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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.
H. Huang, R. B. Stephens, D. W. Hill, C. Lyon, A. Nikroo, D. A. Steinman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 214-217
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A453
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) shells are mesoscale objects with nano-scale dimensional and nanosurface finish requirements. Currently, the shell dimensions are measured by white-light interferometry and an image analysis method. These two methods complement each other and give a rather complete data set on a single shell. The process is, however, labor intensive. We have developed an automation routine to fully characterize a shell in one shot and perform unattended batch measurement. The method is useful to the ICF program both for production screening and for full characterization. It also has potential for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) power plant where half a million shells need to be processed daily.