APPLICATIONS

large component removal
NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING

Pacific International Grout Company’s grout experience provides LDCC (low density cellular concrete) preparation and injection for large nuclear component removal. Pacific International Grout Company’s capabilities include development procedures within nuclear protocol regarding personnel, equipment, testing, and document control. Pacific International Grout’s performance regarding LDCC injection of large nuclear components is proven and accepted within the nuclear industry.

These steam generators were successfully filled with the largest volume of LDCC (255 cubic yards) at the lowest density (25 pounds per cubic foot) ever attempted. This was accomplished within the weight restrictions established for these vessels and well within the confines of the ALARA program as defined at the Trojan Nuclear Plant.

Our engineered concretes have the ability to displace water while maintaining density and matrix. Given these performance characteristics, Pacific International Grout Company believes our concrete injection process would perform extremely well where submerged component extraction is required.

Project Example:

K-BASIN GROUTING; Hanford, WA.
Government Agency – U.S. Department of Energy
Contractor – Fluor Hanford to Thompson Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

After retrieval and shipment of spent fuel and fuel sludge from the K-Basins, the next major step is to grout fill the pits and partially grout fill the main basins. This grout fill will provide radiation shielding, immobilize contamination, and add limited stiffness/shape retention for subsequent operations. A team was assembled which included companies with Hanford site knowledge and experience and a highly experienced grouting company, Pacific International Grout Co., that has developed a portable grout mix plant which can deliver a tightly controlled quality grout, pump it through hoses over long distances (5,000+ feet) and has the proven experience of placing 10 to 10,000 cubic yards of grout in a continuous pour. A range of initial grout formulations was selected and bench scale tested to comply with the client’s specifications; density of less than 130 pounds per cubic foot, comprehensive strength of 1,500 psi after 28 day curing. Grout still needed to attain needed characteristics of wet flow and minimum washout. A grout formulation was selected with 105 pounds per cubic foot density and 1,500 psi compressive strength. The 2,500 psi strength specification was not needed and so was lowered. The grout formulation was further adjusted so that the center temperature of a large grout pour during curing does not exceed 2000F. Steam production must be prevented. A 6 foot cubic pour of the adjusted grout mix reached a maximum internal pressure of 190.8 0F. Objectives of this first grouting of the K-East Discharge Chute were to prove: Well controlled grout production and underwater placement = pumped delivery at desired rate, routine startup and shutdown, desired grout quality output from on-site mix plant; Little or no impact on existing radiological conditions above the basin = radiation levels, airborne contamination; Very low impact grout placement = Negligible or no air bubbles released, generation of little or no turbidity, no leaks around edge of barrier doors. Objectives established for grout filling of the K-East Discharge Chute have been fully met. The objectives were the controlled placement of grout with no radiological impacts or incidents.

CONNECTICUT YANKEE ATOMIC POWER COMPANY

Pacific International Grout Company contracted the design, supply, and placement of low to medium density grout into all regions of a large component (Nuclear Reactor Vessel Package) for removal and transfer to depository site. Grouting included the design and placement of specialty formulated grouts to fill vessel cavities heavily burdened with debris and small capillaries where complete encapsulation was mandatory, especially to hold loose rubble in place during transit. Pacific International Grout Company successfully completed this work. There are very few (rare) grout mixes that will flow through small cracks or tubing (dry) without clogging, bleeding, or breaking down. Encapsulation of this sort of void found in complex piping such as boilers and nuclear equipment environmental is difficult, if not impossible, without the knowledge and experience utilizing low density cellular concretes.

Pacific International Grout Company has a vast proprietary library of grout performance data (Trade Secrets) that provide critical data necessary to formulate mixes and equipment configurations necessary to predict and implement successful placement performance in encapsulation grouting. The ability to place stable grout, totally occupying all void space at low pressure (squeezing) is accurately predicted and achieved with the hands-on experience of Pacific International Grout Company’s trained experts. Pacific International Grout Company’s people are a rare group of grouters that can predict what special types of grout can achieve ultimate results in the many adverse environments one might encounter. This knowledge was critical to the success of this project.

At CPP-603 Basin Facility, the many scenarios of encapsulation will require this knowledge and expertise to engineer the right fill for the environment. Successful completion of CPP-603 Basin Facility will depend on experience such that Pacific International Grout Company possesses.

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