Emma Powell of The Times reports on a new welding method for small modular reactors.
- Sheffield Forgemasters, one of the oldest steelmakers in the U.K., has unlocked a new welding method called electron beam welding to create pressure vessels for SMRs.
- Electron beam welding works by firing two electrons at an extremely high speed to join two pieces of metal together.
- This method can take the time to complete the welding of pressure vessels from 150 days to two hours.
- This breakthrough could drastically reduce the cost and time to complete SMR projects.
“The technique is already being used in the automotive and aerospace industries to produce smaller, relatively low-value components. Forgemasters is the first to use the welding technology to build a full-scale SMR pressure vessel, which weighs about 57 tonnes, has a diameter of three metres and walls with a thickness of 200 millimetres.”
Read the full article here.
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