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Wednesday, April 19, 2017 7:13:10 AM
Print That Part (nuclear power industry)
At power-eng.com - Print That Part - 04/18/2017
A section of text from the middle:
The Department of Energy is funding several projects to investigate the prospects for 3D printing in nuclear power.
At the GE Power Advanced Manufacturing Works facility in Greenville, SC, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) will use 3D printing to produce mechanical test samples. The samples will then be shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory for irradiation in INL's Advanced Test Reactor, after which detailed testing will be conducted to compare the irradiated samples with unirradiated samples.
GEH believes 3D printing could reduce manufacturing times by up to a factor of ten, while minimizing waste and enabling low-volume production. Based on the current state of 3D printing technology, initial components will be limited to about 400 cubic millimeters (bread machine size). Potential replacement parts for GEH may include fuel debris filters, control rod drives, and anti-vibration components for jet pumps in boiling water reactors.
"316L stainless steel is our first target alloy," said Fran Bolger, manager of new product introduction for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. "For this material, we already have most of the key data that supports the demonstration of material quality. Some additional data will be generated later this year."
Depending on regulatory requirements and industry demand, GEH believes parts could be offered to commercial plants as early as 2018. Assuring quality will be paramount. "The metal powder, 3D printing machine and associated build parameters will need to be evaluated for material quality, and the specific printed part build will need to include samples that can be evaluated through nondestructive and destructive testing," said Bolger. "Some parts may require custom testing critical to the application, such as pressure drop performance."
Additional material:
From the DOE at energy.gov - Office Of Nuclear Energy - NEET-Advanced Methods For Manufacturing Award Summaries
From the DOE at energy.gov - Development of nuclear quality components using metal additive manufacturing - October 31, 2016
At power-eng.com - Print That Part - 04/18/2017
A section of text from the middle:
The Department of Energy is funding several projects to investigate the prospects for 3D printing in nuclear power.
At the GE Power Advanced Manufacturing Works facility in Greenville, SC, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) will use 3D printing to produce mechanical test samples. The samples will then be shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory for irradiation in INL's Advanced Test Reactor, after which detailed testing will be conducted to compare the irradiated samples with unirradiated samples.
GEH believes 3D printing could reduce manufacturing times by up to a factor of ten, while minimizing waste and enabling low-volume production. Based on the current state of 3D printing technology, initial components will be limited to about 400 cubic millimeters (bread machine size). Potential replacement parts for GEH may include fuel debris filters, control rod drives, and anti-vibration components for jet pumps in boiling water reactors.
"316L stainless steel is our first target alloy," said Fran Bolger, manager of new product introduction for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. "For this material, we already have most of the key data that supports the demonstration of material quality. Some additional data will be generated later this year."
Depending on regulatory requirements and industry demand, GEH believes parts could be offered to commercial plants as early as 2018. Assuring quality will be paramount. "The metal powder, 3D printing machine and associated build parameters will need to be evaluated for material quality, and the specific printed part build will need to include samples that can be evaluated through nondestructive and destructive testing," said Bolger. "Some parts may require custom testing critical to the application, such as pressure drop performance."
Additional material:
From the DOE at energy.gov - Office Of Nuclear Energy - NEET-Advanced Methods For Manufacturing Award Summaries
From the DOE at energy.gov - Development of nuclear quality components using metal additive manufacturing - October 31, 2016
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