Modular Design- Where It Fits

Modularization is one way to improve effzciency.

Despite Its relatively high costfor the initial des@,
savings in o@er amas can make
the techniques a cost-effective design strategy.

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WARREN E. HESLER, UNlTED ENGINEERS 8 CONSTRUCTORS, INC.

ONSTRUCTION COSTS
and labor inefficiency are
very serious impediments
to capital investment in
the U.S.process industry.
The Construction Induste (CII) has completed -earch on the subject, and
: its ongoing task forces have made
major efforts to improve this situa. .._..
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tion. Modularization represents one
. . m a j a o u t e to improved effkiency.
3,;:' Many 'azhors claimed savings of 814% as a rcsult of transferring a
' lsrge poriicn of colstruaios maii$-E ' houn from a feld site to a module
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. assembly facility. This significantly
.
reduced lab~r~kosts,
because of improved labor a# efficiency while reducng tiie socioeconomic impact of
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large nui+ers of construCun work.',' . ers descending on a rura1:area.
Mod~1af:fabricationis ilso con. ductea i?.+i all-weather. shop envi,

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combination of repeatability and

size makes the: economic benefits obvious. The only negative factor occurred in a few cases where the
building trade unions objected '
strongly -to units containing any degree of shop fabrication.
Other extreme uses of modules
came about with the discovery and
exploitation of crude oil in remote,
harsh-climate areas such as the
North Slope of Alaska, the North.
Sea, and the far-off-shore reaches of .
, the Gulf cf Mexico. Where water
transpor: can be utilized, xocls!~s
weighing up to 2,000 tons have re-

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refrigeration systems, ni
erators, phosgene gen
ion-exchange systems
quite common. For these units, the

pans, they do represent a major perCHEMICAL

ENCINEERING
PROCRESS

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centage of airrent worldwide chemical plant investment

Batch chemical synthesis plants
normally contain unit operations
such as reactors/columns, quench
tanks, crystallizers, liquid/solid s e p
arators, and driers, and the process
fiows indude feed materials such as
liquids, solvents, and dry materials
as well as transfer Iines and produa
discliarges. Eight utilities are normally required, including steam,
heat-transfer mediums (such as water,hrinelir sm@e-Uuid,&-+
place solutions), air, electricity, nitrogen, HVAC, and instrument leads.
For example. a recent client of
United Engineers & Constructors'
(UE&C) Sterns Catalytic Division
made a corporate decision thai: al1
batch synthesis plahts would be designed on a modular basis. This will

Figure 2. A typical two-unit train.

dimensional CADD, has proven to

be cost effective, mainly in retrieving the "nearest to" design, which
can then be modified to the exact requirement or the most economically
functional alternative.
The aim of modular design is to
reduce the total insralled cost as well
as the length'of the overall projea
schedule. The concept begins with
standardization of design, which involves two prirnary premises:
I . the design'is made as general as
feasible so tiiat minor changes in.raw
,

idly ,advancing,pharmaId,'pfoduceis.,,often

in the plant or from one

plinti'to
?T. ,:. i . anotherjo
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meet product
. . tiii4nges. . .;
:'Med"lai designs of this type have
been 2nd Still could be laboriouslv
produced by means of hand-drawn
orthographics and scale models, a
coitli exercise. The advent of motlern computer-aided drawing and
design (CADD), particularly threeI

Figure 3. Process train installation.

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materials, product specifications, or

plant location will not require major
revisions to the module;
2. standarized specifications and
often equipment suppliers allow for
design repeatability and minirnize
the operational spare parts requirements.
Figure 1 shows a typical reactor
module, and Figure 2 sholvs a typical two-unit train. .A pI'ocess plant of
this type has a series of reactors in a
train arrangement and includes in-repm&ate p r e p tan=,7;ioTddig
tanks, crystallizer vessels, liquidl
solid separation devices (such as
centrifuges or filters), and a product-drying step, which can be fluidbed, tumble-type blender driers.
Solvent recorvery may be included
in the train or performed a t a remote location adjacent to the solvent
tank farm. The process trains can be
installed back to back with a single
utility alley or, alternately, a single
central operational floor with utility
alleys on both sides, as shown in Figure 3.
. One of our clients had chosen a
4 x 4 module layout. These dimensions allow the shipment of a fabricated module if modular construc-,
tion is eventually chosen. The 4 x 4
frame can support the largest shopfabl-icated, glass-lined steel vessel.

Figure 4. Model of the overoll plont.

Figure 5. Electrolytic cell suppor stncture.

Each module is self-supporting and nections at the module edge.

however, has both positive and negconsequently removable if one mod3. instrurnentation should be in- ative factors. The positive factors inular unit in a train must be replaced stalled with local panels provided clude instant design recall, e r r o r
by another.
where necessary and remote pneu- eiimination, building design cost reBecause utility and process con- matic electrical signals supplied to duction, standardization for multinections are always at the same ele- junction boxes.
ple plants, design optimization, provation, these changes can be made
4. electrical starter boxes should curement savings, a n d schedule
within a given plant or between be installed within the module for reduction. The cost of the first proplants in remote locations. Because the motor drives.
ject and space utilization. represent
there are usually no ries from equip5. al1 steel work, including access the negative factors.
ment support to the building, the platforms, should be preassembled.
T h e most important negative facbuilding design is greatly simplified
6 . insulating and painting equip tor is the cost of the first design efsince it must only support itself, ment a n d materials should be fort, which can be 50-60% more
sno\\-,and wind loadings.
planned as far in advance as practi- than conventional design, particuDesign consideration should al- cal.
larly if the job is done well. ThiS, of
ways be given to the possibility of
7. al1 compbnents should be course, is only 5 0 4 0 % more or 12%
modular construction in light of the checked and rechecked for mainte- of the total installed cost. While not
following criteria:
an insignificant sum, it is hardly an
nance accessibility.
1. major equipment should be in8. the complete module should be exorbitant price for the resulting
stalled complete with internals pressure tested when possible, and benefit in maintenance and spare
!\.here possible.
running tests should be carried out parts inventory. When more than
2. al1 piping should be installed before shipment.
one plant is contemplated, the rewithin the module \\.ith flanged conThe engineering module concept, trievability of the CADD design and
specification definitely reduces the

Figure 6. Tha conpleted rnernbrane chlaralkali facility.

tioned, $us other offshore pi-ojects,

Figure 7. Barge movement of o large module.

should be evaluated for their modularized construction potential, and

this should be done before any commitments are made. Not every project has the same-potential for cost
and schedule savings through modularization. Modular construction
also has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are
constructibility in remote or
hostile environments,
schedule,
field labor savings,
quality,
productivity,
field management savings, and
testinglrun in.
The negatives include its
COSt,
shipping constrainrs,
union acceptance,
transporter design, and
al1 eggs-in-one-basket a p proach.
Some recent examples of rrrodular
design and construction are given in
the following subsections.
Membrane chloralkali facility in
Norway. The ICI FM-2 1 membrane
cell technology lends itself to modular design because the size of each
electrolyzer is relatively small. A
plant was recently designed and
built in Norway based on this concept. Figure 4 is an overall model of
the plant, the electrolytic cell support structure fabricated in Great
Britain for shipment to Norway is
shown in Figure 5 , and the completed plant is shown in Figure 6.
Conventional field-erected plant

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Figure S. A model built during the study.

project xhedules would incorporate

five months of home-office design
and an overlapping 11 months for
the manufacture and delivery of
equipment. Another two months
would be required for the completion of construction, resulting in a
total schedule of 18 months, including a commissioning period. Alternatively, a modular plant schedule
would include less time for home-office design because the modules are
predesigned. A shorter manufacturing period ,because of the improved
fabrication environment and a much
shorter time for site work yields a total schedule of 12 months, including
commissioning. The total cost savings are approximately 15%. This
consists of savings in home-office
costs and site construction labor.
Alaska, North Slope. Figure 7 is a
photograph of a barge under tow
with one of the larger modules destined'for the Kaparuk field of
ARCO. These barges were fabricated in the Pacific Northwest from
designs developed in UE&C's Den-.
ver office. The studies included extremely detailed scale models of the
modules that were shipped to a fabrication p r d on the West Coast.
Constructing a conventional fielderected plant would take f o u r
months longer. The modular plant
project schedule requires two additional months for site preparation.
The net time saved is at least four
months.
Modularization of power plants.
Severa1 years ago, the Power Divi-

sion of UE&C invested a l a r g e

. amount in the design of a 350-MW

modular power plant fired by fossil

fuel. The U.S. utility industry exhibited much interest in the concept,
and a sale was almost immediately
made to a major midwest utility. Unfortunately, after additional demand
studies, it was found that the capacity was not required in the near fu- .
ture and the project was canceled.
Because major power plants are
usually "vertical" in configuration,
: the modular concept, which is much
more adaptable to a "horizontal"
configuration, presents considerable
design challenges, not only to o u r
group but also to potential major
equipment suppliers.
One of the principal advantages ,,
of modularizing a major power '1
plant involves the schedu1e:Unlike
chemical plants; which can.'be designed and buiit in a two- to threeyear cycle, major power plants require five to six years because of a
variety of factors, including permitting and the design of major:.components such as t h e combustion
unit, turbine .generator, and .al1 of
the major ancillary equipment;
U.S. power demand is again showing an upward trend that, fn the
short term, will: be met by fossil-fue1
units. Following very costly ventures
in nuclear power, major utilities are
naturally gun shy about adding capacity to their primary market grid..
Most utilities are seizing other immediate methods of increasing capacity, such as extending the life of

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existing plants, operating cogeneration facilities with entities in their

territory, and purchasing "wheeled"~~
power from other sources (i.e., Canada).
Figure 8 shows one of the models
built during our studies. In-depth
studies have shown that modular
power plants show capital costs savi n g ~of 20% or more and schedule
savings approaching 40%. Quality
and safety also improve and the socioeconomic impact is reduced.
Project location, the type of modularization (small skid-mounted modules vs. large pmcess unit modules), Figure Y. module tronsportation.
the type of facility, the terrain, the
weather. the environment, labor cated along a navigable waterway. In
availability, and cost are variables the United States, the principal fabthat should be considered.
rication yards are located in the PaSaline water conversion in Saudi cific Northwest, Texas, and LouisiArabia. The world's largest desalini- ana. There are also some facilities on
zation plant a t E1 Jobail was de- the east coast of Florida and Georgia
signed in the United Stata and Ja- as well as in the Norfolk area of Virpan on a modular basis. Fabrication ginia.
was carried out in Japan and Korea,
In certain remote areas of the
and the modules were shipped by United States, very large modules
barge to the Persian Gulf. Moving can be shipped on specially designed
these very large modules from the "lo boys." Our company purchased a
barges to the plant site was accom- large fabrication facility in Pocatello,
plished with transporters designed ID, which is shown in Figure 10.
and fabricated in Italy. Each trans- Modules been fabricated at this faporter had 176 wheels; adjusting the cility up to 18 x 18 ft and over 100
height and turning angle of each ft long. Each was transported from
was computer controlled. This al- Idaho to rural Wyoming over an inlowed the modules to be transported terstate highwapthat had been mod, over unpaved terrain to, their final ified (a multi-million-dollar expendlocation. The concept is illustrated iture) to avoid cloverleaf intersecby the site photograph shorvn in Fig- tions and relocation of utility lines.
ure 9.
All of the modules were shipped to
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the sour-gas-processing plalit &t.Module fabrication
out serious damage or injury. The
It is obvious'that large, water- exercise planning and shipment
transported modules must be fabri- scheduling had to be extremely pre-

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Figure 10. Fobricotion facility.

cise in order to accomplish this.

Capital cost. Capital cost is the
most debatable question when one
considers modular construction.
Many authors have claimed savings
of &14%, mainly by transferring a
laige portion of construction manhours from a field site to a preassembly facility. These savings are the
result of significant reductions in labor costs through improved labor efficiency, lower rate trends, and lower
overhead costs. Additional benefits
can be realized because of the reduced socioeconomic impact on rural areas.
Increased labor efficiency or productivity normally provides .the
greatest amount of cost savings because fabrication is conducted in an
all-weather, controlled shop environment, which allows effective
scheduling, better quality control,
and less rewcrk due to errors. Second, the assembly facility usually
employs a stable workforce with a
fairly constant number of experienced cxaftsmen. Balanced against these savings are
the cost of modular design, the shipping constraints (including transporter design and fabrication), the
possibility of trade unions not accepting modular components at a
site, and what one may cal1 the eggsin-one-basket approach where the
loss of a large modular barge or an
overland-transpoi-ted module is just
not the same as damage to a centrifuge in a transportation crash.
The Drocess industrv should certainly Lonsider modulr design and
construction for an improved return
on investment with higher quali:y
and greater safety.