Design and Construction Considerations for Flexible Laboratory Facilities that Include High-Radiation Environments
Randy Bohachek, P.E., Battelle Energy Alliance
Larry VanHouten, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
During this presentation, the speakers will describe the design and construction of the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This new laboratory will perform research on radioactive material using instruments that are sensitive to vibration, temperature, and electromagnetic interference. The facility will be flexible and reconfigurable to accommodate the broad range of research instruments that it will house now and in the future.
IMCL will be a Hazard Category 2 nuclear facility, the most demanding nuclear safety standard for a nuclear facility, short of a nuclear reactor facility. Samples will have a high degree of radioactivity, requiring robust controls to prevent exposure to radiation for workers and the public.
The facility will contain modular "hot cells," structures that shield workers from radiation and contain the radioactive material from spreading. This modularity maintains flexibility for future missions. Building design required accommodating future unknown missions with an open floor plan, conservative floor loads, and multiple connections to building systems such as ventilation ducts and power.
Budget constraints demanded cost certainty, minimization of the construction period and the associated construction management costs, and integration of design with construction. This resulted in the use of a construction-management-at-risk type of construction contract that allowed the constructor to be selected before design was complete to provide design input. Construction began before design was finalized to minimize the construction period. This fast-track approach to design and construction was accomplished using INL's in-house design team, working closely with the constructor to complete the project under budget and ahead of schedule.
A key design requirement was to minimize vibration that could affect the highly sensitive research equipment. Given the building site's location, the approach to vibration control developed by the project's vibration specialist was to place vibration-sensitive research instruments on the monolithic floor slab. Vibrating research equipment, such as chillers and pumps, are placed on vibration isolation pads cast into the floor in the form of a slab riding on elastomeric pucks that absorb the vibration before it can reach the main floor slab. The facility's building systems, such as the ventilation blowers, are located in the Support Wing, a structure adjacent to, but structurally isolated from, the Laboratory Wing, thus isolating the Laboratory Wing from this source of vibration.
Biographies:
Randy Bohachek is the project manager for design and construction of IMCL. He has led the effort from conceptual design and will close out the project this fall. A registered professional civil engineer, Mr. Bohachek has performed and managed investigations, design, construction, and operations support for more than 30 years. For the past five years, he has managed a variety of projects at INLrelated to nuclear operations including new construction, retrofit of existing facilities, and operational changes to facilities and procedures.
Larry VanHouten offers more than 30 years in the construction industry and with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. A consummate builder, Mr. VanHouten served in multiple roles, from project engineer through project director, growing his expertise in every facet of the construction process on some of the most complex projects in McCarthy Building Companies' history. He honed his skills and knowledge through a diverse portfolio of challenging healthcare, manufacturing, and high-tech laboratory projects for clients such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, INL, Elantas PDG, Inc., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sigma-Aldrich, Monsanto, and various healthcare clients. As director, he led the planning and preconstruction effort, oversaw the project team, managed construction services, and was ultimately responsible for the successful delivery of IMCL in line with its goals, budget, and schedule.