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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.
Yansong Liu, Tao Wang, Guo Chen, Jun Xie, Qi Wang, Zhibing He
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 6 | August 2023 | Pages 641-650
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2175599
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, high-density carbon (HDC) is being evaluated as an alternative to the current point-design ablator material (glow discharge plasma) due to its high density and optimal opacity, which leads to a higher energy efficiency and implosion stability. Chemical vapor deposition–coated HDC capsules have a near-perfect surface figure but a microscopically rough surface, so polishing is needed to achieve the required nanometer surface finish. Herein, HDC capsule polishing is investigated with modified four-cup-type polishing technology. The surface morphology, microstructures, and wall thicknesses of the polished capsules were examined by multiple techniques, such as an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray radiography, and so on. The results show that the HDC capsules can be polished to a surface roughness less than 15 nm and a wall thickness nonuniformity of about 0.5 μm. The Raman spectra indicated that four-cup polishing had no obvious influence on the original surface crystallinity and phase composition of the HDC capsules. The crystallographic of the HDC capsules with different four-cup polishing times had no deterioration. This work plays an important role for the application of HDC capsules in ICF research.