| Power plant products
Landmark welding breakthrough for nuclear construction
Sheffield Forgemasters has announced a breakthrough in the industrialisation of Electron Beam Welding (EBW) for thick-section materials. Using EBW, the company weld-joined two 200 mm thick, three-meter diameter vessel sections in UK-SMR nuclear grade steel. The weld, equivalent to approximately 10m of length, was completed in a single pass. Completed in 140 minutes, with no reportable defects shown in preliminary non-destructive testing (NDT), the technique is described as offering a radical breakthrough in welding technology. A weld of this kind would typically take months and include numerous stages of NDT as well as heat-treatment.
Research, design and technology director professor Jesus Talamantes-Silva commented: “This is the most critical milestone in our project to industrialise EBW, and to eliminate the requirement for large vacuum chambers typically used in this technology, we have pioneered the use of local vacuum EBW alongside our project partners, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE). “It follows a body of work started in 2015 with support from Innovate UK to establish the basic science for local vacuum EBW, which was successful, producing welds with very favourable mechanical properties.”
The company initiated a subsequent 2019
project: ‘Industrialisation of large-scale electron beam welding for nuclear industry applications’ to further prove the technology, supported by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of its £505m Energy Innovation Portfolio.
Sheffield Forgemasters’ aim is to incorporate advanced fabrication techniques, offering significant savings on both processing time and cost through the potential of electron beam welding over the more traditional method of tungsten inert gas welding for thick-section pressure vessels.
The EBW process uses local vacuum and a high power electron gun which penetrates the vessel material with an electron beam, to melt and fuse the two components together in one pass, rather than building up of multiple layers of weld filler wire.
To ensure successful dissemination and awareness of the EBW technology, an industry steering committee was formed, including the Ministry of Defence, Rolls-Royce submarines and SMR divisions, The UK Atomic Energy Authority and Cavendish Nuclear. Engagement with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environment Agency was also instigated by BEIS as the project progressed.
Michael concluded: “We are due to start building an X-Ray enclosure to house the EBW equipment, and it will be ready during Q2 2022. We are also planning to fully demonstrate the welding capabilities by fabricating a full-scale nuclear pressure vessel which will consist of five main components, four shells and a nuclear head, to ensure a reliable and repetitive process.” The project was part funded under the £26m Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Programme within the BEIS Energy Innovation Programme.
TensionPro launches new bolt tensioner pump
TensionPro, the UK-based bolt tensioning specialists, has launched the latest version of its PEMA Electro Max tensioner pump. The new model adds a number of features designed to make the pump easier to use with hydraulic bolt tensioners. The new version is equipped with an accurate digital gauge, automatic mode, and a digital maximum pressure setting. This means the pump can be operated in automatic pressure mode with full digital control. ‘Smart logic’ is used to maintain target pressure. The pump automatically compensates for any deviation from the operator setting.
Although originally designed for use in factory locations, the pump’s remote operation and low maintenance requirements also make it ideal
for wind turbine installation and maintenance projects, says its maker, owing to its simple, ergonomic and easy to understand control system. PEMA-EP is supplied CE marked with full pressure test and gauge certification. Richard Outram, TensionPro sales director, commented: “This latest version of our … Electric Pump is a high-performance product that will help to keep bolt tensioning operations simple and safe across a range of applications. The new features ensure it is very easy to use. Originally, we developed it to satisfy requests from customers in the wind market, but it has a wide range of uses. Our mantra is to continually develop our product range by focusing on quality, performance and ease of use.”
www.modernpowersystems.com | April 2022 | 39
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