- Number 293 |
- August 17, 2009
INL team paves way to Generation IV reactor
Engineers assemble the inside
of the capsule
Nuclear-grade graphite is a key component of the next generation of nuclear power reactors. But supplies of nuclear grade graphite are depleted, and available sources are idiosyncratic. That's why testing new graphite sources is vital for the nuclear power plants of tomorrow. Engineers from DOE's Idaho National Laboratory have now designed and built a means for validating new graphite sources. The Advanced Graphite Capsule project will test more than 2,000 different samples of graphite within INL's Advanced Test Reactor over the next ten years. Each of six specially-designed capsules will be used for nearly two years to expose test samples to intense irradiation and temperatures ranging from 600 to 1200 degrees Celsius.
[Teri Ehresman, 208-526-7785,
teri.ehresman@inl.gov]
