Optimising Structural Integrity: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials Development and Analysis Methods...60 seconds with Graeme Horne at Frazer-Nash Consultancy ​

Ahead of the Institution’s seminar on Optimising Structural Integrity in November, we spoke to contributing speaker Graeme Horne, who will be discussing weld residual stress in electron beam and laser beam welds.

Q: Please can you briefly explain your role and involvement with structural integrity of advanced manufactured materials/assets?

Graeme Horne (GH): I am a consultant within Asset Integrity at Frazer-Nash Consultancy. I am leading a project investigating the residual stress resulting from electron and laser beam welding that forms part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Nuclear Innovation Programme (NIP) – Advanced Manufacturing and Materials (AMM). This project aims to reduce the blockers for the adoption of power-beam welding for new build nuclear which should contribute to reducing the cost of future nuclear through a reduction in process time and inspection. I also support the EDF Energy’s Graphite Technology Group, producing probabilistic cracking forecasts for the AGRs’ graphite cores to provide substantiation for the safety cases for continued operation.

Q: What is the number one challenge for adopting new testing methods for advanced manufactured assets?

GH: The validation of new methods is always one of the biggest challenges, particularly understanding the effect on performance and lifetime with advanced manufactured assets.

What is the most exciting development in this field at the moment, either within your company or in the industry in general?

Q: What is the most exciting development in this field at the moment, either within your company or in the industry in general?

GH: The advances in measurement technologies and data capture, storage and processing in recent years that can enable a far better understanding of the condition of your assets, particularly for informing models to make predictions on condition and performance. We refer to this as a digital asset but is commonly known as a “digital twin”.  As these technologies improve, systems can be designed with this in mind from the outset, enabling a cradle-to-grave digital asset management strategy to achieve improvements in performance and a reduction in through life costs.

Q: Where do you see the future of the industry in the next 5 years?

GH: We expect a general shift towards probabilistic assessments, utilising all the information collected from a system or component through its life to increase the understanding of the risks and reliability.

Q: Please can you say what key things that attendees can expect learn from your presentation?

GH: An overview of our Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Nuclear Innovation Programme (NIP) – Advanced Manufacturing and Materials (AMM) research project on electron and laser beam welding, particularly increasing the understanding of weld residual stress, which can be an important factor in determining the structural integrity of a component.

Q: What other topics are you looking forward to hearing about and discussing at the upcoming seminar?

GH: I’m looking forward to hearing about the current state-of-the-art in additive manufacturing from the perspective of a variety of different organisations - ranging from regulators, classification societies, research organisations and industry.

Q: Why do you feel it is important for all professionals to join this seminar?

GH: It is important, as professional engineers, to keep abreast of developments in your field, and this session should provide an excellent opportunity to discuss these developments with your peers and experts from across industry.

Optimising Structural Integrity: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials Development and Analysis Methods takes place on 5 November 2019 at One Birdcage Walk, London.

Attendees will gain a clear understanding of new testing and modelling methods that will improve the prediction and monitoring of structural integrity of advanced manufactured components.

Join to hear case study insights from engineers who are adopting innovative advanced material and manufacturing technologies and modelling solutions to reduce risk and obtaining more reliable assets, including:

• Nuclear AMRC
• Rolls Royce
• Coventry University
• Health and Safety Executive
• Wood Plc
• TWI
• Frazer Nash.

This seminar will seek to address the topic in a holistic manner which is not covered elsewhere, enabling attendees to improve reliability while reducing cost and eliminating waste.