ForgeMan

The ForgeMan project will examine the feasibility of fabricating large components for nuclear power plant, presently provided as forged monoblocks, by using novel thick section electron beam welding. Large forgings (eg 600 tonne) for primary circuit nuclear components can only be currently obtained from one or two specialist sources worldwide and these components are manufactured using very high cost and high capacity press equipment. The delivery schedule for new nuclear power stations are frequently determined by the availability of large forgings used in the PRW, and current lead times of several years are common. As the construction of nuclear plant continues to ramp up, the limited capacity to supply forgings will inevitably lead to longer lead times, and these large components will, as a result, command higher prices .
The opportunity that the ForgeMan project has is to develop the technology that will enable the welding of very thick section (up to 400mm) steel and the combining of small forgings into larger components. The technique will be to use a process of electron beam welding and heat treatment that would be able to match the current forging in terms of metallurgy and properties. The project will examine how segments can be manufactured into the equivalent of single ring forgings, and how vessels can be better fabricated from ring forgings using the electron beam process. If successful Forgeman would lead to smaller forging companies being able to compete in the nuclear sector and this would provide much needed additional capacity for the UK nuclear build programme.