Thu, 02 December, 2021
TWI has recently completed electron beam welding of hot isostatically pressed (HIPed) low alloy steel as part of our ongoing work alongside Rolls-Royce and The Manufacturing Technology Centre on the Future Advanced Structural Technology (FAST) project.
This work continues to focus on the joining of shells for safety-critical, pressurised components (traditionally manufactured from forged SA508) from HIPed, high strength, low alloy steel.
The paper published in the proceedings of the 6th International Electron Beam Welding Conference 2021 presented the objectives of the programme, challenges of the work, and the developments and improvements observed. There was discussion of the future work and next steps from the presentation at IIW2020. The benefits of thick-section EB welding compared with other processes currently used in the manufacture of high integrity pressurised equipment was also discussed.
A compelling case was presented for the application of thick-section EB welding for the joining of safety critical pressurised components manufactured from HIPed high strength low alloy steel.
Figure 1. Electron beam welded small vessel demonstrator
Funding was provided by Rolls-Royce and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the £505m Energy Innovation Programme – Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Phase 2 Programme