New machining techniques to reduce costs for nuclear industry

Nuclear Energy Components 20082020
Nuclear Energy Components 20082020

New environmentally friendly machining techniques which will reduce the cost, lead time and risk of high-value nuclear components are being developed.

New environmentally friendly machining techniques that will reduce the cost, lead time and risk of high-value nuclear components are being developed.

Nuclear Energy Components (NEC) is starting work with the Nuclear AMRC on the project, which is funded by the UK government’s Nuclear Innovation Programme, and is part of a £40 million investment in advanced nuclear technologies.

Derbyshire-based NEC specialises in metal components for the nuclear industry, including stainless steel parts for the fuel assemblies used in the UK’s fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors.

These intricate components are machined using traditional emulsion-based coolants, resulting in large volumes of liquid waste and contaminated metal chips.

Over the past few years, the Nuclear AMRC’s machining researchers have investigated supercritical carbon dioxide as an alternative coolant, alone or in combination with a minimum quantity of lubricant (MQL).

A supercritical fluid combines the physical properties of both a liquid and a gas. That makes it extremely efficient for carrying away heat from the cutting zone, and also dense enough to carry away swarf in deep-hole drilling.

Minimising oil-based coolant also improves component cleanliness, an important consideration for safety-critical nuclear components, while reducing health risks to machine operators and environmental risks from used oil.

The new year-long project, called Process Improvement Through CO2 Cooling (PITCO2C), will develop the technology to take it closer to production for 316L stainless steel, and demonstrate its benefits for the production of fuel assembly components.

“As a key supplier to the UK fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors, and with over 50 years’ experience manufacturing for the nuclear sector, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of manufacturing technology,” said David Greenan, sales director for NEC.

He added: “Using supercritical CO2 as a cutting lubricant offers us the opportunity to increase productivity while greatly reducing the environmental impact of our manufacturing process. Not using a traditional flood coolant also means the products we produce need less cleaning, and reduces any potential detrimental health impacts on our staff.”

NEC will work with the Nuclear AMRC to develop a rotary gas connector for retrofitting a CO2 coolant unit to legacy machine tools, removing barriers to adoption for the supply chain. The prototype connector will be tested on one of NEC’s large-scale milling machines, and at TSP Engineering in Workington, Cumbria.

Nuclear AMRC www.namrc.co.uk

Nuclear Energy Components www.nec-ltd.co.uk

Company

Nuclear AMRC

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