The   PowderWay   consortium   invites   you   to   an   industry-­‐led   roadmapping   event,   to   help  develop  powder  metallurgy  manufacturing  techniques  for  the  civil  nuclear  industry.      

PowderWay   is  a  European  research  collaboration,   funded  through  Nugenia+,   to  assess   the  potential   for   powder  metallurgy   processes   in   the   civil   nuclear   sector,   and   help  move   the  most  promising  techniques  into  commercial  production.    

This  roadmapping  event  will  present  our  findings  to  key  companies  in  the  supply  chain,  and  give   you   the  opportunity   to   help   identify   priorities   for   further   research   and  development.  The   event  will   also   feature   keynote   speakers   on   economic   trends   in   the   nuclear   industry,  new  reactor  technologies  and  innovation  streams.  

As  well  as  sharing  information  on  powder  metallurgy  and  the  nuclear  industry,  participants  will   have   the   opportunity   to   forge   new   collaborations   for   securing   European   research  funding,  which   this   study  will   influence.   Following   the  event,   all   participants  will   receive  a  technology  roadmap  based  on  the  discussions.    

We  look  forward  to  your  participation  at  the  PowderWay  roadmapping  event,  to  be  held  at  Areva's  headquarters  in  La  Défence,  Paris,  from  12pm  on  Monday  12  September  to  5pm  on  Tuesday  13  September.    

For  confirmation  or  queries,  please  contact  William  Kyffin  (will.kyffin@namrc.co.uk)  or  Mark  D’Souza-­‐Mathew  (mark.mathew@namrc.co.uk).  

Agenda  

Day 1: 12 September 2016 Time   Description   Lead  delegate(s)  12:00   Welcome  &  lunch   PowderWay  Consortium  13:00   Introduction   AREVA  representative  13:30   Progress  &  challenges  in  powder  

metallurgy  for  the  nuclear  industry  Neil  Irvine  

14:00   Coffee  break    14:30   PowderWay  outputs   William  Kyffin  &  Mark  

D’Souza-­‐Mathew  15:30   Road-­‐mapping  session  1:  Identifying  

barriers  to  component  manufacture  PowderWay  Consortium  

17:30   End  of  day  1    19:00   Dinner  (La  Défence)    

PowderWay  roadmapping  event  12-­‐13  September  2016,  Paris  

Day 2: 13 September 2016 Time   Description   Lead  delegate(s)  09:00   Welcome  &  refreshments    09:30   Road-­‐mapping  session  2:  Products  &  

services  for  overcoming  barriers  PowderWay  Consortium  

12:00   Lunch    13:00   Networking  &  grant  proposal  review   PowderWay  Consortium    14:00   Closing  statements  &  end  of  day  2   EDF  representative      

Background  

Civil  nuclear  power  is  currently  the  largest  contributor  of  low-­‐carbon  baseload  energy.  Nuclear  energy  can   provide   economic   security   and   contribute   towards   regional   growth,   but   it   is   a   technology   that  carries   significant  operational   risk  which  needs   to  be  managed  effectively.  Powder  metallurgy   (PM)  potentially  has  a  role  in  reducing  this  risk,  and  is  the  focus  of  our  investigation.  

As   well   as   the   high   cost   of   building   a   nuclear   power   plant,   there   is   a   significant   and   continuous  running  cost  over  its  operational  lifetime.  One  of  the  highest  priority  sections  of  this  cost  is  assurance,  to  assist  the  plant  operator  in  deciding  if  the  plant  is  safe  to  operate.  Activities  such  as  refuelling  and  repair  increase  risk,  generate  waste,  and  can  result  in  a  loss  of  output  and  revenue.    

As  with  all   industries,  materials  and  parts  are  subjected  to  ageing  processes  under  load.  For  nuclear  applications,   this   is   exacerbated   by   effects   such   as   neutron   irradiation   which   steadily   cause  undesirable   and   irreversible   effects   to   reactor   pressure   vessel   integrity,   a   key   indicator   of   plant  lifetime.    

The   nuclear   industry   has   driven   considerable   advances   in   fields   such   as   core   technology,   safety  systems,  heat  exchange,  inspection,  fuel  technology,  repair  and  materials.  Currently,  casting,  forging,  cladding  and  welding  are   the  main  approved  routes   for  manufacturing,   coating  and   joining  metallic  parts  within  the  primary  circuit.  These  technologies  are  well  established  and  provide  predictable  risk,  but  are  not  without  persistent  and  characteristic  flaws  such  as  compositional  segregation,  interfacial  epitaxy,  heat  affected  zones,  large  or  inconsistent  grain  sizes,  and  internal  porosity.    

These   factors   can   lead   to   anisotropic   part   performance   and   require   regular   and   costly   inspection.  Recent  advances  in  fuel  technology  enable  longer  refuelling  cycles,  and  there  is  an  industrial  pull  for  materials  that  can  correspondingly  match  the  duration  of  these  cycles,  and  reduce  risk  and  cost.      

 

The  PowderWay  strategy  

Powder  metallurgy  has  been  adopted  for  metal   fabrication   in   industries  such  as  aerospace,  medical  and  oil  &  gas,  but  has  not  experienced  commercial  uptake  within  the  nuclear  industry.    

PowderWay  is  conducting  a  feasibility  study  into  the  potential  application  of  PM  within  the  European  nuclear  industry.  The  study  will  represent  the  current  market  state  and  requirements,  and  be  a  first  step  towards  wider  use  of  PM  in  the  nuclear  industry.  

The   consortium   has   examined   available   PM   manufacturing   technologies,   and   identified   three   as  offering   the   greatest   potential   benefits   for   nuclear  manufacturing:   powder  metallurgy   hot   isostatic  pressing;  additive  manufacture;  and  spark  plasma  sintering.  

We  have  identified  the  following  parts  of  the  nuclear  primary  circuit  as  offering  the  greatest  potential  for  PM-­‐based  manufacture:  elbows;  pipe  sections;  pump  body  and  impeller;  fuel  filter  assembly;  and  heat  exchangers.  

We   are   now   collating   information   on   how   these   parts   are   presently   manufactured   and   what  constraints  are   imposed  by   the  manufacturing   route.  We  are   identifying   required  performance  and  compositional   criteria   from  part   specifications,   and  determining  operating  environments,   loads  and  ageing  processes.    

We  are  also  examining  information  from  other  industries  to  identify  translatable  data  for  the  highest  priority   parts,   materials   and   PM   techniques.   These   data   will   allow   us   to   compare   current  manufacturing  techniques,  and  identify  areas  for  future  research  into  PM  techniques.  

PowderWay  is  also  identifying  the  potential  supply  chain  to  deliver  PM  manufacturing  to  the  nuclear  industry.  We  aim  to  enable  access  to  a  new  sector,  and  bring  benefits  to  all  participants.    

The  nuclear  industry's  emphasis  on  safety,  through-­‐life  inspection  and  high  quality  products  presents  an  opportunity  to  drive  PM  technology  forward.  The  large  size  of  nuclear  products  could  also  increase  demand  for  materials,  products  and  services  offered  by  the  PM  supply  chain.  

The  nuclear  industry  is  very  conservative  to  changing  processes,  and  a  strong  case  must  be  made  for  normalisation   before   standardisation.   Qualification   of   performance,   ageing,   abnormal   loading,  manufacturing  processes  and   supply   chain  are   required  before  a  nuclear   safety  authority   can  grant  approval   for   use.   PowderWay   will   describe   the   route   to   standardisation,   along   with   projected  timescales  and  guidelines.