Framatome has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to rehabilitate buried condenser feed pipes at an unnamed three-unit operating US NPP. Framatome will mitigate more than a mile of large diameter piping running underground to plant condenser boxes using its innovative spray-in-place structural pipe liner solution. The project will be undertaken during nine outages over eight years, with the first application planned or autumn 2025.
Ageing and degradation of buried piping is an industry challenge and their location makes repairs and inspections expensive. Buried pipes and underground components for NPP operations range from just a few inches to more than 10 feet in diameter. Framatome says its spray-in-place liner offers the nuclear industry a safe solution that rehabilitates pipe internals and overcomes cost, safety and outage duration issues.
Working with leading industry partners, Framatome developed an engineered structural spray-in-place liner system to rehabilitate safety-related piping beyond its original 50-year design life and through to the end of plant life. The fast-curing liner, which is delivered remotely using in-pipe robotic crawlers, is sprayed evenly onto the inside of the pipe, becoming the new pipe pressure boundary. The quick-installing system does not require excavation, minimising safety risks, reducing outage durations, and costs. The system has been validated during a two-year testing programme which was completed in 2023.
“Framatome’s teams innovated to adapt an industrial solution and apply it to the nuclear industry in support of our customer’s long-term operational needs and competitiveness,” said Catherine Cornand, senior executive vice president for the Installed Base BU at Framatome. “Now utility customers have access to an innovative, technically advanced, turnkey rehabilitation solution that includes in-depth engineering, manufacturing, application, project management, technical support and OEM experience.”
