Severn power station, Gwent

Pumped concrete

Sika worked closely with Hanson Concrete to supply 25,000 cubic metres of high workability concrete to a new £450 million natural gas power station that has recently been built at the mouth of the River Usk, near Newport in Gwent. The new 840MW CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) plant was designed, built and commissioned by Siemens AG and Siemens plc for DONG Energy on the site of the former Uskmouth coal‑fired power station, and stands adjacent to the existing 350MW Uskmouth Power Plant on the bank of the River Usk.

As a high percentage of the concrete was pumped into place during construction of the project, a good workability retention was required. A quality mix design was essential so that the concrete could be pumped without segregation or blocking of the lines.

For this reason Sika® ViscoCrete® 20RM liquid admixture was incorporated in the mix design. This unique product gives the advantage of high water reduction with correspondingly high strength and density, coupled with extended workability, improved flow, reduced shrinkage and fast strength development. It meets the requirement of BS EN 934 Part 2.

Hanson Concrete supplied this high performance concrete from its purpose built, on-site batching plant.

The new facility is a state of the art CCGT, aimed at running with maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness, whilst creating minimum impact on the local environment and reducing atmospheric emissions. The plant opened in 2010, employing 40 workers.