An alliance of four companies led by Amec Foster Wheeler has been formed to provide equipment qualification (EQ) and materials qualification (MQ) services designed for nuclear sites in the UK.
The three companies partnering Amec Foster Wheeler are Element Materials Technology, Tecnatom and TUV Rheinland which as such are already assisting several power plants and other nuclear licensed sites on their own globally.
The alliance dubbed as EQ Services Alliance (EQSA) is expected to help customers benefit from their vast combined global experience, qualification expertise and specialist testing facilities.
EQSA’s services to the nuclear sites would include design support, materials selection, operating experience and desktop/physical analysis.
Also included in their services would be ageing and thermodynamic accident conditions/design basis event testing, CE marking test and certification, seismic testing, accelerated ageing tests on materials and equipment, and testing for corrosion and mechanical resistance.
As per Amec Foster Wheeler Clean Energy business consultancy vice president Greg Willetts, the collective capability and expertise of the four companies will be in a position to cover all the EQ and MQ requirements for customers on new build or modification projects.
Willetts added: “EQSA is dedicated to ensuring that the new build supply chain and existing operators can correctly qualify safety critical components right first time in order to meet UK regulatory expectations while helping to avoid delays and unforeseen costs as the project develops.
“We are supporting customers on materials selection and preparation of qualification plans as well as analysis and testing – all designed to establish, preserve and upgrade required equipment qualifications.”
According to Amec Foster, qualification of equipment is very important for safety purpose in nuclear power facilities. It involves comprehensive checks to make sure that the nuclear plants’ components are capable of performing designated functions on demand throughout the design life of the facility even when any accident or seismic events occur.
In another development, Amec Foster was awarded a five-year Engineering Master Services Agreement (MSA) in Australia by Arrow Energy for its Coal Seam Gas (CSG) development and production in Queensland.
Image: An Amec Foster Wheeler scientist testing elastomer ‘O’ ring seals, used in nuclear power plants, as part of an accelerated ageing assessment. Photo: courtesy of Amec Foster Wheeler.