Build for the Future
|
THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS |
|
|
|
|
| SAFE, RELIABLE fission nuclear reactors rely on nickel-containing stainless steels and alloys. | |
|
|
|
|
|
We live in a world hungry for energy yet increasingly conscious of the perils of climate change. In many
places, demand for electricity far outstrips the ability of utilities to produce it. Nonetheless
consumers expect their demands to be met and greenhouse gasses to be reduced.
Nickel-containing materials can be a part of a sustainable solution, and in this issue we feature three
stories that explain how.
Two of the stories involve engineers who are using nickel-containing materials to improve the efficiency and
longevity of existing plants that generate electricity. The third explains how nickel-containing materials
are making it possible for countries such as Canada and the U.S. to build facilities for storing liquefied
natural gas.
Increasing the power output of existing hydroelectric plants without raising dams and flooding more land
sounds too good to be true, but engineers at one utility in North America, Ontario Power Generation, are
doing just that. Re-designing the runner blades, a key component in turning the potential energy in
hydrostatic head into electrical energy, has enabled them to boost output considerably (see story, "Better Blades Yield More Power"). The slight addition
of nickel to the alloy of which the new runner blades are made results in the required strength at a reduced
weight. These advances, combined with the new geometric design, allow for the improved efficiencies.
Similarly, increasing the operating life of nuclear power plants built in the 1970s and ’80s seems like a sensible undertaking. For one thing, it delays the construction of entirely new facilities that require significantly more resources. Our story, "Microbes Attack Water Pipes",explains how such utilities are beginning to replace carbon steel water service piping, which are susceptible to microbiologically influenced corrosion, with nickel-containing stainless steels. The stainless improves the corrosion resistance and therefore the longevity of the water service piping, thus contributing to the overall economics of an aging plant.
Building an entirely new energy delivery system that results in fewer greenhouse gases being emitted is the subject of our third energy-related story, "Safe Storage at Minus 162° C". The design of a safe energy delivery system is often based on lessons learned from past failures. This is also true in the case of liquefied natural gas (LNG). An investigation into an accidental explosion of an LNG storage facility in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1944 determined that it was the low nickel content of the steel used to make the tanks that caused embrittlement and the catastrophic failure of the metal storage tank. The solution was to specify the use of an alloy with a nickel content that is sufficient (in this case 9%) to protect against embrittlement under such low temperatures. As a result, nickel-containing materials are today enabling utilities to transport, transfer and store a fuel that emits fewer greenhouse gases when burned.
All these stories help illustrate why engineers need to learn from the past when designing ways to deliver
the energy that society demands for the future.
Editor
<< Contents
page -- Next >>
