New Nuclear Manufacturing (NNUMAN)

世界各地能源需求的增加导致燃烧化石燃料产生的二氧化碳排放量大幅增加。以一种安全、经济、可靠和使用低碳技术的方式满足日益增长的能源需求是国际社会的当务之急。由于核电是低碳的，它将继续成为国际能源结构的重要组成部分。如今，14个国家正在建设约60座核电站，其中150多座已规划，另有340座已提出。政府强调了英国对安全可靠的能源供应的承诺，并制定了到2050年将碳排放量减少80%的雄心勃勃的目标。因此，新的核电站将在提供我们未来的能源方面发挥至关重要的作用，在全国各地建造12座新核反应堆的准备工作已经到位。一些专家认为，需要更多的低碳核能来满足我们的能源需求和碳排放目标。随着世界各地核电站数量的增加，英国公司有机会制造反应堆系统的部件，包括压力容器、内部支撑结构和管道，以及核燃料。为了安全地做到这一点，并在商业上与世界各地的其他公司竞争，需要研究开发更快、更便宜的方法来制造核部件，这些部件仍然是最高质量的，并将在核电站中使用长达60年。新核制造（NNUMAN）项目将进行研究，推动英国制造公司开发新的核部件和燃料制造方法，这些公司随后可以与国际公司竞争制造业务。NNUMAN的主要目的是通过以下方式对用于核部件和燃料的制造过程进行重大改进：创建连接组件的新方法。这将开发基于传统弧焊、激光和固态（摩擦）方法的连接方法。这些设计将结合计算机建模和对部件和燃料的实验。2 .利用室内全球定位系统（GPS）提高加工精度，利用激光加速加工，利用小型可移动机器人和“群”轴同时加工大型部件的不同部分，提高大型和重型部件加工的实用性。3 .扩大可以减少制造部件所需能量的工艺的使用范围，例如在模具中高温高压熔合粉末，或通过仔细地沉积熔融金属层来制造复杂的形状，从而大大减少了机械加工的需要。在核反应堆的生命周期内，发展对制造路线如何影响组件或燃料行为的理解。这一点很重要，因为制造方法会影响性能。这种新的认识将用于确保制造部件的高质量，从而使核反应堆能够有效运行多年。在NNUMAN中开发的最先进的制造工艺将在核先进制造研究中心（www.namrc.co.uk）和国家核实验室（www.nnl.co.uk）进行原型制作，以便英国制造公司可以学习新方法的好处并在未来使用它们。这将有助于企业以具有成本效益的方式生产高质量的核部件和燃料，从而赢得制造业务。

The increase in energy needs around the world has led to a large rise in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Meeting this growing energy need in a way that is safe, cost effective, secure, and uses low carbon technologies is an international priority. Because nuclear power is low carbon it will continue to be an important part of the international energy mix. Today, around 60 nuclear power stations are being built in 14 countries with more than 150 planned and a further 340 proposed. The Government has highlighted the UK's commitment to a safe and secure energy supply and has set an ambitious target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. New nuclear power stations will therefore have an essential role in delivering our future energy, and preparations are already in place to build 12 new nuclear reactors around the country. Some experts think that even more low carbon nuclear energy will be needed to meet both our energy demands and our carbon emissions targets. With the number of nuclear power stations increasing around the world, there is an opportunity for UK companies to manufacture parts of the reactor system, including pressure vessels, internal supporting structures and piping as well as the nuclear fuel. In order to do this safely, and to compete commercially with other companies around the world, research is needed to develop faster and cheaper ways of manufacturing nuclear components that are still of the highest quality and will last for up to 60 years in power stations.The New Nuclear Manufacturing (NNUMAN) programme will perform the research that will drive the development of new manufacturing approaches for nuclear components and fuels to UK manufacturing companies who can then compete with international companies for manufacturing business.The main aim of NNUMAN is to introduce major improvements to the manufacturing processes used for nuclear components and fuels by:1. Creating new ways to join components. This will develop joining methods that are based on traditional arc-welding, lasers and solid-state (friction) methods. These will be designed using a combination of computer modelling and experiments for both components and fuels.2. Improving the practicality of machining of large and heavy components using indoor Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that can improve accuracy, lasers that can accelerate machining, and small movable robots and spindles in a "swarm" that can simultaneously perform machining of different parts of a large components.3. Extending the use of processes that can reduce the energy needed to make components such as fusing powders together at high temperature and pressure in a mould or by carefully depositing layers of molten metal to create complicated shapes with much less need for machining.4. Developing the understanding of how the manufacturing route affects the way a component or fuel behaves during the lifetime of the nuclear reactor. This is important because manufacturing approaches affect performance. This new understanding will be used to make sure that the quality of manufactured components is high, so that nuclear reactors can operate effectively for many years.The most improved manufacturing processes developed in NNUMAN will be taken forward to prototype in the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (www.namrc.co.uk) and the National Nuclear Laboratory (www.nnl.co.uk) so that the UK manufacturing companies can learn the benefits of the new methods and use them in the future. This will help companies to win manufacturing business by making high quality nuclear components and fuels in a cost-effective manner.