Spherical powders: Control over the size and morphology of powders for additive manufacturing and enriched stable isotope nuclear targets

Spherical powders: Control over the size and morphology of powders for additive manufacturing and enriched stable isotope nuclear targets

Description & AMAZEMET association

Metal powders are vital for nuclear target production, but inconsistencies in powder morphology and size can compromise quality. Using the AMAZEMET rePowder ultrasonic atomization tool, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have successfully created fully dense, free-flowing spherical powders with narrow size distributions, even from rare materials like enriched stable isotopes. This advancement opens new avenues for additive manufacturing in nuclear target fabrication, enabling precise powder handling, innovative target production methods, and experiments with materials that flow like liquids, promising transformative benefits for the nuclear research community.

Authors

Michael Zach ^1*, Dane Brashear ¹, Jonah Duran ¹, Łukasz Żrodowski ², Bartosz Kalicki ², Tomasz Choma ², Marcin Sołowiow ² and Steven Adler ³

¹ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Stable Isotope Materials and Chemistry, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
² AMAZEMET | Warsaw University of Technology, 00-867 Warsaw, Poland
³ A3DM Technologies, Sarasota, Florida, USA

^* Corresponding author: ZachMP@ornl.gov

Abstract

Metal powders are a fundamental starting point for fabricating many types of nuclear targets. Elemental powder properties can differ drastically between batches, even when using the same method. Therefore, the variation in morphology and the size of metal powders can cause variable quality and produce inconsistent results with what are otherwise proven target manufacturing techniques. Additive manufacturing has additional requirements for higher quality and more uniform feedstock. The production of spheroidized powders with uniform, reproducible properties and a narrow size distribution represents unexplored opportunities for experiments. These opportunities include experimenting with solid metals that can now flow like liquids, new options for powder handling and dispensing, and new target fabrication methods using additive manufacturing. The Stable Isotope Materials and Chemistry Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory obtained an AMAZEMET rePowder ultrasonic metal atomization tool for creating limited batches of fully dense, free flowing, spherical powders with a narrow size distribution of extremely rare materials. Early results are presented with materials that were produced. The team explores the anticipated limits of this instrument with extremely rare materials (e.g., enriched stable isotopes) and highlights research into new fabrication techniques that provide additional options benefitting the international nuclear target community.