Optimisation of large concrete DfMA structures for the Nuclear Industry

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The overall aim of the project proposed is to optimise the design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) of largepreassembled components for reinforced concrete construction in nuclear and other large construction projects. To bringthese benefits and capability to the UK nuclear construction supply chain, and to establish a world-leading capability, theproject will verify the reliability of preassembled structural components currently available in the UK and develop new onesthat meet the stringent design and assembly requirements of the nuclear environment. The project team includes LaingO'Rourke (a current nuclear new build constructor), Imperial College London (expertise in optimisation, logistics andintelligent transport systems), ARUP (expertise in the design of new nuclear power plants) and BRE (capability of testingprototype designs).The project will explore the potential of a number of construction approaches, consisting of a range of elemental sizes andjointing techniques, for both sub- and super-structure applications in nuclear construction. Key considerations for researchare the structural performance of such systems and joints, their reliability, and innovation with regards to associatedmanufacturing and assembly techniques. Therefore, the project consists of six main sub-projects as follows:1) Design of large underground components,2) Design of large superstructure components,3) Joint small scale reliability,4) Reliability assessment of systems,5) Optimisation and automation of manufacturing techniques and6) Optimisation and automation of assembly techniques.The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London will lead research in the optimisation andautomation of assembly techniques. The use of preassembled components in nuclear construction presents a significantopportunity to apply this expertise in the construction sector. The combination of these technologies will allow the industryto rethink and streamline the entire design and assembly process in nuclear plant construction and beyond.The aim of the research carried out at Imperial will be to address the difficulties in handling larger-than-usual constructioncomponents as well as taking advantage of their prefabricated nature. The three key quantities to be determined will be thenumber, size and location of tower cranes to be used in the construction process, with each combination having directconsequences on the overall layout of the construction site and the rate at which the assembly process is accomplished.As the scale of preassembled components that will be considered can vary significantly (with weights between 20 and1000t) a variety of scenarios will be considered.The optimisation models and solution approaches to be developed will seek to balance overall transport and handling costsagainst the speed of construction, while ensuring that safety and other operational constraints are satisfied. The modelsand solutions will be tested through the use of simulation informed with real data and provide feedback to the partiesresponsible for the design of the components used, in an iterative approach that will ensure that the overall design andconstruction process will be able to extract the maximum benefit from the use of preassembly.