Applus+ participates in the inspection and certification of the world's largest neutron source

10/02/2021

    A major national company in the supply of mechanical components and Asturfeito, a leading engineering company, have awarded Applus+ the contract to inspect components from a neutron source and to certify the welds.

    The neutron source, called ESS (European Spallation Source), is one of today’s most exciting scientific challenges, setting out to multiply the capacity of current sources by a factor of 100, and its capabilities will be applied to sectors such as medicine, energy sources and other scientific developments. 

    Two years ago, the Council of the European Spallation Source ratified Spain's adherence as a full, founding member of the international consortium created for this major project, made up of 13 partner countries and two observers. The neutron source will be installed in Lund, Sweden, although the components will be manufactured and certified in different European countries. 

    The welds of the neutron source are being certified by a team from the mechanical department at Applus+, which performs exhaustive quality control of the components through non-destructive testing (NDT). The technicians involved have special and specific training to perform these tests for the project, in addition to their certification as Level 2 in the Visual Inspection methods according to UNE-EN ISO 9712.

    A notable feature of this project is the use of advanced technologies for inspection, and our specialists are using high-resolution videoscopes for Remote Visual Inspection (RVI), which allows our team to accurately analyse specific places inaccessible to the human eye. Applus+ has extensive experience in the use of these types of advanced technologies to perform remote visual inspections that determine the integrity of different components of wind turbines and those within thermal or petrochemical plants.

    The manufacturing inspection of the Target Wheel, apart from the visual inspection, is completed with other tests such as Radiographic (RT), Ultrasonic (TRL) or Penetrant Liquids (LPT). Our technicians  study the geometry of the joint, the design of calibration specimens and the specific scanning plan for the inspection of the components being manufactured for the project.

    The involvement of Applus+ in this project, thanks to the experience and expertise of our technical team, offers a guarantee and security for compliance with the rigorous quality standards of Northern Europe, to which our customers must adhere, such as ISO 17637 or Report 1237-4-da-en-2016. For our part of the collaboration, Applus+ is proud to participate in a project of this importance, which is a landmark for the European and Spanish scientific community.

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