Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory (ORNL) has efficiently examined a 3D printed specimen capsule in its Excessive Flux Isotope Reactor. The capsule, identified within the trade as a rabbit capsule, was designed and manufactured utilizing a laser powder mattress printer with chrome steel supplies. This marks the primary time an additively manufactured part of this sort has been certified for reactor use.
The specimen capsule underwent practically a month of testing contained in the Excessive Flux Isotope Reactor, the place it demonstrated its capacity to face up to the reactor’s excessive neutron flux surroundings. These capsules play a necessary function in nuclear fuels and supplies analysis by containing experiments throughout irradiation testing.
“It is a vital step towards demonstrating that additive manufacturing can be utilized to develop and qualify specialised parts that can not be conventionally machined,” mentioned Richard Howard, group lead for irradiation engineering at ORNL. The expertise gives potential benefits in each price discount and manufacturing pace in comparison with conventional fabrication strategies.
The analysis staff plans to judge the capsule’s post-irradiation efficiency this winter. Their future work will concentrate on creating extra complicated designs that may be tough to supply utilizing typical manufacturing strategies. The profitable take a look at may result in broader adoption of 3D printed parts in nuclear power functions and different extremely regulated industries.
The undertaking, supported by the U.S. Division of Power’s Superior Supplies and Manufacturing Applied sciences program, demonstrates the potential for additive manufacturing in producing certified parts for safety-critical functions. The expertise’s capacity to create personalized designs might present new alternatives for part manufacturing in industries with strict materials and design requirements.
Supply: power.gov
