Halifax Fan – new for old nuclear spec. fans a speciality
Nuclear fusion is one of the most promising options for generating large amounts of carbon-free energy in the future. Fusion is the process that heats the Sun and all the other stars in the heavens, where atomic nuclei collide together and release vast amounts of energy. At the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, scientists and engineers are researching and developing fusion technology as the answer to our future energy needs.
Lorne Stewart Engineering, one of the UK’s leading engineering contractors, provides on-site engineering support for the Culham site and when they required a replacement for a nuclear specification extract fan, originally supplied by Matthews and Yates Fans, it was to Halifax Fan of Brighouse they turned.
Halifax Fan has extensive experience of supplying high specification extract fans of all sizes to the nuclear industry globally. Nuclear application fans are manufactured to the most exacting standards as they are required to meet the latest specifications. Gas-tight fans are designed for hazardous nuclear extract ventilation applications and built for use in corrosive, toxic and radioactive ventilation systems, meeting the requirements of the Standards for Ventilation of Radioactive Areas.
The Culham site is run by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and so all equipment must conform to nuclear specifications. As the old Matthews and Yates fan was originally supplied to a nuclear spec, so this replacement workshop extraction fan was ordered to the same specification although fusion energy does not entail the high levels of radiation entailed in fission energy.
Halifax engineers Wayne McKenna and Graeme Mount visited site to inspect the application and take measurements of the old fan with a view to providing the simplest ‘take out – drop in’ solution. This meant selecting an existing Halifax design and customizing it to meet the physical and application needs of the job. The application requirement for pressure of 2000Pa and volume of 1.4m3/s were met by selecting a Beaufort model fan with backward inclined impeller blades, with an impeller speed of 2716 rpm, driven via a Vee belt drive from a 5.5kW 2 pole motor. The specification called for a gas-tight construction although not to any specified standard and the fan set was pressure tested and certified to 4000Pa and endured a 4 hour test run with vibration and seal temperature readings recorded.
Lorne Stewart site engineer Paul Turner remarked that he was delighted with Halifax’s service in every way, from first site visit, prompt delivery and quality. Once delivered to site, the unit was dropped into place as easily as intended and was quickly installed and commissioned.
