Innovative Forging and Fabrication Solutions for the Energy Sector

The manufacture of large scale civil nuclear components presents many technical, economic and environmental challenges. To enable the UK to successfully compete in the domestic and global nuclear power plant market this project aims to maximise manufacturing efficiency and minimise environmental impact. This will be achieved by utilising advanced near net forging/forming, hollow ingots, high integrity electron beam welding , net shape cladding and high speed machining to dramatically increase material yield and deliver larger, more complex civil nuclear components that have previously been impossible to manufacture domestically. This project also aims to combine process modelling and advanced material characterisation methods to understand and optimise both the manufacturing route and metallurgical response of the components, thus maximising the resultant mechanical properties and component integrity. Through these technological advancements the cost, lead time and embodied energy of nuclear forgings can be greatly reduced resulting in reductions in energy unit prices and CO2 emissions in generation.