Yes, ... Nukes

Lehigh Heavy Forge will supply Babcock & Wilcox with a variety of large steel forgings for its forthcoming series of modular nuclear reactors, in a project characterized as a re-launch for U.S. manufacturers supplying nuclear-power sector.

Robert Brooks

Dec. 28, 2012

3 min read

The BampW mPower reactor is a concept for quota scalable modular passively safe advanced light water reactor system The US Dept of Energy named it the winning design in its Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program — The B&W mPower reactor is a concept for "a scalable, modular, passively safe, advanced light water reactor system: The U.S. Dept. of Energy named it the winning design in its Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program.

Lehigh Heavy Forge Corp. will supply The Babcock & Wilcox Co. with forgings for its B&W mPower™ small modular reactor (SMR), following a new agreement. And, the Pennsylvania open-die forging company indicated it would join with the nuclear engineering group to fabricate and qualify large forgings for reactor components, which the parties intend to incorporate into the mPower SMR. According to LVF v.p. of marketing and sales Allan Robertson, the initial orders for the project could be underway within a year.

Babcock & Wilcox designs, builds, and supplies management services for nuclear power plants, and the mPower SMR is a version of the B&W mPower reactor design, a light-water reactor that it describes as "scalable, modular, (and) passively safe." The group recently earned top honors in the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program, and the funding that will follow that recognition will support the development of its B&W mPower reactor technology.

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The B&W mPower reactor reportedly has a four-year operating cycle, without need for refueling, for what the developer calls "clean, zero-emission operations." It stated the reactor is designed to minimize the risks of adopting and operating nuclear power plants, and to match the large or small generating requirements of a power supplier. Generating requirements would be added in increments of 180 MWe, to match the operators' load. Reactor modules would be installed according to the customers' needs and/or infrastructure constraints.

Lehigh Heavy Forge, Bethlehem, PA, will manufacture prototypes and standard products for B&W as components for the reactors. Lehigh and B&W reported they would be collaborating to improve the U.S. infrastructure for supplying heavy forgings for commercial nuclear power projects. The suspension of such projects over recent decades has left a gap in the market for capable suppliers of forgings for such projects.

"As we move forward with plans to deploy the B&W mPower reactor, one of our commitments is to use U.S.-based suppliers," Christofer M. Mowry, Babcock & Wilcox mPower Inc. president, stated.
Robertson explained to FORGING that the producer would be forging shells, domes and discs, some of which will have various contours. "The concept is for B&W mPower to be able to fabricate the units in a factory setting and ship them to the site," he noted. "That dictates the size of the components."

In the course of manufacturing the prototype forgings, Lehigh Heavy Forge will seek a Material Organization Quality System accreditation with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for future heavy component manufacturing. Robertson explained that accreditation would be completed as the first parts are being processed.

Also, Lehigh Heavy Forge has plans to make carry out some plant improvements to support future B&W mPower reactor manufacturing needs. The details and cost of those improvements were not detailed.

"We have been making significant capital investments in our facilities as we get ready for what we believe will be a strong push for small modular reactor heavy components," stated James J. Romeo, Lehigh Heavy Forge president.

About the Author

Robert Brooks

Editor/Content Director - Endeavor Business Media

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others.

Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing—including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.

Brooks is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A. English, Political Science) and Emory University (M.A. English.)