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Category 3: Industrial Buildings and Plants
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Contact
Tomfei Hainga, Michel Capron,
Patrick Heck
Address Avenue de cour, 61
1001 Lausanne, Switzerland
Website
BG is a Swiss engineering consulting company with an international
outlook, which focusses on providing its clients with cutting-edge solutions
for the development of a sustainable world. Its expertise covers various
areas ranging from infrastructure, environment, and construction to
energy, with particular focus on water and transportation. The BG Group
currently employs over 600 people in Switzerland, France and Algeria.
Founded in 1954, the BG Group celebrated its 60th anniversary last year
with a new visual identity.
Owner
Nant de Drance SA
Architect
Nunatak sàrl
General Contractor
GMI (Groupement Marti – Implénia)
Engineering Office
BG Consulting Engineers SA
Construction Period 2011 - 2017
The Nant de Drance pumped storage project is a hydroelectric power
facility in Switzerland with a capacity of 900 MW. By 2019, it is forecast
that this facility will produce 2500 GWh of peak energy per year. At
184 m long, 32 m wide and 52 m high, the main transformer cavern is a
reinforced concrete structure, excavated in the rock.
The first challenge was to identify the risk scenarios and the limit states,
by analysing the cavern stability and the surrounding rock mass.
The second was to reproduce the complex electromechanical forces in the
model and apply them to the structure.
The third was to respect the very strict deformation and stiffness criteria,
which were imposed by the manufacturer.
It was necessary to create several calculation models to analyze all these
constraints. The 3D model provides an indication of the general behaviour
of the structure and its reinforcement. Nonlinear calculation allows the
cavern walls to be designed and reinforced. Multimodal calculation
and time domain dynamic analysis allow us to understand the overall
behaviour of the structure with regard to risks linked to operation of the
machines. This publication addresses the analysis and design of the
underground cavern structure in Nant de Drance project, by taking full
advantage of the potential of SCIA Engineer numerical tool.
Nant de Drance - Chamonix Aiguilles Rouges Massif, Switzerland
SE
BG Ingénieurs Conseils
