British company tested new nuclear welding technology

Sheffield Forgemasters has completed weld-assembly of a full-scale small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear vessel demonstrator assembly using Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW). This technique took less than 24 hours to complete four, thick, nuclear-grade welds, normally requiring a year of efforts to complete.

Sheffield Forgemasters deployed specially developed parameters, meticulously fine-tuned during the welding development stage.

Michael Blackmore, senior development engineer and Project Leader, added: “The importance of this technology for the nuclear industry is outstanding, since it potentially takes costly welding processes out of use.

Sheffield Forgemasters, the only company in the UK with the capability to manufacture the large forgings required for SMRs, said that the demonstration of LEBW technology’s potential opens new perspectives for “more efficient, low-cost and less time-consuming nuclear assemblies” and also has far-reaching implications for other projects requiring thick-walled welded assemblies.