Work done by Sheffield Forgemasters has allowed the restarting of a nuclear reactor in Switzerland that has been offline for two years.
Unit 1 of the Beznau nuclear power plant is the world’s oldest nuclear power plant still in commercial operation, having been commissioned in September 1969. It was taken offline for two years until confirmed to be safe by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate.
As an engineering consultant for the project, Sheffield Forgemasters was responsible for the entire process of recreating a section of the reactor, conducting materials testing and establishing a root cause analysis.
Using the same techniques employed in the original manufacturing in the 1960s, Sheffield Forgemasters as faithfully as possible produced a large cylindrical forging almost identical to the original. Ultrasonic testing was conducted on the full-scale replica and similar ultrasonic indications were discovered.
A spokesman for Forgemasters said: “The work carried out by Sheffield Forgemasters gave significant support to the overall safety case and allowed the reactor to be restarted after a significantly costly two year hiatus. It has also provided information which will help to assess the current and ongoing safety of the RPV and ensure the operation requirements of the whole power plant are met for the future of the reactors life.”
