PaR Systems Awarded Main Cranes System for Chernobyl NSC Project |
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PaR Systems, Inc.
707 County Rd. E West
Shoreview, MN, 55126-7007
USA
Press release date: June 15, 2010
Saint Paul/Minneapolis, MN (June 15, 2010) - PaR Systems, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Ederer, LLC, have been awarded a multi-million dollar, multi-year subcontract award for the Main Cranes System project by NOVARKA, a French unincorporated joint venture of VINCI CONSTRUCTION GRANDS PROJETS S.A.S and BOUYGUES TRAVAUX PUBLICS S.A. Novarka was awarded the contract in 2007 to provide the New Safe Confinement for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant located in North Central Ukraine. Novarka's contract includes the design, fabrication, and erection of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), which is an arch structure that will be erected adjacent to the destroyed reactor and then slid into position. The NSC environmentally isolates the reactor building and will be used for future clean-up efforts for the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP).
The Main Cranes System (MCS) is being designed, fabricated, and tested by PaR Systems with engineering being performed at Ederer in Seattle, WA, and PaR Systems' Robotics headquarters in Shoreview, MN. Fabrication and assembly will be performed in Shoreview as well as PaR Systems' wholly owned subsidiary Jered LLC in Brunswick, GA. PaR is also responsible for the site supervision of the crane system erection.
The MCS includes two one-of-a-kind overhead bridge cranes, three special trolleys that each have unique functions, and a radio remote control and video monitoring system that allows operation of the cranes system in a radioactive area. The MCS will be erected and operated inside the NSC building that Novarka will build over the top of the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP). The MCS will allow the dismantlement and cleanup of the site in a controlled environment. The NSC is a 200 meter (656 feet) span high-strength steel arch with stainless steel cladding, over 80 meters (262 feet) tall inside, with runways for the MCS arch in its ceiling. The NSC and its MCS are expected to be functional for the entire duration of the cleanup, which may take several decades.
The MCS includes two 50 tonne (55 US tons) trolley hoists that can work in tandem to handle loads up to 100 tonnes (110 US tons), which includes several of the pieces of the "sarcophagus" concrete structure that was built over the site just after the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl accident. The third trolley suspends a Mobile Tool Platform (MTP), which provides the stability and side load capacity of a rigid mast using a wire rope tensile truss based on the RoboCraneŽ technology that was developed at the U.S. National Insitute of Standards and Technology and is licensed to PaR Systems. The MTP can be equipped with a variety of tools for dismantling, demolition, and cleanup, including a robotic manipulator arm, drill, jackhammer, shear, high-power vacuum system, and a radiation-resistant CCTV viewing system.
The MCS bridges are each 96 meters (315 feet) long, and operate along a 150 meter (492 foot) long runway track with six rails. The bridges are a unique combination of top-running wheels used on a suspended structure, which suits the Chernobyl application because it allows heavy loads to be handled, while still allowing each trolley to be driven from the two bridges into shielded "garages" within the building. Using the garages, any of the three trolleys will be capable of being exchanged on and off the two bridges for maintenance and special operations.
PaR Systems is a leader in providing material handling and automation solutions to improve customer quality, safety and productivity. Since 1961, PaR has specialized in the design and supply of remote handling and automated systems for high radiation, high temperature, inert gas, and vacuum operations. Headquartered in Minnesota, PaR Systems serves a broad range of industries including aerospace, defense, food and beverage, hazardous material management, heavy material handling, industrial manufacturing, and life science. For more information on PaR Systems and its companies visit www.par.com.
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