The 1,150-MW Fermi 2 Power Plant, located on the shore of Lake Erie, consists of a single operating unit based on the GE boiling water reactor design. The plant entered commercial service in January 1988, making it one of the last nuclear power plants to enter service in the U.S.
Fermi 2 may be young when compared with the other 103 U.S. nuclear plants, but age is relative; upgrades and renovations of operating plants to extend their lives have become the norm. In the case of Fermi 2, during the system analysis conducted as part of the plant’s recent power uprate evaluation, DTE Energy concluded that the plant required upgraded moisture separator reheaters (MSRs). Sounds simple on paper, but removing two 300-ton, 115-foot-long vessels in one piece and replacing them with new MSRs is much more difficult in practice. In fact, it had never been done.
Long-term teams
That Fermi 2would take on this challenge is a testament to a strong partnership. Washington Group International has been providing nuclear support services through an alliance with DTE Energy for more than 15 years. The alliance provides DTE Energy with engineering expertise and construction resources for major capital improvement projects; in return, Washington Group receives incentives for developing unique design solutions that reduce construction costs and for delivering other value enhancements for plant operating improvements.
Scott Reeder, vice president-DTE Alliance for Washington Group, outlined the scope of the arrangement: “Our contract under the alliance ties our financial success to the successful operation of the plant. As a result, our employees have continually demonstrated exceptional ownership of the Fermi plant’s performance results and, together with the employees of Detroit Edison, have demonstrated exceptional teamwork. The planning and execution of the MSR replacement project are evidence of this effective teamwork.”
A team consisting of representatives of the Fermi 2 staff and Washington Group was formed to manage the MSR replacement project upon its approval in January 2003. Pre-outage work at the plant began in September 2005. The MSRs arrived on site in December 2005 (Figure 1) and were lifted to the turbine deck elevation by a heavy-lift tower that spanned the railroad tracks (Figure 2). They then were transferred to the plant by overhead bridge cranes and moved to in-plant staging locations (Figure 3). Outage work began on March 25, 2006, and was completed on May 2. The MSR project was a part of a large refueling outage during which Washington Group undertook a number of other challenging projects.
1. Oversize load. A new moisture separator reheater (MSR) arrived at the project site during freezing winter temperatures. It spanned two rail cars. Courtesy: Dave Mitchell, DTE Energy photographic services
2. Heavy hitter. One of the two new MSRs being lifted to the temporary construction access panel and onto the turbine deck for staging. Courtesy: Dave Mitchell, DTE Energy photographic services
3. Bird’s eye view. The turbine deck with the old moisture separator reheater (far right) and the new MSRs on each side of the generator. Courtesy: Dave Mitchell, DTE Energy photographic services
Weather conditions also presented a challenge. Construction of the heavy lift tower and movement of the vessels occurred in unusually cold and windy conditions, with temperatures in the single digits and the wind chill well below zero.
Email
Comments
Print
Reuse
