Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Research and Development - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Research and Development Capabilities Presented at Mo-99 Topical Meeting Montreal, Quebec Chris Bryan Research Reactors Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory September 12, 2017 ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the US Department of Energy for the US Department of Energy

The Manhattan Project in East Tennessee 2 Overview_1510

Mission of Clinton Laboratories, 1943: Produce gram quantities of plutonium for chemical and engineering research • Construct the world’s first operational nuclear reactor • Develop chemical processing to separate plutonium from irradiated fuel ASCAC_0911

Isotope production, enrichment and distribution began at Oak Ridge just after WWII 4 Overview_1510

ORNL grew into a leading nuclear science laboratory Trained nuclear Contributed Examined Designed, built, Developed engineers to the design the safety, and operated techniques at the Oak Ridge of naval nuclear environmental, 13 experimental for nuclear fuel School of Reactor propulsion systems and waste disposal reactors reprocessing Technology challenges of nuclear energy ORSORT established ORNL’s Geneva reactor ORNL’s Low Intensity ORNL’s Bulk Shielding by Alvin Weinberg and exhibited at UN conference Test Reactor–First Reactor, 1950–1991 Hyman Rickover, 1950 on the Peaceful Uses of visible Cerenkov Atomic Energy, 1955 glow, 1950 5 Overview_1510

Today, ORNL is DOE’s largest science and energy laboratory Nation’s World’s 198 largest most intense invention materials neutron disclosures research source in FY15 portfolio Nation’s 1,853 4,700 most diverse journal articles employees energy published portfolio in CY15 66 3,200 World- $1.5B research class patents budget guests research issued in FY15 annually reactor Managing Forefront major DOE $750M scientific projects modernization US ITER, computing investment facilities exascale computing 6 Overview_1510

ORNL’s mission Deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs that will accelerate the development and deployment of solutions in clean energy and global security, and in doing so create economic opportunity for the nation Signature strengths Computational science and engineering Materials science and engineering Neutron science and technology Nuclear science and technology 7 Overview_1510

ORNL’s unique facilities attract thousands of researchers each year Spallation Neutron Source Center for Nanophase Manufacturing Materials Sciences Demonstration Facility Building Technologies High Oak Ridge Leadership High Flux National Transportation BioEnergy Research and Temperature Computing Science Isotope Research Integration Center Materials Laboratory Facility Center Reactor Center 8 Overview_1510

We focus our resources on compelling science and technology challenges Advance Scale Accelerate the Advance Advance Discover Deliver science the science computing and discovery and the scientific understanding and develop and technology and impact data analytics design of new basis for nuclear of complexity sustainable to address of neutrons to exascale materials technologies in biological and and secure complex and beyond for energy and systems: environmental integrated energy security for science Fission, fusion, systems systems challenges and energy and isotopes Deliver transformative impacts regionally, nationally and internationally • Accelerate deployment of DOE intellectual property • Expand strategic engagement with industry and universities 9 Overview_1510

ORNL’s nuclear programs are anchored by multi-billion dollar investment in facilities and infrastructure Irradiated Radiochemical Irradiated Fuels Materials High Flux Engineering Examination Examination Isotope Reactor Development Laboratory and Testing Center Laboratory Radiochemistry Low Activation Laboratory Materials Design and Experimental Proto-MPEX and Analysis Engineering Laboratory Buildings Enriched Stable Ultra-trace Isotope Forensic Science Production Center Facility 10 Overview_1510

Enabling strategic isotope production and R&D Industrial and medical Stable isotope Plutonium-238 Californium-252 applications production tools • Radioisotope • Supplying ~67% • Developing • Compact power systems for of 252 Cf worldwide radioisotopes electromagnetic 26 space missions for diagnostics isotope separation • Applications and therapy device • Leading project − Oil well logging − C-14 to reestablish • Enriched stable − On-line coal quality US production − Ni-63 isotope pilot project analysis capability − Se-75 − Cancer treatment − W-188 − Nuclear reactor start- up sources − Pb-212 − Nuclear fuel rod − Ac-225 examination − Ac-227 Ac-225 − Homeland security − U-234 11 Overview_1510

High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) • Primary mission of neutron scattering (funded by DOE- Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences) • Isotope production • Accelerated neutron damage testing of materials • Nuclear forensics 12 Overview_1510

Irradiation Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL) 13 Overview_1510

Irradiated Materials Examination Testing Facility (IMET) • Various materials testing equipment (mechanical/thermal) • In-cell Scanning electron microscope • Capsule opening and sorting equipment • Small samples can be sent to Low Activation laboratory for further processing in a low- Six hot cell faces in the IMET activation environment. 14 Overview_1510

ORNL has supported multiple Mo-99 cooperative agreement projects GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to develop neutron capture technology (GEH placed the project on-hold) NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes to develop accelerator target and production process SHINE Medical to develop accelerator technology with LEU fission 15 Overview_1510

ORNL Support for GE-Hitachi n-gamma Production in Power Reactors • Irradiation and shipping of mo-99 samples for chemical testing • Impurities analysis of molybdenum target metal • Oxidation/sublimation testing and mitigation Irradiation target Shipping to Valecetos using specialized coating techniques No treatment (12.7 No treatment (12.7 Air, 800°C, 5 hrs Air, 800°C, 5 hrs mm diameter ball) mm diameter ball) Porosity measurement of coating based on contrast. Porosity = 27% 16 Overview_1510

ORNL supports NorthStar, investigating optimal acelerator disk production techniques including additive manufacturing • Powder-based processes for pressing/sintering accelerator disk target production • Powder production methods optimized for each target fabrication method • Additive manufactured targets (3D printed) offers more customized designs for optimized production and target cooling 17 Overview_1510

ORNL supports SHINE with materials research for the target solution vessel and support pipes • Zircaloy-based vessel material with low- temperature application (no data for zirc at low temperatures) • Need to fully document irradiated/hydrided material characteristics pre- and post-irradiation to satisfy NRC • Laboratory corrosion testing of candidate materials • Irradiation testing of candidate materials 18 Overview_1510

Questions? 19 Overview_1510