OVERVIEW

Waterford 3 Nuclear Plant was BCP’s first client in 1981 and we continue to enjoy a business relationship for the last 40+ years. Over that time, we have supported Waterford 3 in nearly every aspect of plant operations, outages and capital build projects; and continue to be a trusted partner.

BCP in conjunction with Dassault Systems (DS) assisted Waterford 3 in planning the activities and tasks associated with the replacement of reactor coolant pump motors. These outage related evolutions were simulated in 3D digital space to identify complications and opportunities to enhance and optimize the outage schedule for these activities including but not limited to staging equipment, coordinating lay-down space and properly sequencing activities to minimize bottlenecks, spatial conflicts and other issues associated with working with limited resources in tight quarters.

BCP provided turn-key project management and execution working with other vendors to provide client with an on-time and on-budget project.

CLIENT ISSUE/PROBLEM

Waterford 3 Reactor Coolant Pumps (RCP’s) experienced capability and reliability issues which affect their ability to run through the current life of the plant. Because no Waterford 3 RCP motor had ever been inspected internally for signs of degradation, there was insufficient information to adequately assess motor condition. This resulted in the need to remove and inspection of the RCP motor to better estimate the reliability of the other RCP motors.

SOLUTION

The RCP pumps and motors are located inside a protective concrete structure along with the Steam Generators. These spaces are very tight and required special modeling and simulation to determine the best alternative to determine a method of removal. BCP in conjunction with its partner Dassault Systems (DS) assisted Waterford 3 in planning the activities and tasks associated with the removal of the RCP motor. Using an existing laser scan of the containment, BCP created in conjunction with its technology partner a model of containment, the RCP motor and moving elements including crane model with specifications. BCP developed the simulation sequence and task elements with associated schedule.

CLIENT BENEFITS

Using 3D simulation technology, BCP and its partner, were able to define the load path, locate interferences, and resolve uncertainties related to staging equipment, coordinating lay-down space and properly sequencing activities to minimize bottlenecks, spatial conflicts and other issues associated with working with limited resources in tight quarters. BCP provided these services utilizing turn-key project management and execution working with vendor partner to provide client with anon-time and on-budget project