Modularization Used to Reduce AP600 Construction Cost

Construction costs of commercial nuclear generating plants must be reduced in order to expand the future use of nuclear energy. Two of the drivers of plant construction costs are the cost of financing during the construction phase and the substantial amount of skilled craft labor hours needed on site during construction. The AP600 technique of modularization of plant construction mitigates against both of these drivers.

Parallel Work Processes in Controlled Environments

AP600 modularization allows many more construction activities to proceed in parallel. This reduces the calendar time for plant construction and thereby reduces the cost of money and the exposure risks associated with plant financing. Secondly, with many more construction activities occurring off-site in factory-type and shipyard environments, the amount of skilled field craft labor needed to complete the plant is reduced. Shop labor costs substantially less than field labor. In addition to the labor cost savings, having more welding and fabrication performed in factory environments increases the quality of the work, increases the flexibility in scheduling, and reduces the amount of specialized tools on site.

Advanced Information Management Techniques To Produce Modularized Plant Design

In order to achieve proper interfaces with the rest of the plant systems and structures, AP600 construction modules are fabricated to more precise tolerances than typical field-run commodities (e.g., piping, duct, raceway) and "stick-built" construction techniques. To produce such designs, advanced computer-based tools and information management techniques are used.

Typical AP600 Piping and Valve Module