Realisation of a BIM model for the dismantling of a nuclear reactor

Project presentation

Following the permanent shutdown of two reactors at a French nuclear power plant, the dismantling operations will start in 2025 at the earliest, after the removal of the spent nuclear fuel.

Decommissioning projects are managed by a dedicated entity of a major nuclear player. It works on decommissioning and radioactive waste management. Part of the decommissioning activities (particularly the construction sites) are entrusted to specialised service providers, under the responsibility of this major nuclear player. All decommissioning operations, as well as operations, are under the permanent and independent control of the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN).

In this context, Assystem was appointed to produce the Building Information Modeling (BIM) model by using 3D point clouds for the reactor. The service is fully in line with the Dismantling Information Model (DIM) project of this client in charge of dismantling projects which implements all the methods and interconnected tools in order to optimise its operation.

Project scope

The mission consists of producing the BIM model of reactor in 9 months, which is part of a DIM approach that covers a data-centric approach integrating editing tools (SolidWorks and REVIT), data storage/sharing/import/export functions and visualization tools (including MySurvey, Navisworks and the 3DExperience from Dassault Systèmes).

The mission required the mobilisation of the following skills and expertise:

Engineering in PWR/Pressurized Water Reactor nuclear systems (process networks, ventilation, electricity) and civil engineering structures (framework, metal works)
Knowledge and mastery of point clouds (E57 format, RCS, FARO scene, Recap pro V6, cloudcompare...)
Revit and Solidworks draftsmen, RFA family modelling, reading of period plans (possibly FARO as-built, Clearedge Edgewise, Autodesk Navisworks, Inventor ...)
BIM manager with skills in REVIT and Navisworks project parameterisation (XML files, DAT, adsklib library, RTE template management, Bimone add-on, Dynamo...)

Bénéfices client

Thanks to the BIM model of the reactor, the client will be able to:

Constitute the global reference data for the identification of premises, waste and radiological zoning
Contribute to the knowledge of the civil engineering of the installation
Contribute to the constitution of the physical inventory
Contribute to the management of electrical and mechanical diagrams
Contribute to the remediation studies
Carry out the final visualisation in the Naviswork software
Ensure the consistency of 1D/2D/3D data (physical inventory, diagrams, plans and 3D model)

The client will thus be able to:

Ensure a better risk assessment thanks to the creation and analysis of several dismantling scenarios for the plant
Ensure better control of costs, deadlines and quality of dismantling
Optimise the constitution of regulatory files