Situation

• Ellis received an inquiry from a customer who was contracted to install cables in a trench at the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station.

• The project demanded the cables being installed into a snake configuration within a concrete trough.

Solution

• Ellis initiated the solution by modelling the trough and calculating the necessary forces required to bend the cable.

• Various solutions were investigated including air bags, for ease of use.

• The final solution relied on utilising an off-the-shelf ram and hydraulic pump, coupled with a CNC machined aluminium base and a customised Ellis aluminium profile designed to support the cables.

• Given the project’s tight timelines, the incorporation of off-the-shelf components, coupled with Ellis’s in-house design and CNC capabilities, proved indispensable.