Objective
Objectives and content
The technical objective of this project is to develop a
novel magnetic field heating technology for application
to heat treatment and stress relief of plant components
for both in-situ plant repair and construction and
factory based robotised welding manufacture.
The equipment and processes for in-situ applications will
directly address the industrial need for an improved
method of heat treatment and stress relief to reduce weld
related failures, which are the single most important
cause of plant failures and shutdowns in the power
generation, refinery, petrochemical and nuclear
industries. These result in maintenance costs of over
3540 MECU p.a. throughout the EU, together with safety
and environmental risks. The deliverables for factory
based manufacturing will meet the need for more rapid and
effective heat treatment in 70% of plant manufacturing
and maritime construction industries, and a contract heat
treatment market in excess of 4000 MECU.
The principle of operation is magnetic hysteresis loss,
which results in rapid, uniform through thickness
heating, ensuring that thermal stresses are minimised.
The technique permits controllable, repeatable heating
and substantial improvements in efficiency and energy
consumption. These benefits offer considerable potential
for rapid in-situ heat treatment and weld stress relief
in industrial plant. In addition, the speed and
controllability offer significant benefits for fully
automated robotised welding processes for factory
production, with the potential to eliminate separate heat
treatment processes.
The work involved to develop the process for in-situ and
factory based manufacturing comprises:
Design and fabrication of prototype heaters for in-situ
plant applications and process development for four
grades of steel most widely used in plant construction.
Validation of the effectiveness of the process and
equipment in selected plant trials.
Design, fabrication and integration into factory based
robotised manufacturing processes for improving heat
control and reducing weldability problems.
Process development and evaluation to confirm the
reliable operation of the new robotised process.
The measurable industrial objectives include:
To reduce the current weldment failure rate by 20%
through improved processing.
To use the innovative heating principle to reduce heat
treatment duration, costs and energy consumption.
To save 15% (530 MECU) on the annual cost of
maintenance in EU power and process plant.
To gain at least 5% of the 4000 MECU contract heat
treatment market for EU SMEs.
BRITE EURAM III Workprogramme Areas addressed by this
proposal: 1.1.1.S 1.1.5.M 1.1.7.M 1.2.3.S 1.2.2.M
1.2.1.L 2.1.1.S 2.1.1.M 2.3.2.M and 2.3.5.M.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
KT22 7SA LEATHERHEAD
United Kingdom