Co-Design: Fabrication of Unalloyed Plutonium
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Northwestern University
The successful induction casting of plutonium is a challenge which requires technical expertise in areas including physical metallurgy, surface and corrosion chemistry, materials science, electromagnetic engineering and a host of other technologies all which must be applied in concert. Here at LANL, we are employing a combined experimental and computational approach to design molds and develop process parameters needed to produce desired temperature profiles and improved castings. Computer simulations are performed using the commercial code FLOW-3D and the LANL ASC computer code TRUCHAS to reproduce the entire casting process starting with electromagnetic or radiative heating of the mold and metal and continuing through pouring with coupled fluid flow, heat transfer and non-isothermal solidification. This approach greatly reduces the time required to develop a new casting designs and also increases our understanding of the casting process, leading to a more homogeneous, consistent product and better process control. We will discuss recent casting development results in support of unalloyed plutonium rods for mechanical testing.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/LANL
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1047118
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-12-23441; TRN: US201215%%760
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: MDI Summer Research Group Workshop Advanced Manufacturing ; 2012-07-25 - 2012-07-26 ; Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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