Focus on the environment and the need to harness renewable energy

There is quite rightly a great deal of focus on the environment and the need to harness renewable energy. One of the potential solutions is the Mast Upgrade, which centres on a more compact and cheaper fusion reactor. It uses an innovative design known as a spherical tokamak to contain the fuel within a 4.4 m-high by 4 m-wide volume. The core of the plasma within the tokamak can be 100 million°C. The challenge has been in how to make an exhaust that can withstand these phenomenal temperatures; a design known as a Super-X divertor is being trialled and the results have been described as game-changing. This could lead to fusion power plants that could provide affordable, efficient electricity in a clean and unlimited way. The fusion process works by combining two lighter elements, making a single heavier one. It would be reasonable to expect that the NDT and CM input will be significant.

The next generation of offshore wind turbine generators are being worked on and these include colossal floating tethered structures that will be floated into place and moved if required or for significant maintenance: a ready-made flotilla of wind turbines manufactured in a more efficient manner.

One of the potential fuels for the future, which has been in use in limited amounts for many years, is hydrogen. There are several ways of extracting hydrogen, all using energy in significant amounts. The energy generated from wind turbine generators can be used as the power to separate the hydrogen atoms, providing a green option, hence the term ‘green hydrogen’. Another approach involves using natural gas as the energy source and pumping the nasty waste products back under the sea where the gas came from; this is referred to as ‘blue hydrogen’. The problems arise due to hydrogen being the smallest atom and the subsequent issue of how to contain it, as carbon steel and hydrogen are not good bedfellows. For vehicles, there is work on composite tanks to contain the hydrogen under high pressure and these use the most current filmless radiographic technologies for NDT. To use existing pipelines that are buried to pump hydrogen around will bring more challenges for the NDT and CM communities.

The UK government has made a commitment that all new-build houses will not use gas and heat pump technology is being cited as the alternative; unfortunately, this becomes less efficient as the temperature drops, which is when it is needed the most. More efficient systems and additional heat generators will be required.

As the technologies change, the NDT and CM requirements will also change to accommodate the different materials and uses. Has the aerospace sector been damaged in the long term due to COVID-19 or will it come back as we emerge from the pandemic with more efficient aircraft? The future will bring us new and exciting challenges, but we must not forget the need for legacy NDT and CM requirements.

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