Custom door assemblies keep nuclear power station operational

Verotec has supplied custom door assemblies based on a standard IMRAK glass door to the Hartlepool AGR nuclear power station to enable the facility to continue operating.

Back in the 1980s, contract manufacturer Intercole installed, amongst other equipment, 22 now long-obsolete 600mm wide 42U high cabinets at the Hartlepool AGR nuclear power station.



Data monitoring modules

The cabinets house many thousands of data monitoring modules that constantly provide critical information to the station’s control systems.

Over the years, Intercole has replaced individual modules with upgraded units, many of which feature front fibre and copper cable entry instead of rear cable access.

The additional depth required in front of the panel mountings meant that the cabinet doors could no longer be fully closed, creating a potential operational safety hazard as unauthorised access to the equipment could not be prevented.

The critical nature of the housed equipment, the unacceptable downtime and the logistics of disconnecting the thousands of plant signals made it impossible for Intercole simply to replace the cabinets with a more modern alternative such as Verotec’s highly configurable and versatile IMRAK that would have been an excellent choice.

Instead, Verotec designed and manufactured 50mm deep steel frames fitted with standard 39U IMRAK glass doors to give the additional space required; a 1U ventilation panel at the top and a 2U one below the door complete the simple but very effective solution.

The new door assemblies have been fitted without having to interrupt the operation of the equipment in the rack, preserving the power station’s operational status.