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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Aaron Aoyama, James Blanchard, John Sethian, Nasr Ghoniem, Shahram Sharafat
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | July 2009 | Pages 435-440
IFE Drivers and Chambers | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 1) | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A8940
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In support of the High Average Power Laser (HAPL) project the Electra Laser, a KrF Gas Laser system is being developed at NRL. The laser uses high voltage (500 - 800 keV), high current (100 - 500 kA), short pulse (100 - 600 ns) electron beams to pump the 0.14 MPa (20 psi) pressurized KrF gas cell, which is separated from the vacuum region by a 25 m-thick stainless steel foil, the Hibachi Foil. The foil is made of SUS304, operates between 180 °C and 450 °C, and has typical dimensions of about 0.3 m × 1.0 m. The laser pulses at up to 5 Hz, and the foil is subjected to repetitive thermal and mechanical stresses. In typical experiments, the foil lasts 1000 - 20,000 shots before suffering a catastrophic failure. In an attempt to improve foil performance a variety of design modifications are being considered along with changes in foil material. Earlier Hibachi foil designs used flat foils resting on 0.3 m long square water-cooled supporting ribs (1 cm wide). There is a 3.4 cm gap between ribs. . Advanced Hibachi foil concepts are under development using a scalloped foil design. In this paper we report on the comparative thermo-mechanical analysis between flat and scalloped foil geometries. It is demonstrated that the scalloped design reduces stresses to within yield limits of the stainless steel material.