Bradwell Nuclear Power Station – FED Retrieval Crane

The decommissioning of a nuclear power station involves numerous processes to extract, package and store radioactive waste materials. At the Bradwell Magnox station, the FED (Fuel Element Debris) waste was identified as a radiological risk and needed to be safely collected and stored. SCX was contracted to design, engineer, build and install a semi-automatic FED Retrieval solution that would perform multiple waste-handling tasks at the Bradwell site.

The Challenge

As part of the decommissioning of Bradwell Nuclear Power Station, a specialist crane solution was required for the extraction, handling, and deposit of FED (Fuel Element Debris).

This included the removal and transport of waste-containing drums, loading of the dissolution vessel, and removal of intermediate-level waste (ILW) from the vessel for export. In addition, the crane should serve multiple additional remote handling operations throughout the facility.

The Solution

SCX designed and manufactured a semi-automatic crane with a safe working load (SWL) of 5t, which is protected by our unique MotoSuiveur load arrest device.

Alongside manual control, the operator can use nineteen pre-determined automatic pathways for the accurate coupling of the crane with each of the various load types, maintaining a high level of safety while ensuring ease of use.

Technical Details

Mechanical modifications

The modified standard hook block features a pintle adaptor, enabling the crane to couple with and lift the drum grab, baskets, and trays
Bullet systems provide independent recovery on cross-travel and long-travel motions
4m/min long-travel speed; 2m/min cross-travel and hoisting speed; plus 0.2m/min manual speed for fine control

Load arrest and recovery

Our MotoSuiveur load arrest device is mounted directly to the drum, providing independent failsafe protection against overload, overspeed and load drop
The MotoSuiveur unit incorporates its own independent hoist recovery drive
A rotary encoder and switch mounted on the unit provides continual feedback on the position of the hoist

Semi-automatic control

A SCADA system is connected to the crane’s PLC over a dedicated communications network, supported by safety interlocks and a hardwired Engineered Protection System
An on-screen menu provides simple selection of required crane sequences
Manual control is used to guide the hook block and pintle to loads that arrive out of position

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Bradwell Nuclear Power Station – FED Retrieval Crane

The Challenge

The Solution

Technical Details

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