The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore advanced manufacturing for extreme environment materials with energy and national security applications.
“This agreement gives us an opportunity to innovate with General Atomics, a leader in U.S. defense and energy manufacturing,” said Corson Cramer, a staff scientist in the Manufacturing Science Division at ORNL. “This is a first step in the goal of transitioning these advanced manufacturing technologies from the lab to real-world applications.”
The agreement establishes a framework for collaborating on advanced composite materials, including silicon carbide ceramics. Silicon carbide is a strong, lightweight material that can withstand high heat and radiation, but it can be difficult to manufacture at scale. Improving how these ceramics are made could expand their use in applications such as nuclear fuel cladding and thermal protection systems for aerospace.
Manufacturing methods also could be improved by combining 3D printing and other advanced techniques with digital technologies, such as a digital thread that links data across the manufacturing process. This allows monitoring in real time, tracking quality and reducing or eliminating defects and waste.
The research will take place at DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL. MDF is supported by DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and acts as a nationwide consortium of collaborators focused on innovating, inspiring and catalyzing the transformation of U.S. manufacturing.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE's Office of Science, the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.
