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Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
K. P. Youngblood, H. Huang, H. W. Xu, J. Hayes, K. A. Moreno, J. J. Wu, A. Nikroo, C. A. Alford, A. V. Hamza, S. O. Kucheyev, Y. M. Wang, K. J. Wu
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 2 | March-April 2013 | Pages 208-212
Technical Paper | Selected papers from 20th Target Fabrication Meeting, May 20-24, 2012, Santa Fe, NM, Guest Editor: Robert C. Cook | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-TFM20-23
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The NIF point design uses a five-layer capsule to modify the X-ray absorption in order to achieve optimized shock timing. A stepped copper dopant design defines the layer structure. The production of the capsule involves pyrolysis to remove the inner plastic mandrel. Copper atoms diffuse radially and azimuthally throughout the capsule during pyrolysis. This diffusion significantly diminishes the capsule performance during implosion. Thermal and coated oxide barrier layers employed between layers mitigate the diffusion of copper during the mandrel removal process. The copper atoms do not diffuse through this barrier during pyrolysis. A capsule fabrication method that produces a capsule with a thin oxide layer will be discussed.