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Full Steam ahead for Flamanville 3
EPR turbine island construction

POWER
 .5#,%!2 0/7%2

&ULL STEAM AHEAD FOR &LAMANVILLE 

%02 TURBINE ISLAND CONSTRUCTION
The 1750 MWe ARABELLE™ turbine generator is the world’s largest engine. The first such machine in Europe is
currently under construction at EDF’s Flamanville 3 site. The turbine island at Flamanville 3 has now
progressed from the manufacturing phase to construction, with the focus currently on site work and
installation of major components.
6INCENT *OURDAIN, Performance & Process Director, and 0HILIPPE (ERBAUT,
Project Director, Flamanville 3, Alstom Power Thermal Products, Nuclear

!
s France’s first EPR, EDF’s 1750 ,OCATION OF THE &LAMANVILLE SITE RECENT PHOTOGRAPH
MWe Flamanville 3 unit, currently OF CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY AND PHOTOMONTAGE
under construction on the coast of SHOWING VISUALISATION OF THE COMPLETED UNIT 
Normandy, marks the start of a new PICTURES COURTESY %$&
era for the French nuclear programme – both in
terms of unit size and technology – the EPR
being classified as a “Generation III” reactor,
which is advanced but also evolutionary.
Similarly, the turbine island is an evolutionary
solution that builds very firmly on experience
amassed with the country’s 58 existing
pressurised water reactors and also with
exported plants. Areva is providing the
Flamanville 3 nuclear steam supply system,
which is designed to provide over 9000 t/h of
saturated steam at a pressure of 75 bar and a
temperature of 290°C to the steam turbine.
Alstom’s role, under a contract awarded in
September 2006, is to convert this vast quantity
of wet steam into electricity in the most effective
way possible, achieving a thermal cycle
efficiency in excess of 38%. The Alstom scope
of supply includes engineering, manufacturing
and procurement, construction and
commissioning of the steam turbine,
turbogenerator, condenser, moisture separator
reheaters, feedwater heaters, deaerator,
condensate extraction pumps, cooling water
circulating pumps, plus auxiliary equipment such
as the turbine bypass system, compressed air
distribution system and busbars.
Alstom has in fact over the years provided the
steam turbines, turbogenerators, condensers and Also, in a departure from previous French
moisture separator reheaters for all the French PWR practice, it will use vertical moisture
operating nuclear plants to date, and has also separator reheaters, as specified by EDF in its
supplied a large proportion of the other main request for proposals.
equipment, such as circulating water pumps and
condensate extraction pumps, boiler feed water 4HE !2!"%,,%» TURBINE
pumps with associated drives, emergency diesel The design of the 1750 MWe ARABELLE™
generators, etc. steam turbine for Flamanville 3 builds on
But Flamanville 3, with a turbogenerator rated experience with EDF’s four 1550 MWe
at 2000 MVA, represents a significant scaling up ARABELLE™ units currently operating in
over what has gone before, and indeed when it France. These machines, two each at the Chooz
enters service, currently expected in 2012, it will B and Civaux N4 plants, have been running for manufacturers were limiting their ambitions in
be the world’s largest power generating unit over ten years and already set the record for the the face of bleak commercial prospects for
(although the Taishan 1 and 2 EPRs currently largest steam turbines in service. nuclear power.
under construction in China – and due to enter The Arabelle concept, initially introduced at Unique among large nuclear steam turbines,
commercial service in 2013 – are also based on the end of the eighties, was to deliver higher the ARABELLE™ architecture employs single
Alstom steam turbine technology and might efficiency, reduced investment costs for the flow HP and IP sections, contained in a
subsequently take the lead by a short head due to turbine hall, reduced maintenance, and combined HP/IP casing to reduce overall length
a slightly higher reactor rating). maximum reliability. With the support and (with, in the case of Flamanville 3, about 1100
Flamanville 3 will incorporate the longest last encouragement of EDF, ARABELLE™ was MWe produced from a 13 stage rotor weighing
stage blade ever made by Alstom. developed at a time when most turbine just 140 t, in a HP/IP module weighing around
.5#,%!2 0/7%2

600 t). The combined HP/IP casing is similar to

those sometimes used in fossil fired
applications except for its much larger size
(bearing in mind that a saturated nuclear steam
turbine needs to accommodate an inlet volume
flow about five times bigger than a coal unit of
equivalent power because of the much lower
steam pressures and temperatures). In the
ARABELLE™ concept, the incoming main
steam expands in the single flow HP section and
is then fed to the moisture separator reheaters
(MSRs), where it is superheated in two stages,
using a derivation of the main steam and an
extraction from the HP. The superheated steam
is then expanded in the single flow IP cylinder
of the turbine. This IP section is a key
distinguishing feature of ARABELLE™ (see
diagram, bottom left).
Previous-generation nuclear steam turbines
&LAMANVILLE  NUCLEAR STEAM SUPPLY SYSTEM typically have a two-flow HP turbine plus two
PLUS TURBINE ISLAND IMAGE COURTESY %$& or three two-flow LP sections, in which the IP
expansion is accommodated. After expansion in
the HP turbine, the steam typically enters the
MSRs, where it is dried and superheated by a
derivation of the main steam and then fed to the
LP turbines for final expansion down to the
condenser pressure. ARABELLE™ is the only
large nuclear turbine that has a separate single
flow IP section, with the steam flow split for
multiple expansion in the LP sections done at a
pressure about three times lower than previous
generation machines.
The maximal use of single flow expansion,
from 75 bar down to 3 bar, accounting for 60%
of the total expansion, is a major contributor to
the overall high efficiency. Single flow is
inherently highly efficient because of the
reduction in the effect of secondary losses that
develop at blade roots (eg due to turbulence)
and tips (eg due to leakage) in the steam path.
Basically, the significance of “border effects”
is reduced because a greater proportion of the
expansion is achieved with longer blades,
which have a higher aspect ratio (=
4URBINE ISLAND CUTAWAY height/width), see diagram below.
ARABELLE™ now comes in two sizes for
both 50 Hz and 60 Hz grids, a 1700 MWe class
machine and a 1000 MWe version. As well as
#OMPARISON OF !2!"%,,%» CONFIGURATION WITH PREVIOUS CONFIGURATION 6ERTICAL -32S ARE being used at Flamanville 3, the 1700 MWe
REPRESENTED HERE AS AT &LAMANVILLE BUT PREVIOUS !2!"%,,%» PROJECTS HAVE EMPLOYED version is to being deployed at Taishan 1 and
HORIZONTAL -32S 2 in China (the latter employing a shorter last
stage blade, with smaller LP exhaust area,
-32 !2!"%,,%4- reflecting warmer average cooling water
CONFIGURATION temperatures than in Normandy), and is
selected for the EPR projects in the USA,
starting with Calvert Cliffs 3. The 1000 MWe
version has been adopted by China for its
(0 )0 ,0  ,0  ,0 
CPR1000 projects (an indigenised version of

0LOT OF STAGE EFFICIENCY VS TURBINE BLADE

ASPECT RATIO

-ULTIPLE FLOWS
-32
(IGH TIP LEAKAGE LOSSES
(IGH ENDWALL LOSSES
&ORMER
-32
CONFIGURATION 3INGLE FLOW
3TAGE EFFICIENCY

,OW TIP LEAKAGE LOSSES

,OW ENDWALL LOSSES

(0 & ,0  ,0  ,0 
(EIGHT

"LADE ASPECT RATIO

 (EIGHTWIDTH
-32
7IDTH
   "LADE ASPECT RATIO
 .5#,%!2 0/7%2

,AST STAGE BLADE

3CHEMATIC OF TURBINE ISLAND

and now made possible by modern This is one more stage of reheat than in
manufacturing techniques. previous-generation plants. In addition,
The Flamanville site is fairly good in terms of forward recovery pumping of condensate of LP
seawater cooling water temperature, with a heaters is used to significantly increase the
resulting condenser pressure of 46 mbar. The plant net output. Both these modifications have
large LP exhaust area at Flamanville is designed a measurable impact on the plant output.
to make maximum use of this by minimising the
the French-supplied Daya Bay 900 MWe velocity of the exhaust steam and thus the kinetic 7ELDED ROTORS
PWRs) under construction at: Ling Ao 3 and 4 energy losses. Kinetic energy of the exhaust Use of welded rotors, as opposed to mono bloc
(Phase 2); Hongyanhe 1-4; Ningde 1-4; steam can represent several percentage points of solid rotors, is a well established feature of
Fangjiashan 1 and 2; and Fuqing 1-4. turbine power, and its reduction is highly Alstom turbines (both gas and steam), developed
beneficial to the project. over the last 80 years.
,AST STAGE BLADE ,3" AND The rotor is made up of smaller forgings. For
CONDENSER PRESSURE -32 AND FEEDWATER HEATING very large rotors as required in nuclear turbines,
Also contributing to high efficiency is the large Further significant performance benefits derive it allows better control of material properties.
LP exhaust area, 155 m2 at Flamanville 3, taking from the use of two-stage moisture separator Because of the reduced stress compared with the
maximum benefit of Alstom’s longest ever last reheating, as well as from improvements to the shrunk on disk design, steel with lower yield
stage blades (1.75 m). feedwater heating systems. strength can be selected allowing better resistance
The Alstom LSB design features an integral With the two-stage moisture separator to stress corrosion cracking while achieving the
snubber to ensure reliability and a curvilinear fir reheater, for a given final reheat temperature, properties required for the disks supporting the
tree attachment, providing easier access for only half the live steam flow is used compared last stage blades. Ultra large forgings can be a very
inspection. with a single stage reheater. This replacement significant bottleneck in the supply chain for
Thanks to the vibration control provided by of main steam by already partly expanded HP nuclear plant, whereas smaller forgings can be
the snubber connection between blades, this extraction steam provides a very valuable cycle sourced from a larger number of suppliers.
type of blade provides the benefit of a reduced efficiency benefit. As already noted, the MSRs
weight – around 80 kg – compared with free at Flamanville 3 are arranged vertically, a )MPROVED EASE OF MAINTENANCE
standing blades. To achieve the required departure from previous practice at French As already noted, the Flamanville turbine
stiffness free standing blades may end up PWRs, but an arrangement already provided on island includes a number of features aimed at
weighing around four times more than this. other units by Alstom, eg in Germany. facilitating maintenance. For example, the LP
With relatively light, integrally snubbered The feed heater configuration at Flamanville inner casings are independent of the LP exhaust
blades, it is possible to design the bearing 3 is upgraded compared with the previous hoods, allowing LP turbine assembly to be
system so that it can withstand the unbalance generation of nuclear plants, and is in line with independent of the condenser and the shaft-line
created by postulated failure of the LSB. best practice today. There are seven stages of to be aligned without exhaust hood
Meeting this design criterion is not really feedwater heating: four LP heaters (fed from dismantling. In addition having the IP/LP pipe
feasible with significantly heavier blades. extractions in the LP section, an extraction work below the turbine table improves access
Aerodynamic design is also optimised and from the IP section, and the IP exhaust); the for LP module maintenance.
the last stages benefit from the 3D profiles deaerator (fed from HP exhaust); and two HP The separate IP expansion also brings
developed by advanced computer modelling, heaters (fed from extractions in the HP section). maintenance benefits.

#OMPARISON OF !2!"%,,%4-  (0)0 WITH THAT OF PREVIOUS !2!"%,,%4- .  SHOWING EXTRA EXTRACTION ON THE )0 4HE TURBOGENERATOR
The Flamanville 3 turbogenerator is a GIGATOP
4-pole machine, with hydrogen-cooling of the
stator, rotor and the static parts and water-cooling
of the stator winding. Features and benefits include:
• Stainless-steel cooling tubes for direct cooling
of the stator bars. The corrosion resistance of
stainless steel avoids clogging of the cooling
tubes, losses are minimised and efficiency
enhanced. The electrical and cooling circuits
. !2!"%,,%4- SIX EXTRACTIONS !2!"%,,%4-  SEVEN EXTRACTIONS are kept separate, further improving
n  (0 EXTRACTIONS   EXHAUST n  (0 EXTRACTIONS   EXHAUST reliability. Over the past 35 years Alstom
n  EXTRACTION AT THE )0 EXHAUST n  )0 EXTRACTION   EXHAUST
n  ,0 EXTRACTIONS n  ,0 EXTRACTIONS stainless-steel cooling tube technology has
demonstrated excellent reliability in operation.
.5#,%!2 0/7%2

0HOTO BY %RIC ,AMPERTI

• Direct hydrogen cooling of the rotor provides a ,0 ROTORS DURING
nearly uniform temperature all along the rotor MANUFACTURE AT "ELFORT
body, minimising the risk of thermal unbalance.
• Triple-circuit hydrogen sealing system for very
low hydrogen consumption with high and constant #IRCULATING WATER AND CONDENSATE efficiency. The barrel is installed in a concrete
hydrogen purity and generator efficiency (a well- EXTRACTION PUMPS pit below the condenser level and operates
referenced technology on large fossil fired plants). The Flamanville 3 design includes 2 x 50% under condenser pressure.
• Stator end-winding support structure design that circulating water pump sets for main unit The double suction is located at the very
reduces maintenance effort and contributes to high cooling, each providing 110 000 m3/h with 15.4 bottom of the pump in order to operate under
availability. It can be readily re-tightened during m head. These pumps are of the concrete volute the best possible NPSH (net positive suction
a major overhaul, facilitating maintenance. type. They rotate at 151 rpm, and operate with head) conditions. The suction impeller has been
• Ease of inspection and maintenance, with inner an efficiency of 91.5%. designed and tested to ensure the lowest
components designed to be easily accessible. Concrete volute pumps have a number of required NPSH at all operating points, while
The rotor can, for example, be removed, advantages over conventional, full-metal, the pressure stages are located as close as
without disassembling the end casing. pumps, including long life, best resistance to possible to the pump discharge head.
• Brushless excitation, further reducing corrosion, reduced noise and vibration, The electric motor, which has its own
maintenance requirements and contributing to together with minimum maintenance. The thrust-bearing device, is located on a separate
compactness. And last but not least, casing (volute) and suction duct are made of civil structure to avoid interactions with the
• Ease of transport. standard reinforced concrete, with a very robust pump itself, and to minimise vibrations.
design against corrosion and abrasion, while Alstom has already supplied more than 200
&LAMANVILLE  TURBINE MAIN DATA good maintainability is assured by employing such Bergeron condensate extraction pumps
a simple vertical shaft “pull-out” design that for nuclear power plant applications
)NSTALLED CAPACITY GROSS -7E  allows critical parts such as the shaft and the worldwide.
4YPE OF TURBINE !2!"%,,%» impeller to be easily removed for maintenance.
4URBINE ARCHITECTURE #OMBINED
With low rotation speeds pressure losses are )NTO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE
reduced and the mass of the concrete structure The engineering phase of the Flamanville 3
(0)0 CASING
provides the pumps with excellent inertia turbine island is completed and manufacturing
  DOUBLE
properties – all contributing to high efficiency, is almost finished.
FLOW ,0
sustained over the whole machine lifetime. The turbine island erection phase started in
4URBINE BLADING TECHNOLOGY )MPULSE The volute and suction line, both integrated September 2009 and equipment already on site
4URBINE ROTOR TECHNOLOGY 7ELDED into the pumping station civil work, are includes main components for the condenser –
2OTATING SPEED RPM  particularly resistant to corrosion and abrasion which is the first major piece of equipment to
– and even in a seawater environment, as at be installed – such as hot well, neck and tube
,AST STAGE BLADE LENGTH MM  Flamanville, fouling hazards are reduced. bundles. Feedwater tanks, reheaters, HP
,0 EXHAUST AREA M  There is also minimal exposure of metal parts heaters and LP heaters are also now on site.
-AIN STEAM PRESSURE BAR  to water. Turbine island construction is on target to hit
The Flamanville 3 pump sets include a fully its contractual schedule, which calls for the
-AIN STEAM TEMPERATURE ²# 
equipped pull-out section, complete electrical major milestone of turning of the 70 m long
2EHEAT STEAM PRESSURE BAR  motors and gear boxes. The contract scope also shaft line – using the electrical turning gear –
2EHEAT STEAM TEMPERATURE ²#  includes a full set of formworks for the in 2011.
hydraulic concrete forms of both pumps. A key challenge in the manufacturing of
#ONDENSER PRESSURE MBAR 
Alstom has supplied more than 200 Bergeron turbine island components has been to re-
-OISTURE SEPARATOR REHEATERS  X VERTICAL concrete volute pumps for condenser cooling establish a complete supply chain, following a
 STAGE purposes worldwide. long period in Europe without significant
'ENERATOR TYPE AND RATING ')'!4/0 The three 50% condensate extraction pump nuclear power plant orders. This had resulted in
-6!  POLE  sets for Flamanville 3 (two in operation, one in a diminished pool of players, lack of
'ENERATOR COOLING ( AND WATER standby) are also being supplied by Alstom. competition, and high prices, making a global
These Bergeron pumps are of the vertical multi- approach necessary, with the added challenge
'ENERATOR VOLTAGE K6  stage bowl diffuser type, arranged inside a of ensuring that all components were
'ENERATOR POWER FACTOR  suction barrel. They are designed for high manufactured to the relevant European
#IRCULATING WATER PUMPS  X  reliability (with experience at power plant sites standards and required quality. Alstom’s wide
CONCRETE VOLUTE for over 25 years with minimum servicing). The network of dedicated sourcing professionals
#IRCULATING WATER FLOW MS  design is based on double suction impellers, located in traditional supplier markets helped
allowing reduced pump lengths but very high the Flamanville 3 project team to support a
 .5#,%!2 0/7%2

#UTAWAY OF ')'!4/0  POLE TURBOGENERATOR

)LLUSTRATION OF CONCRETE VOLUTE

PUMP SET ARRANGEMENT

global sourcing approach. All suppliers selected making large, heavy rotors makes it one of the This was more due to a scheduling issue than a
adhere to Alstom’s high quality standards world’s key manufacturing sites. The casing quality issue. But there have also been
including in terms of their technical capabilities production line in the workshop was instances where getting sub-suppliers to fully
and EHS aspects. completely renewed in 2002 with three very understand the quality requirements took more
Timely manufacturing of the turbine large machining stations. In fact it has one of effort than had been initially anticipated.
components for Flamanville 3 has involved the world’s largest vertical machining centres, However, the quality management is now in
collaboration among Alstom’s worldwide the VMG 10, which has an 8 m span between place at these locations, and excellent work has
manufacturing sites and its global network of columns and is able to machine the high and been done. This has included qualification
suppliers. No less than 11 countries, including intermediate pressure casings for Flamanville audits to check the quality systems of the
the USA and several in Asia, were involved. As and other EPR projects. suppliers including their technical capabilities
part of this collaboration, a new milling Globalisation brings its challenges, and EHS aspects, as well as continuous checks,
machine was sent from China to Alstom’s particularly when involving sub-contractors. surveillance audits and inspections during
Morelia factory in Mexico, for manufacturing Machining of the 8 m diameter LP inner casing execution.
of the diaphragm with which the for Flamanville 3, for example, proved too time The focus of turbine island activities has now
ARABELLE™ steam turbine is equipped. consuming for the sub-contractor initially moved from manufacturing to construction,
The steam turbine itself is being assembled selected. So to keep things on schedule, Alstom where Alstom is on-site, working alongside its
in the Belfort factory in France. The Belfort eventually had to take this work back into its customer, EDF, to deliver the project to the
workshop has equipment that is among the own facilities, Belfort for the inner casings and required high quality levels, within a
most modern in Europe and its capacity for Karlovac for the associated exhaust structures. demanding schedule. MPS

,0  DIAPHRAGM WITH THE !LSTOM TEAM AT -ORELIA /CTOBER