When AECL was having a problem with wear on an expensive and critical component, they came to Metalon for assistance.

The part was known as a SLAR cable drum and was crucial to help prevent failure of the reactor by positioning circular springs. These helped keep the fuel rods from sagging which which could contribute to cracking of the he reactor tubes. The SLAR drum was made of 304 stainless steel and had two elastomeric seals running against it to seal off the heavy water used to moderate the reaction.

In service, it became evident that the high pressure of this heavy water was causing rapid wear of the seal surface which, in turn, caused the seals to leak. We analyzed the forces acting on the seals and worked with AECL to design a test rig which measured the coefficient of friction for different nickel alloys.

Following this exercise, Metalon's solution was to coat the seal areas of the drum with a specific smooth, hard nickel alloy to prevent this wear and degradation of the seals.

The successful solution provided by our company resulted in enormous cost savings by extending operating periods from weeks to years with a corresponding reduction in downtime.

To this day, Metalon is still specified on AECL drawing as the source of metal coatings on various components to prevent wear and reduce friction.