A unique manufacturing program for large metal parts holds promise to help revitalize American manufacturing and return clean energy manufacturing technologies to the United States. The approach could greatly reduce waiting times for critical components and enable economic growth in the manufacturing sector for energy, according to scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The project, Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems, or Rapid RUNNERS, received DOE funding of $15 million over three years to create a system to produce the large runners used in dams for hydropower. A runner is the rotating part of a hydropower turbine that enables the pressure and movement of water to be converted into electricity.
The project will produce runners using 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, combined with conventional tools, all produced domestically. The process will use robotic welders to deposit metal layer by layer to form the runners.
To demonstrate the capability of the manufacturing system, the program will fabricate three Francis runners, a particular style of large stainless-steel turbines used in dams to generate hydropower: A prototype for testing, a 150CM runner for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Ocoee Dam in Parksville, Tennessee, and the third for potential installation in TVA’s Wilson Dam.
