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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Duke Energy plans new nuclear buildout in 2025 strategic plan
Duke Energy is looking to add large light water reactors and small modular reactors to its fleet in the coming years to meet increased energy demands expected in its southeast region.
Ethan Frey, Eduardo Marin, Grayson Lovelace, Jarrod Williams, Ragad Mohammed, Casey Kong, Fred Elsner, Wendi Sweet
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 7 | October 2023 | Pages 862-869
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2151287
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
General Atomics-Carbon Hydrogen (GA-CH) and General Atomics-Carbon Deuterium (GA-CD) aerogels have applications as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets at the National Ignition Facility, Omega Laser Facility, and Z Pulsed Power Facility. However, fusion experiments at these facilities require the fabrication of precise geometries of aerogels, achievable only by machining. Unfortunately, machining low-density (<50 mg/cm3) GA-CH aerogels is difficult, given their fragile structure. Higher-density GA-CH aerogels, although easier to machine, are left with a small nub after machining. This work investigates filling the GA-CH gel pores with wax to increase their machinability. The wax was added by exchanging the solvent of the GA-CH gel with melted wax. In addition, 1- to 2-mm spherical voids were created within the aerogels using fused quartz beads that were leached with hydrofluoric acid. Samples were characterized for contaminants, structural damage, dopant loss, and surface roughness using size measurements, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, micro-computed tomography imaging, and optical profilometry. Through advances in aerogel fabrication techniques, progress is made toward testing new ICF target designs.