Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication: Quarterly Progress Report #9, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The ninth quarter of the project covered the following:

• Mr. Richard Silva continued the development of a simulation model with a Waelischmiller hot cell robot. Rich will continue to develop detailed 3-D process simulation models as his M.Sc. thesis project.

• A paper on hot cell robotics was presented at the ANS Winter Annual Meeting and published in the ANS 2003 conference proceedings.

• Further advances on Concepts and Methods for Vision-Based Hot Cell Supervision and control, focusing on rule-based object recognition (Ph.D. Student Jae-Kyu Lee)

• Graduate student Jamil Renno created simulations of more complex fuel manufacturing and …

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication: Quarterly Progress Report #8, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The eighth quarter of the project covered the following:

· Mr. Richard Silva continued the development of a simulation model with a Waelischmiller hot cell robot. Rich will continue to develop detailed 3-D process simulation models as his M.Sc. thesis project.

· A paper submitted for ANS for the Winter Annual Meeting on hot cell robotics was accepted for presentation and publication.

· Further advances on Concepts and Methods for Vision-Based Hot Cell Supervision and control, focusing on rule-based object recognition (Ph.D. Student Jae-Kyu Lee)

· Undergraduate student Jamil Renno created simulations of fuel pin assembly (robotic insertion of pellets …

Design And Analysis For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides: Quarterly Progress Report 5/16/03- 8/15/03, Yitung Chen, Randy Clarksean, Darrell Pepper

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The analysis of mold filling and solidification continues with progress being made for the consideration of these two features within one model. Analysis of the induction heating process of an Induction Skull Melter (ISM) is under study. Efforts are underway to validate the modeling procedure and specific comparisons are being made to previously published work. Few detailed modeling results have been reported by other researchers, making the validations an important part of the overall modeling process. Skin heating depths, power deposition rates, and other process parameters are being evaluated for use in upcoming furnace design simulations. Efforts are beginning on …

Phase Ii: Design And Analysis Of A Process For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides, Yitung Chen, Randy Clarksean, Darrell Pepper

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This research report develops a model to analyze the transport of americium from the melt to the vapor phase above the crucible. The model considers mass transport in the melt, vaporization at the surface, and transport through the vapor phase. The greatest problem with the model is the uncertainty of the thermodynamic properties of the proposed ternary alloy. The details of the model and the specific quantities needed for the physical properties will be discussed.

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication: Quarterly Progress Report #7, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The seventh quarter of the project covered the following:

• Mr. Richard Silva continued the development of a simulation model with a Waelischmiller hot cell robot. Rich will continue to develop detailed 3-D process simulation models as his M.Sc. thesis project.

• Mr. Richard Silva presented a paper on hot cell robotics at the ANS student conference in Berkeley, CA.

• Concepts and Methods for Vision-Based Hot Cell Supervision and control, focusing on rule-based object recognition (Ph.D. Student Jae-Kyu Lee)

• Undergraduate student Jamil Renno, developed better control algorithms, and created simulations of pick and place actions for the hot …

Unlv Transmutation Research Program Proposal Year Iii: Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The objective of this project is the design and evaluation of manufacturing processes for transmuter fuel fabrication. The large-scale deployment of remote fabrication and refabrication processes will be required for all transmutation scenarios. Current program emphasis is on a five-year effort to determine the feasibility of transmutation as a technology to limit the need for repository storage of spent commercial fuel. The evaluation of the fabrication processes will create a decision support data base to document design, operations, and costs. Fabrication processes required for different fuel types differ in terms of equipment types, throughput, and cost. Differential cost Implications of …

Design And Analysis For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides: Quarterly Progress Report 2/16/03- 5/15/03, Yitung Chen, Randy Clarksean, Darrell Pepper

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

Progress continues on the analysis of casting and solidification of the melt into molds. Modeling results for constant pressure casting, which is more realistic, have been obtained and produce physically realistic results for flow that starts, flows, and then eventually stops as it enters the mold. Potential mass transfer modeling features (Lammuir’s law for example) are being studied to enhance the capabilities of a mass transfer in a detailed system model. Different parameters are being varied as part of a parametric study to evaluate factors that impact the flow of the melt into the molds. The ability to include the …

Design And Analysis Of A Process For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides, Yitung Chen, Darrell Pepper, Randy Clarksean

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

UNLV has developed and will continue to develop process models for the analysis of melt casting processes. This work will continue to be performed under the guidance of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) engineers to insure that their knowledge and experience benefits the project. The research to be conducted during year three will center on performing detailed analyses on a conceptual design of an inductively heated skull-crucible casting furnace. Processing conditions will be analyzed, basic models utilized, and detailed heat and mass transfer models will be developed to analyze the most promising processes. The goal of this third year is to …

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication: Quarterly Progress Report #6, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The sixth quarter of the project covered the following:

• Mr. Richard Silva continued the development of a simulation model with a Waelischmiller hot cell robot. Rich will continue to develop detailed 3-D process simulation models as his M.Sc. thesis project. Rich is employed with Bechtel at the Yucca Mountain project.

• Concepts and Methods for Vision-Based Hot Cell Supervision and control (Ph.D. Student Jae-Kyu Lee )

• An undergraduate senior student in mechanical engineering, Mr. Jamil Renno, was hired to develop the simulation model for the hot cell manipulator.

An Analysis Of The Melt Casting Of Metallic Fuel Pins, Xiaolong Wu, Randy Clarksean, Yitung Chen Yitung.Chen@Unlv.Edu, Darrell Pepper, Mitchell K. Meyer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

• Background

– Casting Volatile Actinides

– Need to Contain Americium

– Overview of Project

• Fuel Rod Model

– Physical System

– Governing Equations

• Preliminary Modeling Results

– Mold Materials

– Injection Casting Velocity

Design And Analysis Of A Process For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides, Yitung Chen, Darrell Pepper, Randy Clarksean

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The goal of this project is to investigate the casting processes for metallic fuels to help design a process that minimizes the loss of the volatile actinide elements from the fuel.

The research effort centers on the development of advanced numerical models to assess conditions that significantly impact the transport of volatile actinides during the melt casting process and represents a joint effort between researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The goal of this research project is to provide technical support to process designers working on the development of the fuel cycles for transmutation applications. Detailed process models are developed to better define the impact of fuel choice on the transmuter fuel cycle, including relative process losses, waste generation, and plant capital cost. These process models provide insight regarding required plant size and number of plants needed to mesh with the fuel recycling line. They also determine requirements for automation.

Manufacturing models for large-scale production in a hot cell environment are also developed. Combined, these two models allow the assessment …

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Transmuter Fuel Fabrication, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

• Project Objective: examine autonomous robotic fuel fabrication processes with regard to hot cell and equipment design, operations, and costs.

• Fabrication processes for different fuel types differ in terms of equipment types, throughput, and cost.

• Design options are restricted by the requirement to employ only radiation-hardened machinery and components

• Benefit to Department of Energy: decision support for the selection of the most suitable manufacturing process.