ENERGY
CUTTING UP THE ENERGY SECTOR
Demonstration of handheld high power laser cutting, as a possible method of dismantling low-level nuclear waste, for long-term storage
Gemma Church investigates how the energy industry is turning to laser technology to meet the demands of a wide range of applications
F
rom manufacturing wind turbines to decommissioning nuclear sites, laser technology is seeing rapid
adoption within the energy sector. Te application areas are wide
reaching and range from novel techniques still undergoing feasibility studies, to well- established technologies that continue to improve in order to meet the demands of a sector going through massive technical and ideological changes. Laser cladding is one such
established process. Te technique deposits material by feeding a stream of powder into a laser beam as it is scanned across the part. It improves the surface and near-surface properties of the component, or repairs worn or damaged parts. Laser cladding is used across a range of industries and, within the energy sector, there are several applications including steam and gas turbine repairs, shaſt repairs, gear
22 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 30 • SPRING 2016
component fixes, and water wall cladding and boiler tube cladding. Heiko Riedelsberger, market
development manager Europe at Coherent, commented that there is an increased interest in laser cladding for the energy sector, with the technology substituting conventional arc processes. Laser cladding’s high
throughput is a key benefit. It’s also an automated – and hence more repeatable – procedure than an arc process such as PTA (Plasma Transferred Arc) welding. Less material is also needed as laser cladding has a deposition efficiency of between 85 to 95 per cent. Other advantages to laser
cladding compared with traditional cladding methods are that it puts less heat into the part, which is important as there is less part distortion, and iron dilution within the first material layer is lowered. By reducing iron dilution, the service life of the components is
improved, and less layer material and time is required during the process. Most laser cladding repairs
specific components. ‘Each application is completely different,’ said Riedelsberger. ‘Te optimisation of the process can be time consuming until the right parameter for the cladding has
a lot of work on distributed storage to support the energy industry
I believe there will be
been found. Each parameter then has to be proven in the field on real parts.’ Andres Gasser, group leader of
laser metal deposition at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, noted that specific focus is being given to process chains, so not only looking at the component on the cladding
@lasersystemsmag |
www.lasersystemseurope.com
TWI Global
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