WP18/RACE Laser Cutting Trial

Award outcome

Description

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) was formed in 1954 when the UK Government set up a new body to oversee the nation's nuclear research programme. UKAEA is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). UKAEA research fusion energy and related technologies, with the aim of positioning the UK as a leader in sustainable nuclear energy. UKAEA's mission is to deliver sustainable fusion energy and maximise scientific and economic impact. This is underpinned by four goals: • Goal 1 - Be a world leader in fusion research and development; • Goal 2 - Enable the delivery of sustainable fusion power plants; • Goal 3 - Drive economic growth and high-tech jobs in the UK; and • Goal 4 - Create places that accelerate innovation and develop skilled people for industry to thrive. Summary of Requirement UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), based at the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, hereafter referred to as the Purchaser, carries out research into the use of controlled fusion for the generation of power. Laser cutting technology is being considered for the size reduction of large (mainly) Inconel parts of a nuclear facility. As part of this project, non-contact cutting methods e.g. fibre delivered laser cutting is an option and is the focus of this scope. An initial set of trials was performed, [3]. Further trials are called for, to address open issues and scope identified since then. These trials will be on representative material and configurations. These trials are part of developing a remote laser cutting system for the nuclear decommissioning application. The requirements of the system are captured in [1]. Further detail of the expected use case is investigated in [4]. A brief use case is as follows: • In-vessel furniture: Thick components (up to 113 mm). For material in the vicinity of the cut item, there is limited care of risk of damage from the residual laser beam. Usually starting from a free edge. • Containment preserving: Thinner material range (2 mm to 20 mm). For material in the vicinity of the cut item, there is care of risk of damage (loss of wall thickness / structural integrity) from the residual laser beam. May need to pierce then cut.

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