Electrification

Electrification is the process of substituting fossil fuel-based energy sources, such as coal and oil, with electricity-based energy sources.

Replacing technologies that use fossil fuel energy with electric energy, results in a reduction in carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.

And as the world looks to reduce its carbon footprint, electrification is set to take place across a whole range of sectors from automotive, with the advent of the electric car, to industrial processes, rail, construction, aerospace, and more.

The production of electricity is also expected to become cleaner, with an increase in electric power generation coming from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydro, as well as becoming available at a lower price than fossil fuels.

By 2035, the UK expects to generate 100% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources, a figure that sits at just over 50% for the rest of the world.

Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is quickly adopting electrification, with commercially available electric vehicles already on the market.

Government regulation, such as the UK ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, as well as decreasing costs of equipment and improving technology, means that electrification in this sector is only going to increase.

Reports suggest that in just eight years from now, more than 50% of vehicles in Europe will be electric.

Vehicle electrification is the process of powering the vehicle with electricity by replacing components that operate on a conventional energy source with components that operate on electricity. This includes battery packs, motors, auxiliary systems, and charging systems.

 

Electrification

Improvements are developing rapidly, with manufacturers already making advances in fast charging technology and battery exchange systems.

The size and mass of a battery pack often impact the design as more battery cells mean more mass for the vehicle. Increased mass requires more energy for the vehicle movement and affects manoeuvrability, such as handling, acceleration, and braking.

Widespread electrification of light and heavy-duty vehicles faces many economic and technological challenges. Many manufacturers sell electric cars, but there are still some barriers to adoption, including charging infrastructure and price. This is mainly due to the battery costs, but innovative welding solutions can help reduce these.

Electrification
CVE’s Expertise

CVE is working with TWI, an independent research and technology organisation, to explore the feasibility of electron beam welding for components to support the transition towards electrification.

Electron beam welding is an optimal joining method for welding battery units.

With automotive engines expecting to require 2 million battery units, with 10,000 welds per unit, electron beam welding is a great solution to help manufacturers meet demand.

If you require more information, please get in touch! With 60-years of process know-how in providing turn-key solutions, we can find the right solution for your application.

Electrification
SENSORS AND ELECTRONICS

One advantage of the electron beam welding process for electronic packaging is the relatively low heat input compared to other welding processes such as tungsten inert gas (TIG). The shape of the fusion zone can be altered and optimised using high-speed deflection of the electron beam, which may be relatively small for sealing purposes and deeper if required for more structural applications.

The process is done in a vacuum which prevents oxidation, and the low heat input minimises the risk of damage to sensitive electronics.

Semiconductors

Electron beam welding is used to join many components in the semiconductor industry where high-quality, defect-free welds are required.

Low porosity in welds is essential for ensuring high levels of cleanliness are maintained in service and the low overall heat input of electron beam welding also results in minimal distortion which reduces the amount of post-weld machining.

 

Sensors and Electronics Welding
RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy is a sustainable source of energy that is created from renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal and more. Renewable energy sources make up 26% of the world’s electricity and this is expected to reach 30% by 2024: making it a rapidly growing industry.

OFFSHORE WIND

All offshore wind structures require high productivity welding fabrication and reliable performance. There is a range of structures that need to be fabricated as part of an offshore wind turbine, including monopiles, suction anchors, and flanges.

Electron beam welding improves productivity and the quality of the weld, and welding in a vacuum creates an ideal welding atmosphere, preventing oxidation and removing the requirement to pre-heat – among other benefits.

 

Renewable Energy Welding

CVE has adapted its latest high-tech welding technology, Ebflow, to reduce the fabrication time and cost of wind turbine foundations by up to 25%.

CVE is part of a consortium of organisations that has won an Innovate UK grant to dramatically reduce the installation costs of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea. When completed, the wind farm will generate enough energy to power over 4.5 million homes every year – around 5% of the UK’s electricity needs.

 

Renewable Energy Welding
DEFENCE

Electron beam welding is a well-established welding process within the defence sector, due to the high-quality output that is required for the application. A variety of components ranging from small to large and simple to complex are welded on CVE electron beam welders.

Aluminium Alloys

High-strength aluminium alloys are commonly electron beam welded for applications such as missile cases, launchers, and armour piercing parts and in some instances, the mechanical properties are modified by the use of a wire feed system used during the welding process.

 

Defence Welding
Small Components

Transducers, relays, and aneroid capsules are examples of small components joined by electron beam welding in the defence sector.

Defence Welding
Titanium Alloys

The high precision and 100% defect-free weld seams of electron beam welding are exploited for joining titanium alloys within the defence sector such as fuel propellant tanks and aero-engine rotors. Aero-engine parts are also commonly repaired, with electron beam used as the joining method.

Defence Welding
NUCLEAR

There are many applications for electron beam welding in the nuclear industry, including pressure vessels for conventional power, small modular reactor (SMR) and micro modular reactor (MMR) fabrication, as well as associated pressure retaining and structural components.

Electron Beam Welding of Thick Section Nuclear Components

Within the nuclear industry welding of thick-section components can be completed through various processes that are time-consuming and add significantly to the cost of fabrication. For many years, the aim has been to find a suitable process that can be used more widely across the nuclear industry. Even though output within nuclear power is low, the safety-critical nature of these components demands a high- quality solution.

 

Nuclear Welding

Typically, the welding of thick section components such as pressure vessels has been performed using arc-welding techniques that require multiple weld passes, with interstage non-destructive examination (NDE) and preheating of the component to reduce the risk of hydrogen cracking.

Nuclear Welding

Recent developments of electron beam welding technology using Ebflow offer the opportunity to weld large vessels in thick-section components in a single pass at high speed, with minimal distortion. Ebflow also negates the need for interstage NDE, which means there is a significant saving in time and cost in the fabrication of nuclear pressure vessels. Furthermore, you can eliminate the preheating step, since the EB process takes place in a vacuum environment, and therefore avoids the risk of hydrogen embrittlement.

Nuclear Welding

Compared with other welding processes, there are many advantages of using electron beam welding within the nuclear industry. It can offer significant savings in cost and time for thick-section fabrication due to the rapid joining rate resulting from the process of welding the full joint thickness in one single pass.

Nuclear Welding
AUTOMOTIVE

In the automotive industry, electron beam welding has many applications; from turbochargers to gears and convertors, to shunt resistors in standard fuel, hybrid, and electric vehicles.

Electron Beam Welding of Turbochargers

Most modern passenger and commercial diesel vehicle engines have a turbocharger fitted, which means there are currently millions of vehicles benefiting from better fuel economy, performance, and lower emissions across the world.

At the heart of the turbocharger is the high-speed rotating impeller shaft assembly. Driven by exhaust gasses, the shaft forces fuel and air back into the engine.

 

Automotive Welding

Electron beam welding joins a cast Inconel wheel and a carbon steel shaft together. The electron beam is a finely focused stream of electrons, which melts the two metal surfaces together, resulting in an excellent quality of weld with the characteristics of deep penetration, narrow fusion zone (HAZ) and near parent metal strength. Welding inside a vacuum environment ensures a clean and pure process.

Automotive Welding

Parts are either machined with a spigot to make the joint self-locating or are butted together before welding and held with precision clamping to control the geometry. Parts can be welded in the finished or semi-finished condition to minimise post-weld machining and with the correct alignment of the beam at the rotor/shaft joint, accurate and repeatable welds are possible with no associated cracking.

Automotive Welding
AEROSPACE

Electron beam welding is ideally suited to the aerospace industry, as it typically requires 100% critical, defect-free welds. The high-power density beam of electrons produces narrow welds of high integrity and with minimum distortion. Electron beam welding can produce welds in a wide range of materials including titanium alloys, aluminium alloys, heat-resisting and high-strength alloys, frequently used in aero-engines. These capabilities can be successfully applied to the fabrication of high critical components, ensuring that you can meet the stringent inherent safety requirements.

The typical electron beam welding machine for aerospace applications has a large work chamber, with a high voltage (150 kV) electron gun, of substantial power (up to 30 kW). The work chamber is furnished with high-precision workpiece manipulators under computer and CNC control, providing the quality and precision required for the aerospace industry.

Electron Beam Welding of Front Bearing Housing

This extremely complex assembly is fabricated from several relatively simple components. There are not many other welding processes that you could successfully employ for this type of product. The part requires linear, circumferential, and planetary welds during successive operations.

Aerospace Welding
Electron Beam Welding of Compressor Rotors

This major rotating component demands welds of high integrity, in 901 nickel. Fabrication by electron beam welding achieves savings in weight, material, and machining costs.

Aerospace Welding
Electron Beam Welding of Stator Blades

Fabricated using electron beam welding to join the many blade sections together results in a precise, repeatable weld. Titanium is perfectly suited to the electron beam welding process as it is done in a vacuum to avoid oxidation.

 

Aerospace Welding

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