substantial cool- ing water requirements.

units).

An 18 ft. diameter access shaft for the intake tunnels has been sunk to a depth

In addition, works including stores, When the station is completed in 1962, of approximately 100 ft., and lined with workshops, garages, and a boiler house the two reactors will each have six steam- cast-iron segments, and work is now have been constructed, and in the fabrica- raising units giving a total steam pro- proceeding on driving an access tunnel

tion shop, welding tests are in operation. duction capacity of 5 million lb./hr., and cross-headings to the water tunnels. The English Electric stores and workshop supplied to six main turbo-alternators Three thousand cubic yards of rock hav- building is now in its final stage and will each of 93.5 MW rating and to three ing been excavated.

be ready for occupation by the beginning Rock excavation for the turbine house of November. Principal items in the and associated cooling water culverts, Taylor Woodrow works include two 2- started in May, is now nearly completed, cubic yard capacity concrete batching some 80,000 cubic yards having been plants, fed by conveyor belts and the concrete the main site and other offices, numerous removed, 2,300 cubic yards of

the turbine house and placed in

1,800 workshops and stores, erected within a cubic yards in the culverts.

few weeks of the start of the contract, using Arcon and other standardised pre- fabricated units.

variable speed turbo-alternators supply- ing the gas circulator drives.

The initial task on the construction site involved the removal of 200,000 cubic yards of soil and clay excavation to form the general station level at + 36.00 feet O.D. By use of fast-moving scraper equipment, this was practically complet- DRY DOCK COMPLETED ed by early January, enabling the ex- cavation in rock for the reactor founda- A temporary dry dock in which tions to start that month. Some 32,000 cooling water intake structure caisson cubic yards of rock excavation have been will be built, and from which it will later taken out for foundations of reactors be floated to site, is now completed. Nos. 1 and 2, as well as deep excavations Excavations for the blower house.

the

to form the dock totalled 21,000 cubic yards of rock.

To house a considerable proportion of BIOLOGICAL SHIELD CONSTRUCTION the constructional labour force, a fully- By the beginning of this month (Octo- equipped camp is being erected in stages. ber) approximately 900 tons of rein- Accommodation and amenities for some forced steel had been used in the founda- 700 men are now available, 450 being in tions and walls of reactor No. 1, and residence, and approximately 1,300 peo- some 22,100 cubic yarls of high quality ple are now employed. concrete placed in the shield and founda- tions. On this reactor, the main bio- logical shield construction was about 85 per cent

complete, and the secondary shield approximately 60 per cent com- plete. Concreting

No. in reactor foundation started late in June and some 4,700 cubic yards have been placed to date.

The reinforced concrete subway for conveying the high voltage cables from the turbine house to the 275 K.V. switch- gear compound, south of the main station site, is approximately 80 per cent com- plete.

2

A system of roads, giving access to the whole site has been in operation since the end of May.

Although at the moment the interest is largely of a civil engineering nature, it will be appreciated that concurrently there

is considerable action at the works of the member companies, the results of which will become increasingly apparent on site in the near future. the steam-raising unit shell sections are For example,

now in course of fabrication, many of the 3-inch plates for the reactor pressure vessels have been formed, and the first courses are in ап advanced stage of fabrication for the ultimate site construc- tion of the vessels. At the group's head- quarters at Whetstone, a separate workshop for the machinery of the graphite has been erected ready for full operation in At the same time, manu- the New Year.

will facture

on also start

the steam turbines.

To provide facilities for off-loading heavy plant and equipment brought by sea from the works in Scotland and the north of England,

has a wharf

been constructed at Combwich, four miles from the site, and is capable of handling ships up to 1,500 tons. Erection of the 45-ton crane is complete, and founda- Also work is nearing completion on all tions are ready to receive the 150-ton the major components of the huge Goliath

for off-loading exceptionally heavy crane that will be used in the erection of loads such as turbo-alternators, trans- the reactor groups, and their parts will formers.

be shipped by sea via Combwich harbour for assembly on site in due course. When erected, this crane will be the largest Goliath crane in the world, standing some 250 ft, overall and with a lift of 400 tons to a height approaching 200 feet.

crane

OUTBUILDINGS AND OFF-SITE

WORKS

Temporary works have been prepared for Babcock & Wilcox to carry out site

37

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