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Oregon bill would create new feasibility study
Historical photo of Trojan nuclear power plant, ca. 1974. (Photo: DOE)
As concerns over growing energy needs persist, yet another state is reconsidering nuclear power. A piece of legislation is currently progressing through Oregon’s legislature that would direct the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of deploying new power reactors in the state.
Nathan Clark Reid, Lauren Garrison, Maxim Gussev, Jean Paul Allain
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 7 | October-November 2021 | Pages 907-914
Student Paper Competition Selection | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1925032
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Candidate tungsten armor materials in a magnetic confinement fusion device must be able to withstand thermal variation that leads to internal stresses caused by the impinging heat load. In addition, the thermomechanical properties of these materials are degraded by irradiation-induced defect accumulation. Fission reactor–based irradiation data are used to predict the fusion neutron damage and property change. This study examines the motivation and design of a custom-designed three-point bend test for neutron-irradiated disk specimens that are 3 mm in diameter to be able to define the flexural strength of advanced tungsten materials, alloys, and composites—and to the extent that embrittlement occurs after neutron irradiation. The theory provided shows a calculation for the flexural deflection and shear deflection due to the small-geometry constraints. A finite element deformation analysis is performed to evaluate the mechanical stress field of disk bend specimens. The stress values above 80% of the maximum stress are concentrated in 2.4 mm of the 3.0-mm length of the centerline across the tungsten disk diameter. A bend test fixture has been designed and fabricated to enable testing of these specimens with precisely engineered tolerance and minimal machine compliance. This fixture will be able to be placed inside a universal testing frame at elevated temperatures for the mechanical property evaluation of future neutron-irradiated disk specimens.