News: Nnuman puts machining processes under the microscope
The £8m Nnuman project is now underway, with the first machined samples from the Nuclear AMRC in Rotherham undergoing microstructural analysis at the Dalton Nuclear Institute at The University of Manchester.
With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the New nuclear manufacturing (Nnuman) project centres on promoting research and development and significant work on the fundamentals of manufacturing for new nuclear new build and the next generation of power stations.
Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park, The £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative between the University of Sheffield, The University of Manchester, and a consortium of industry partners. It assists UK companies to successfully compete in the emerging £40 billion civil nuclear supply chain.
The universities of Manchester and Sheffield have been working with industrial partners on a number of machining and welding projects with new research on ceramic and metallic nuclear fuel components and hot isostatic pressing about to start.
In one of the core machining projects, materials specialists at the Dalton Nuclear Institute's Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory are carrying out detailed micro-structural examination of specimens produced at the Nuclear AMRC. The samples are ferritic and austenitic steels which have been machined more harshly than usual.
This machining abuse can cause deformation and residual stresses, which can lead to localised corrosion between and within metal grains. This can then form cracks, which can grow over many years under the thermal and mechanical stresses of a reactor environment. Ultimately, the component may need to be repaired or replaced long before the end of the reactor’s planned life.
Professor Grace Burke, director of the Materials Performance Centre at The University of Manchester is leading the project that aims to identify the machining factors that can result in long-term problems. She said: "Microstructure controls the properties and behaviour of materials. It is essential that we understand the effects of machining on the surface and near-surface microstructure and, importantly, how these relate to the performance of the component in light water reactor environments."
New equipment is being installed at the Nuclear AMRC to help researchers. This includes a large hot isostatic pressing (hipping) unit provided by member company Avure Technologies, an extremely large electron beam chamber from Pro-Beam, and a high power diode laser cladding cell.
Both teams are also recruiting new researchers and technicians to support Nnuman.
Dr Neil Irvine, Nnuman programme manager, said: "With more young engineers and scientists now joining the Nnuman team, we can look forward to taking the programme forward over the next four and a half years and achieving some real long-term benefits to the UK nuclear manufacturing industry."
Nuclear AMRC website
Images: Sterecycle
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With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the New nuclear manufacturing (Nnuman) project centres on promoting research and development and significant work on the fundamentals of manufacturing for new nuclear new build and the next generation of power stations.
Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park, The £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative between the University of Sheffield, The University of Manchester, and a consortium of industry partners. It assists UK companies to successfully compete in the emerging £40 billion civil nuclear supply chain.
The universities of Manchester and Sheffield have been working with industrial partners on a number of machining and welding projects with new research on ceramic and metallic nuclear fuel components and hot isostatic pressing about to start.
In one of the core machining projects, materials specialists at the Dalton Nuclear Institute's Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory are carrying out detailed micro-structural examination of specimens produced at the Nuclear AMRC. The samples are ferritic and austenitic steels which have been machined more harshly than usual.
This machining abuse can cause deformation and residual stresses, which can lead to localised corrosion between and within metal grains. This can then form cracks, which can grow over many years under the thermal and mechanical stresses of a reactor environment. Ultimately, the component may need to be repaired or replaced long before the end of the reactor’s planned life.
Professor Grace Burke, director of the Materials Performance Centre at The University of Manchester is leading the project that aims to identify the machining factors that can result in long-term problems. She said: "Microstructure controls the properties and behaviour of materials. It is essential that we understand the effects of machining on the surface and near-surface microstructure and, importantly, how these relate to the performance of the component in light water reactor environments."
New equipment is being installed at the Nuclear AMRC to help researchers. This includes a large hot isostatic pressing (hipping) unit provided by member company Avure Technologies, an extremely large electron beam chamber from Pro-Beam, and a high power diode laser cladding cell.
Both teams are also recruiting new researchers and technicians to support Nnuman.
Dr Neil Irvine, Nnuman programme manager, said: "With more young engineers and scientists now joining the Nnuman team, we can look forward to taking the programme forward over the next four and a half years and achieving some real long-term benefits to the UK nuclear manufacturing industry."
Nuclear AMRC website
Images: Sterecycle
