Salt water, sun, sand, and sea salt air create a corrosive environment attacking a nuclear power plant in South Florida. But fortunately, there are stainless steel laser fused profiles.
Profiles: | Beams, Tees, Angles, Tubing |
Material: | 316/L Stainless Steel |
Execution: | Laser Fused |
Industry: | Structural / Nuclear Plant |
Location: | Homestead, Florida |
Repairing a Nuclear Power Plant
A major South Florida nuclear power plant had many structures that were built with carbon steel. Originally built in the 1970’s, it was exposed years and years to the harsh South Florida elements. Hence, many of these structures became corroded and were in need of repair or replacement.
Our customer, Precision Surveillance Corporation (PSC) out of Illinois, was tasked with completing this project. The nuclear power plant called for over 400 feet of the carbon steel support structure. So originally, PSC planned to sandblast and recoat pipe and cable trays to repair the corroded areas. But the company used their engineering expertise to come up with a better solution. It would be more cost effective and beneficial in the long run to replace the carbon structure with 316/L stainless steel. Known for its corrosion resistance and strength, 316/L stainless steel was the perfect choice to withstand the elements.
The Entire Product Line of Laser Fused Profiles
As one can imagine, a project to replace over 400 feet of a support structure can be quite challenging. But one major challenge was that the structure of the nuclear power plant included many changes in elevation. Therefore, it had many different sizes and special shapes of structural sections needed for the re-build. Because of the size range required in 316/L stainless steel, there was only one choice for material: laser fused stainless steel profiles.
Rebuilding this nuclear power plant was one of our largest projects ever as it included over 30 different line items. We shipped almost every shape available from our laser fused product line including, wide flange stainless steel beams, custom tees, equal and unequal leg angles and square cornered rectangle tubing. Additionally, we made all of these laser fused profiles out of 316/L stainless steel. All in all, we shipped over 120,000 pounds of material to PSC for this nuclear power plant.
Anytime engineers and others have to decide between replacing structures or repairing them, they have to look at the direct costs as well as the life cycle costs. For this project, PSC saved their client millions in repair costs. The reason is simply by replacing the carbon steel structures of the nuclear power plant with 316/L stainless steel. So the client can save millions more in future costs of having to repair and recoat carbon steel. The 316/L stainless steel structure will last for many years and will prevent corrosion and rust.
More from Stainless Structurals
For any corrosive environment, like the one in this application, stainless steel is the best material choice. Depending on the job, one can use 304/L, 316/L as well as duplex stainless steel or many more stainless steel grades. At Stainless Structurals, we can produce all of these grades for our entire product line. Contact us today for your next nuclear power plant or any structural job requiring corrosion resistance.
