Patent · US Active

Compositions for additive manufacturing and methods of additive manufacturing, particularly of nuclear reactor components

US11993009B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
3References
34Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 31, 2020
Grant dateMay 28, 2024
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 15, 2042

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02E30/30
  • WIPO fieldMacromolecular chemistry, polymers
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

Additive manufacturing methods use a surrogate slurry to iteratively develop an additive manufacturing protocol and then substitutes a final slurry composition to then additively manufacture a final component using the developed additive manufacturing protocol. In the nuclear reactor component context, the final slurry composition is a nuclear fuel slurry having a composition: 30-45 vol. % monomer resin, 30-70 vol. % plurality of particles of uranium-containing material, >0-7 vol. % dispersant, photoactivated dye, photoabsorber, photoinitiator, and 0-18 vol. % (as a balance) diluent. The surrogate slurry has a similar composition, but a plurality of surrogate particles selected to represent a uranium-containing material are substituted for the particles of uranium-containing material. The method provides a means for in-situ monitoring of characteristics of the final component during manufacture as well as in-situ volumetric inspection. Compositions of surrogate slurries and nuclear fuel slurries are also disclosed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.