The Design and Technology Department were pleased that their team of 4 students
from the Engineering Education Scheme were invited to attend the CREST Award
Regional Final at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield Stadium. The Engineering
team of Alex Clarke, Oliver Jones, James Macaulay and Tom Walker presented their
project, a design solution to a live problem provided by URENCO. (Uranium
Enrichment Plant at Capenhurst). URENCO enrich uranium for the power station
industry and they use sample bottles to test the levels of enrichment. To ensure
compliance with International Standards, 15 sample bottles need to be
hydraulically pressure tested for leaks every five years. This is done by
filling them with water and attaching them to a test rig and pressurising them
to 400 psig. URENCO required a device to attach the 15 sample bottles onto the
test rig and tighten them to a set torque of 22ft.lb without damaging the
surface of the bottle. Each bottle costs £1000 and is normally discarded after a
5 year period so the product that was designed by our team is estimated to save
URENCO £400,000. As a result of the Regional finals the team has been nominated
to attend the National finals in London. Watch this space!
Click in the photographs for a larger image
