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Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Harold N. Barr, Fred Hittman, Robert D. Brown, Frank W. Clinard, Jr., Manuel R. Lopez, Horace Martinez, Tobias J. Romero, Jay H. Cook
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 17 | Number 3 | May 1990 | Pages 385-390
Technical Paper | Materials Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29215
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Ceramic-to-metal seals were prepared by sputtering a titanium metallizing layer onto ceramic disks and then brazing to metal tubes. The ceramics used were alumina, MACOR, spinel, A ION, and a mixture of Al2O3 and Si3N4, Except for the MACOR, which was brazed to a titanium tube, the ceramics were brazed to niobium tubes. The seals were leak tested and then sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory, where they were irradiated using the spallation neutron source at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. Following irradiation for ∼90 days to a fluence of 3.8 × 1023 n/m2, the samples were moved to hot cells and again leak tested. Only the MACOR samples showed any measurable leaks. One set of samples was then pressurized to 6.9 MPa (1000 psi) and subsequently leak tested. No leaks were found. Bursting the seals required hydrostatic pressures of at least 34 MPa (5000 psi). The high seal strength and few leaks indicate that ceramic-to-metal seals can resist radiation-induced degradation.