NUCLEAR

At PDL we have a long track record of providing professional engineering support to major projects across the three major facets of the Nuclear industry;

1. Nuclear New Build: In addition to the programme at Hinckley Point, PDL support international clients on projects such as the ITER magnetic fusion reactor project in Cadarache, France.
2. Existing Site Life Extension: We at PDL have collaborated with EDF on the AGR fleet which, without intervention, would have been scheduled to close over the nine-year period from 2014 (Heysham 1 and Hartlepool) to 2023 (Heysham 2 and Torness)
3. Existing Site Decommissioning: We have particular expertise working on Decommissioning projects, gained on numerous tasks from the Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (WAGR) through to recent enhancements to Sellafield’s Box Encapsulation facility.

You can be confident that our engineers conform to the required regulatory framework and safety quality principals and are considered ‘suitably qualified and experienced personnel’ (SQEP). They are typically educated to Masters or PhD level; have undertaken continued professional development (CPD) to gain Chartered status; and have also participated in Nuclear specific training, often through our membership of the National Skills Academy Nuclear (NSAN).

You can be confident in our security measures;

• Our engineers and support staff hold SC security clearance,
• we operate a List-N site
• we can work with protectively marked information to ‘Official Sensitive’.

We have participated in the NDA Mentoring Scheme over a two-year period, working with mentors from Mott MacDonald and Jacobs to improve our processes and procedures and ensure alignment with Civil Nuclear expectations.

PDL has developed an extensive network of collaborators from all tiers of the industry and participate in frameworks including;

• Sellafield Limited’s Design Services Alliance (DSA) and
• Infrastructure Strategic Alliance (ISA)
• Dounreay Site Remediation Limited’s Design and Engineering Services Framework.

So, how do PDL support the Civil Nuclear programme, whether that be New Build, Life Extension or Decommissioning?

• We apply a wide variety of analytical techniques — such as FEA and CFD to solve time-dependent (transient) or static problems, possibly encompassing coupled physics such as thermal and structural or thermal plus fluid flow. We can assess your structure, vessel or mechanism to a wide range of codes.
• We help you make and underpin decisions (maybe on which concept to develop) through the application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).
• In addition to technical reporting, we also develop Life-Time Records (LTR) such as PUWER, LOLER and Technical Risk Assessments.

PDL engineers will eliminate your risk, enhance your performance, save you time and reduce your costs. For some examples of the benefits we can bring to your project, please refer to our case studies.

Images ©DSRL and the NDA 2018