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Modularization as an avenue to economic competitiveness

Abstract

There are many features of the emerging next generation of nuclear power which impact the competitiveness of the facilities. We will focus on the equipment fabrication and erection phase of the work. Utility plants, like other complex facilities, require comprehensive program management skills. While any project is sensitive to cost, schedule and quality control, nuclear plants have strict and regulated requirements associated with quality control, and its associated materials source and record keeping. The industry has developed an increasing interest in the adaptation of prefabrication, or modularization, to the design, engineering and construction of power plants. Avondale Industries has been actively involved for the past several years with the DOE/EPRI sponsored Westinghouse design for an advanced passive 600 MWe PWR nuclear power plant (the AP-600). The Westinghouse team is currently working on the detailed design and NRC licensing/design certification phase. This program is a part of the current industry advanced light water (ALWR) efforts aimed at re-establishing the nuclear power option to meet U.S. electric generation needs in the 1990s and beyond. The Westinghouse program has the objective of developing the conceptual design of a greatly simplified 600 MWe pressurized water reactor plant with major improvements in safety, licensing certainty,  More>>
Authors:
Cottrell, J H [1] 
  1. Avondale Industries, Inc., Rumson, NJ (United States)
Publication Date:
Jul 01, 1990
Product Type:
Conference
Report Number:
INIS-XA-N-191; MIT-ANP-CP-001
Resource Relation:
Conference: 1. MIT international conference on the next generation of nuclear power technology, Cambridge, MA (United States), 4-5 Oct 1990; Other Information: 27 figs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the first MIT international conference on the next generation of nuclear power technology, 258 pages.
Subject:
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; CONSTRUCTION; DESIGN; MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT; MODULAR STRUCTURES; NUCLEAR INDUSTRY; NUCLEAR POWER; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; PLANNING; PROGRAM MANAGEMENT; PWR TYPE REACTORS; QUALITY CONTROL; SAFETY; SCHEDULES; SHIPS
OSTI ID:
20767334
Research Organizations:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program for Advanced Nuclear Power Studies, Cambridge, MA (United States)
Country of Origin:
IAEA
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
TRN: XA04N2115073959
Availability:
Available from INIS in electronic form
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
19 pages
Announcement Date:
Sep 25, 2006

Citation Formats

Cottrell, J H. Modularization as an avenue to economic competitiveness. IAEA: N. p., 1990. Web.
Cottrell, J H. Modularization as an avenue to economic competitiveness. IAEA.
Cottrell, J H. 1990. "Modularization as an avenue to economic competitiveness." IAEA.
@misc{etde_20767334,
title = {Modularization as an avenue to economic competitiveness}
author = {Cottrell, J H}
abstractNote = {There are many features of the emerging next generation of nuclear power which impact the competitiveness of the facilities. We will focus on the equipment fabrication and erection phase of the work. Utility plants, like other complex facilities, require comprehensive program management skills. While any project is sensitive to cost, schedule and quality control, nuclear plants have strict and regulated requirements associated with quality control, and its associated materials source and record keeping. The industry has developed an increasing interest in the adaptation of prefabrication, or modularization, to the design, engineering and construction of power plants. Avondale Industries has been actively involved for the past several years with the DOE/EPRI sponsored Westinghouse design for an advanced passive 600 MWe PWR nuclear power plant (the AP-600). The Westinghouse team is currently working on the detailed design and NRC licensing/design certification phase. This program is a part of the current industry advanced light water (ALWR) efforts aimed at re-establishing the nuclear power option to meet U.S. electric generation needs in the 1990s and beyond. The Westinghouse program has the objective of developing the conceptual design of a greatly simplified 600 MWe pressurized water reactor plant with major improvements in safety, licensing certainty, life cycle cost, and construction schedule. One of the major tasks of the program is the development of an optimized plant arrangement and construction approach using modular construction to assist in achieving a short construction schedule and cost-effective plant configuration. Although the finite effect of modularization has yet to be tested in the dynamics of the erection of a commercial nuclear power plant, we feel that there is sufficient evidence from experience in other major manufacturing areas to warrant its application to future construction programs. In order to focus on the potential for modular construction, we will first review its evolution from marine construction into the industrial arena. Shipyards are ideally suited for diversification into modular construction of industrial, commercial and utility facilities. Our large inventory of heavy materials handling equipment contributes significantly to the efficiency of the fabrication operation. This coupled with automated materials preparation facilities, allow major projects to be constructed in a manufacturing environment. Major shipyards have the sophisticated infrastructure, and the flexibility of its application, needed to support the manufacture of single modules or large complex systems with comparable efficiency. We will give you a brief history on the evolution of modular construction as applied to major construction projects. While many of the illustrations will naturally be associated with the activities of Avondale Industries, they are also representative of other major manufacturing organizations. Prefabrication, or modularization, has been practiced for many decades by the marine construction industry. The WWII Liberty Ships are a prime example. Non-marine modules also have a long history. The latter were primarily prompted by remote sites, with attended shortage of skilled labor or hostile environmental conditions, and historically associated with the oil or petrochemical industry. Avondale Industries employs a comprehensive system of modular construction to build its projects. In general terms, this means that large projects are subdivided into efficiently managed sizes. These subdivisions, or modules, are designed, fabricated and managed as 'zones.' Our approach is not merely the structural design and construction of discrete modules. It is a comprehensive construction management system that begins in the planning, design and engineering phases and carries through into material procurement, zone outfitting, site erection, start-up, operation and maintenance. A key element of the planning and design functions is the emphasis on constructability. We employ production lanes, or areas, whe re the various fabrication activities are performed on the zones. Unlike traditional field construction, we take the work to the workers, not the workers to the work. A typical ship might have 150-200 zones. The application of the marine building procedures to non-ship projects was a logical evolution. For example, a major ship requires upwards of 300,000 individual items of material and equipment t be in the right place, at the right time and of the right specification and design in order to expeditiously complete a project. A modem container ship will require about 10,000 pipe spools, 350,000 feet of electrical cable, and 2200 drawings. The fundamental steps in the fabrication process are essentially the same for marine vessels and industrial facilities. Instead of transporting the outfitted zones several hundred yards, or up to a few miles, for incorporation into a ship, the zones may be shipped thousands of miles to the permanent pant or facility site. The size and dimension of the transportable zones is a function of the plant site location. Sites accessible by navigable water systems can incorporate large outfitted zones. The following are a series of slides which illustrate some of the studies and projects utilizing modular construction. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1990}
month = {Jul}
}