Advancement of Castings in the Nuclear Supply Chain

a8422023-963b-4eae-8aa2-4f79072522d3

Closed

EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

£899,810

June 30, 2013

June 30, 2015

Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd (SFIL) is a World leader in the production of cast recirculation pump casings
(RPC) for nuclear power stations, and this application is closely aligned with the 'Materials and Modelling' and 'Advanced
Manufacturing & Construction' technical themes. SFIL wants to enter the Eastern European market for civil nuclear power
station components by offering a cast solution for the RPC to replace the current forged design. Successful qualification of
a cast design could result in orders of up to 12 castings per year and would establish a presence in the Eastern European
supply chain. The steel grades specified are new to the company, and a cast design for the RPC in these reactors is a
major technical challenge due to the large section sizes and current unknowns regarding the physical metallurgy of the
candidate alloys specified. There are questions concerning the castability of the candidate alloys, the optimum casting
methods that should be employed, the mechanical properties that can be achieved, welding procedures and the limits on
detectability of the non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. A collaborative R&D project with The Welding Institute (TWI)
and The University of Sheffield is proposed that will address these issues and deliver a proven cast RPC solution for this
new market.

Potential Impact:
This project has much potential impact for a number of sectors including the metals manufacturing industry, society, and
the nuclear power manufacturing industry.
Metals Manufacturing Industry: The major industrial beneficiary of this research will be Sheffield Forgemasters International
Limited, a UK company at the forefront of manufacture of large scale castings and forgings. They will be able to rapidly
validate numerical models of their process route, leading to enhanced productivity. As a consequence, all their customers
will have enhanced products at reduced costs, due to significant reductions in lead times. They will also gain greater levels
of confidence in incorporating non-standard steel grades with enhanced properties into new components with very thick
sections, leading to greater customer satisfaction and the potential for a greater share of a large global market.
Society: The greater competitiveness and improved efficiencies generated by this project will help maintain the UK's
leading role in the manufacture of large scale steel castings and forgings, leading to enhanced employment opportunities
and reduction
in green house gases.
Nuclear Power Manufacturing Industry: Components of greater size will be able to be manufactured with lower risk due to
an
optimised and validated casting process, establishing a presence in the nuclear supply chain for Eastern European
reactors, and potentially breaking down barriers to market entry for the UK civil nuclear supply chain as a whole.