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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.
E. L. Alfonso, J. W. Crippen, A. Q. L. Nguyen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 51 | Number 4 | May 2007 | Pages 651-654
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1459
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fielding a cryogenic ICF capsule for near-term ignition shots requires a fill-tube to deliver fuel to the capsule. Polymer capsules (0.9 and 3.1 mm o.d.) with a monolithic fill-tube have been produced. The fill tube is formed on the capsule by plasma polymer coating on a mandrel with a depolymerizable stalk. We report recent advances achieved in monolithic fill-tube capsule production. The micro-assembly station for attaching PAMS stalk to the mandrels was improved to reduce fillet and fill tube diameters and increase throughput. Excimer laser etching is used to micro-machine fill-tube capsules and target components to allow proper mating for assembly. The fill-tube target is attached to the gas source by a flexible polymer fill line and was tested to confirm gas flow and retention. The effect of the mandrel stalk on the uniformity of GDP coating is investigated.