Westinghouse manufactures 1,000 fuel flow plates

Cranberry Township-based Westinghouse Electric Co. recently surpassed 1,000 fuel flow plates manufacturing it is using Additive Manufacturing (AM).

This marks first safety-related AM components to enter serial production.

“This achievement showcases the development of additive manufacturing from prototyping to full-scale production, generating tangible value for our customers,” Lou Martínez Sancho, Westinghouse chief technology officer and executive vice president of R&D and Innovation, said. “This marks another Westinghouse pioneering achievement in AM Technology holding the commitment to strengthen safety, efficiency, sustainability and energy security.”

The AM flow plates are installed in VVER-440 fuel assemblies. This enables a redesign of the assemblies’ bottom part which results in more robust performance.

Westinghouse has a history of deploying AM in the nuclear industry to enable cutting-edge solutions for energy generation with the goal cutting costs and lead time.

The company conducted the first material irradiation study of AM nuclear components in 2015 and installed the first safety-related AM component into an operating commercial reactor in 2020.

Founded more than 135 years ago, Westinghouse manufactures advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle, and its technology is the basis for nearly 50 percent of the world’s operating nuclear plants. In 1957, it supplied the world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor.