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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
H. W. Xu, C. S. Alford, J. C. Cooley, L. A. Dixon, R. E. Hackenberg, S. A. Letts, K. A. Moreno, A. Nikroo, J. R. Wall, K. P. Youngblood
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 51 | Number 4 | May 2007 | Pages 547-552
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST51-547
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Various morphologies have been observed in sputter-deposited Be ablator capsules, including nodular growth, cone growth and twisted grain growth. By devising an agitation method that includes both bouncing and rolling the spherical mandrels during deposition, and by reducing the coating rate, consistent columnar grain structure has now been obtained up to 170 mm. Low mode deformation of the shells is observed on thin CH mandrels, but is suppressed if stiffer mandrels are used. Ablator density measured by weighing and x-ray radiography is 93%.95% of bulk density of Be. Transmission electron microscopy shows 100.200 nm size voids in the film and striations inside the grains. Be shells produced with rolling agitation have met most of the NIF specifications. Some of the few remaining issues will be discussed.