USNC Invests in Desktop Metals to Develop X-Series Products for Next-Generation Nuclear Fuel Design

March 10, 2022 Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) has adopted twoDesktop MetalThe company’s latest X-Series adhesive jet3D printingmachine to develop nuclear fuel rods. The machine, capable of printing advanced materials such as silicon carbide, will be key to facilitating the use of innovative fuel designs in a new generation of advanced nuclear reactors.“Binder jetting is a low-cost, high-throughput, reliable process for our complex volume production, and the advanced materials capabilities of the X-Series machines are our innovative approach to fuel design,” said Dr. Kurt Terrani, executive vice president of USNC Core Division. The basics.”

△ USNC’s entireceramicsMicroencapsulated fuel innovation. Image via Desktop Metal.

Additive Manufacturing Applications at USNC

USNC, a global leader in developing microreactor and nuclear power technologies, has since the beginning of this year3D printingTechnology is showing increasing interest.In January, USNC announced that it had licensed ORNL to use silicon carbide and other refractoryMetal 3D PrintingA new approach to nuclear reactor components. The technology combines binder jet 3D printing with a chemical vapor infiltration process, enabling the fabrication of complex reactor components more efficient than traditional methods. Just last week, the USNC revealed that it would locate a pilot fuel manufacturing (PFM) operation on an 8.7-acre site near ORNL in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to enhance the development of advanced nuclear fuel solutions, including the use of 3D printing. The plant is expected to be operational this summer, and USNC and ORNL will continue to work closely together to commercialize ORNL’s additive manufacturing technology and establish an advanced nuclear fuel supply chain.

Nuclear energy is clean
energy
A form of electricity generation, as an alternative to burning fossil fuels, is receiving increasing attention, and according to ORNL professors Kathy McCarthy and Xin Sun, 3D printing nuclear components is already making an impact in this field.

△USNC has licensed ORNL’s new additive manufacturing method to produce complex nuclear reactor components. Photo via Carlos Jones/ORNL.

Advantages of Desktop Metal X-Series Products

At the end of 2021, DesktopMetal was acquired for $575 millionExOnecompany, expanded its adhesive jetting portfolio. As part of the acquisition, some of ExOne’s systems have been renamed “X-Series”, namely its InnoventX, X25Pro and X160Pro.The X-Series is powered by ExOne’s patented Triple ACT advanced compaction technology for dispensing, spreading and compacting powder during the binder jetting process. This enables various powders to combine and enables the printer to process metals and ceramics, such as silicon carbide, to create functional precision parts.

Silicon carbide is a functional ceramic material with good environmental stability and is often used inaviation aerospacearmor, plasma shielding and high temperature applications.

USNC has employed two printing systems from the X-Series to improve the ability to transform silicon carbide materials into shapes that can safely enclose nuclear fuel particles, a key element of its all-ceramic microcapsule (FCM) fuel innovation. This approach is used to fuel USNC’s Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) energy system, which is known for its reliability and safety.
Terrani said: “Ultrasafe Nuclear is at the technological forefront of nuclear fuel and reactor design, pioneering new advances in safety and performance. Powering a new generation of microreactors represents a watershed in zero-carbon energy manufacturing in the United States and around the world. .”

Explaining how the FCM and MMR systems work together, Terrani added: “We’ve created a reactor design that’s self-assured, so you don’t need concrete domes, exclusion zones, or large reservoirs because it’s inherently safe. We’re With a high-temperature fuel, there are multiple inherent radiation release barriers at the heart of our reactor systems. That’s the essence of an ultra-safe approach to nuclear power.”

△DesktopMetal’s InnoventX 3D printer. Photo via DesktopMetal.

The small form factor InnoventX is already installed at the USNC facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the company has been working to expand its next-generation nuclear fuel array on the larger X25Pro and X160Pro systems.
Terrani said: “There are many kinds of additive manufacturing methods, but a large part of them rely on high-temperature processes in the deposition process. By melting metal particles, they are connected together, but carbonization with high melting point is not suitable for this method. Binder jetting technology is unique because it really relies on the physical properties of the power, and it basically does not destroy the chemical and phase structure of the material. Therefore, we can choose high purity, high crystallinity carbide raw material powder, Nuclear industrial-grade powders, and then form these really complex geometries that were not possible before.”

In addition to these two new X-Series systems, USNC will add two more machines later this year to further expand its nuclear fuel design capabilities.

Ric Fulop, co-founder and CEO of Desktop Metal, said: “Driving large-scale applications of additive manufacturing requires scalable systems capable of printing high-performance materials for the most innovative applications. We are proud to bring the bonding Agent jetting technology is used in the actual production of USNC and has played a role in solving problems on a global scale with additive manufacturing solutions.”

(responsible editor: admin)

USNC Invests in Desktop Metals to Develop X-Series Products for Next-Generation Nuclear Fuel Design

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