Stainless UK have supplied over 200 stainless steel ribbed bars to SES Contracting for use in the latest phase of a rock bolt renewal programme at Dinorwig Power Station in North Wales.

Dinorwig Power Station was opened in 1984 and remains the largest pumped storage power station in Europe. The power station itself is located inside a mountain with lakes above and below it. It is used to provide almost instant power for the National Grid at times when demand suddenly increases or there is a loss of power from other stations. At such times the gates holding back the water in the top lake are opened and the water passes through the 6 generating turbines housed in the mountain and then on into the bottom lake.

The generating turbines are located in an enormous cavern within the mountain and are serviced by a 16km network of tunnels. As part of an ongoing programme to maintain the stability of the bare bedrock in the tunnels, Stainless UK manufactured 25mm diameter ribbed bars with threaded ends in lengths of up to 6m for use as rock bolts. The duplex stainless steel bars were resin fixed into holes drilled into the rock and then tensioned using a 15mm thick stainless steel end plate.

Stainless UK are specialists in the manufacture of stainless steel rock bolts and have supplied a number of similar applications to this including Lochay hydro electric power station in Scotland.