When your test capsule is the test: ORNL’s 3D-printed rabbit

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has, for the first time, designed, printed, and irradiated a specimen capsule-or rabbit capsule-for use in its High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), the Department of Energy announced on January 15.

Using a laser powder bed printer, staff at the lab 3D-printed a stainless-steel capsule that was then assembled, loaded, and sealed, before it was inserted in HFIR for nearly a month. This winter the capsule is set to undergo post-irradiation examination. If detailed examinations prove the capsule withstood the high neutron flux environment of HFIR, additive manufacturing technology could be used to create other test capsules and items fit for an intense irradiation environment at a lower cost than traditional fabrication methods, according to the DOE.

Implications: Rabbit capsules are used in nuclear fuels and materials research to hold experiments undergoing irradiation in a test reactor. The team that created the 3D printed rabbit capsule plans to use the same technology to create more complex designs with unique features that are difficult to fabricate conventionally.

The work was supported by the Department of Energy's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program, which aims accelerate commercialization of new materials and manufacturing technologies through demonstration and deployment.

They said it: "This is a significant step toward demonstrating that additive manufacturing can be used to develop and qualify specialized components that cannot be conventionally machined," said Richard Howard, group lead for irradiation engineering at ORNL.

"As we demonstrate the reliability of these printed components, we're looking at a future where additive manufacturing might become standard practice in producing other critical reactor parts," said Manufacturing Demonstration Facility director Ryan Dehoff.