Reducing manufacturing costs for nuclear power
Developing ways to keep costs down as high powered processes in nuclear power are developed.
The challenge
£8m investment
We have invested £8m in a Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory dedicated to innovation in nuclear manufacturing.
New approaches are needed for reducing manufacturing costs in high integrity nuclear power station components, using processes such as electron beam welding and powder metallurgy.
These must be justified by detailed understanding of the manufacturing process and how it could affect component performance over the design life.
The solution
We are building a capability to produce realistic manufacturing features, such as industry standard welds, carrying out detailed materials analysis to determine performance at the micro and macro scale and developing analytical models of long term performance.
We have invested £8m in our Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory, which is dedicated to innovation in nuclear manufacturing.
The benefits
Through our Dalton Nuclear Institute, we have established an advanced nuclear research capability in manufacturing which combines real-world engineering knowledge with state of art materials science and computational modelling.
We work closely with industry, national and international research institutes and centres, including the UK's Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, and with a range of other universities.