A better way of welding targets for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s plutonium-238 production has sped up the process and improved consistency and efficiency. This advancement will ultimately benefit the lab’s goal to make enough Pu-238 – the isotope that powers NASA’s deep space missions – to yield 1.5 kilograms of plutonium oxide annually by 2026.
ORNL began using an orbital welder inside a protective glovebox for the weld that closes the hollow tube containing neptunium feedstock – the last step before these targets are irradiated in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor to produce Pu-238. (Watch video)
The new computer-controlled orbital welder produces welds that do not require hand finishing, thereby shortening the time to complete welding jobs from a week to about a day.
“The time saved really adds up as we work toward our production goals,” said ORNL’s Robert Wham. Plutonium oxide is the power source for Perseverance, NASA’s Mars rover.
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ORNL welder Devin Johnson uses a new orbital welder to seal a hollow target in a glovebox in the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. The new welder makes a clean seam on the metal target, eliminating the need for hand-finishing afterward. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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ORNL welder Devin Johnson demonstrates a new orbital welder that will make the lab’s Pu-238 production program more efficient, by reducing the amount of time it takes to ready hollow feedstock targets for irradiation. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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The orbital welder makes a clean seam on hollow targets, eliminating the need for hand-finishing and reducing the amount of time staff spend in the glovebox. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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ORNL welder Devin Johnson uses a new orbital welder to seal a hollow target in a glovebox in the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. The new welder makes a clean seam on the metal target, eliminating the need for hand-finishing afterward. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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ORNL welder Devin Johnson demonstrates a new orbital welder that will make the lab’s Pu-238 production program more efficient, by reducing the amount of time it takes to ready hollow feedstock targets for irradiation. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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The orbital welder makes a clean seam on hollow targets, eliminating the need for hand-finishing and reducing the amount of time staff spend in the glovebox. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
