This section deals with aspects of building design execution which are specific to nuclear power plants, first looking back at the building of more recent nuclear power plants in Germany, which were built in the 1980s. We will also look at experience and current developments in constructing the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) power plant in Finland.

3.2.4 Site installations

Construction sites for nuclear power plants are some of the largest construction sites there are, employing several thousand people.

A section from the site installation plan for KRB II Gundremmingen can be seen in Figure 4.13. Apart from the site management and workshop buildings, the infra­structure is particularly important: barracks, a canteen to cater for the workers, utility and disposal lines and parking places must be designed and installed.

With the OL3 project, building the nuclear islands took 13 tower cranes at times, a stationary Demag PC 9600 crane with a capacity of 1000 t to install the steel components of the safety containment, plus mobile cranes to lift in the equipment

© Site management © Accommodation (D Sanitary facilities (4) Workshops © Stores

© Subcontractors’ workshops (7) Canteen © Parking spaces © Barracks

© Caravan park with sanitary facilities and parking spaces

IB Staff buildings [ZD Site management CZD Workshops and stores IB subcontractors Bi Power plant buildings

Fig. 4.13 Section of site installations plan KRB II Gundremmingen [17]

to be used. Three of the tower cranes, two of them inside the reactor building, could not be supplied directly, but had to be served by other cranes (Figure 4.14).

An anti-crane collision system was used at OL3 which analysed where crabs, out­riggers and counterweights were and, if need be, restricted adjacent crane movements to prevent them colliding.

The crane layout selected allows all cranes to rotate freely with the crabs run in, at times when they were not in use, such as on rest days or in strong winds.