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LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company’s nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors.
The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal–jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel.
Christopher B. Azmeh, Kyle L. Walton, Tushar K. Ghosh, Sudarshan K. Loyalka, Dabir S. Viswanath, Robert V. Tompson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 195 | Number 1 | July 2016 | Pages 87-97
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-54
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
For very-high-temperature reactors (VHTRs), the ability of structural components, specifically the reactor pressure vessel, to dissipate heat by radiation is an important design criterion. Thus, in selecting components for VHTR applications, it is necessary to measure the emissivity of all structural materials being considered. With the standard ASTM C835-06 test method, the total hemispherical emissivity of A387 Grade 91 steel, a leading candidate alloy for VHTR structural applications, was measured under four distinct surface conditions: (1) mild abrasion following electrical discharge machining, (2) increased surface roughness via sandblasting, (3) coating with NBG-18 graphite powder, and (4) oxidization in air. A detailed account of experimental methods and procedures, as well as the results of the total hemispherical emissivity measurements, are presented.