Bruce Power’s Unit 6 Major Component Replacement reached another milestone when the final of eight steam generators was lifted into place with the use of a massive crane.
A release from the nuclear operator says it was completed on December 18th, safely and event-free.
Bruce Power says Unit 6 contains eight steam generators which are arranged vertically in two columns of four on the east and west side of the reactor. Each steam generator weighs about 320,000 pounds and was lifted through the powerhouse roof enclosure using Mammoet’s PTC-35 crane. The 1,600-ton capacity crane is one of the largest in the world and features a boom the length of a hockey rink that can stretch over the station, which is seven storeys tall and reach the inner-most steam generators.
Eric Chassard, Bruce Power’s Executive Vice President, Projects & Engineering says in a statement, “These new steam generators will be in service for many decades providing clean, reliable power to Ontario homes and businesses,” adding, “This is a culmination of many years of hard work and collaboration between Bruce Power and our partners like SGRT, BWXT, Mammoet, Nuvia and the Building Trades Unions.”
The new steam generators were fabricated at BWXT in Cambridge and shipped to site in late 2020.
Bruce Power says laser topography was conducted on the steam generators to transform them into a 3D layout to verify dimensions before to the first lift. These were set in place by Building Trades within a few millimetres tolerance.
The Steam Generator Replacement Team (SGRT), a 50/50 joint venture between Aecon and SGT (a partnership between Framatome and United Engineers & Constructors), is Bruce Power’s vendor responsible for replacing the Unit 6 steam generators and was recently awarded a contract for the same scope on Units 3 and 4.