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Nuclear and Seismic

Wilde Consulting Engineers have provided design, assessment and analysis services for complex multi disciplinary nuclear safety related projects for over twenty five years. These services have been provided on projects both in the UK and overseas, acting for either Client organisations, design and build contractors or national regulators.

Designs prepared by Wilde Consulting Engineers have been licensed in the UK, USA and Eastern Europe.

Commissions vary from carrying out the analysis and design of an entire facility to providing expert comment on discrete aspects of a project.

Key Skills include:

• Design to national and international standards (BS, ACI, AISC, ASME, DIN, Eurocodes).
• Expert knowledge of extreme loading design for concrete, steel and masonry structures.
• Integrated design and analysis services; seismic, blast, impact, thermal, tornado wind.
• Ground engineering; site response studies, soil structure interaction analyses.
• Ground liquefaction studies and design of mitigation / ground improvement works.
• Assessment of existing structures.
• Peer Review, Independent Nuclear Safety Assessment.

Our Directors and key senior staff had many years of experience working on nuclear projects prior to joining Wilde Consulting Engineers. These were at Sellafield (WVP, MASWEP and THORP) and on nuclear power stations at Heysham II, Hartlepool and Sizewell B.

The case studies below illustrate the depth and extent of our expertise.

 Enquiries

0161 474 7479

Relevant Case Studies...

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Seismic Analysis of PWR Liner

Client: Darchem Engineering Limited
• Finite Element Analysis
• The project was to provide seismic qualification of an insulation system to be installed around a nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) of a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)
• System had to remain fully functional, following the Design Base Earthquake (DBE)
• Displacement values checked to ensure continued functionality of the system post earthquake
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Paks, Hungary – Modular Vault Dry Store

Client: Babcock Nuclear Services
• Seismic analysis and design for reinforced concrete dry store and receipt building
• Design and specification of ground improvement for liquefaction mitigation
• Impact resistant design for cask and fuel module drop load cases
• Preparation of secondary response spectra and relative movement between adjacent structures for fuel handling machine design
• Design to American standards
• Licensed by Hungarian Authorities
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BNFL Technology Centre, Sellafield

Client: AMEC
• Seismic analysis and design of reinforced concrete and steel framed structures (10,000m²)
• Issue of design justification reports for BNFL in house assessment and resolution of resulting comments
• Preparation of secondary response spectra for design of mechanical plant components
• Drop load analyses
• Design of link structure, movement and articulation provision between adjacent separate structures
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British Energy, Independent Nuclear Safety Assessment and Review

Client: British Energy
• Hartlepool and Heysham 1; Boiler Closure Unit Recovery Project. INSA of complex 3D non linear analyses of concrete closure plug subject to elevated temperature and pressure with loss of original prestress loading. DIANA analyses of concrete cracking and creep behaviour
• Dungeness B and Heysham 1; Prestressed concrete pressure vessel. Peer Review of non-linear DIANA analyses of pressure vessel subject to elevated temperature and pressure at fault conditions including concrete cracking and creep behaviour
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Design Review Services at Devonport

Client: UKAEA
• Dock facility independent structural assessment of new upgrade dock structures, dockside cranes, fuel handling facilities for seismic and impact loading. Compliance with Safety Principles and Safety Criteria and NII Safety Assessment Principles
• Research facility at Dounreay; review of justifications for life extensions of existing plant and buildings
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Magnox North; Tender design for dry and wet waste recovery projects

Client: AMEC
• Wet Waste Recovery; tender design for steel framed over building above wet waste buried tanks and concrete enclosure for encapsulation plant
• Dry Waste Recovery; tender design for new reinforced concrete and steel framed structures adjoining dry waste bunker structure to house remotely operated mechanical recovery and handling plant
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Decommissioning of Berkeley CRP Building

Client: Otto Simon
• Design and analysis for modifications for the decommissioning of Berkeley Caesium Removal Plant Project –Sludge & Resin (CRP) building
• Finite element analysis of modified building (with new major door openings) to determine modified response to seismic loading
• Design of required structural strengthening works to allow openings to be formed
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Nuclear Installations Inspectorate; Authorship of Research Papers

Client: NII, Nuclear Energy Agency, International Atomic Energy Agency
• Safety Significance of Near Field Earthquakes; UK representative on international research programme organised by IAEA. Attendance at three international collaborative workshops
• Finite Element Analysis of Ageing Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures in Nuclear Power Plant; authorship of ‘state of the art’ report for NEA
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BNFL, B241 Overbuilding and Services Building, Sellafield

Client: BNFL
• Seismic analysis of steel framed overbuilding to B241 tanks
• Analysis carried out for part erected and fully erected frame to reflect progressive construction as building was slid into position
• Design of temporary works system to allow remote erection prior to sliding building into position
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Nuclear Decommissioning Equipment

Client: AEA Technology
• Finite Element Analysis of remotely operated articulated remote handling equipment
• Seismic qualification for DBE loading
• Multiple load cases to cater for possible articulation and loading conditions
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Fort St Vrain, Colorado, USA – Modular Vault Dry Store

Client: GEC Alsthom
• Seismic analysis and design of reinforced concrete vault structure
• Ground improvement works
• Tornado wind loading and missile impact design
• Licensed by United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)
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UKAEA Dounreay, PFR Decommissioning, Active Effluent Treatment Plant

Client: Alstec
• Design of steel framed enclosure for active effluent treatment plant to adjoin PFR building
• Geotechnical design for 6m deep pit adjacent to PFR existing foundations
• Extreme environmental loading design

More Case Studies...