Skip to main content
exp_in_10_dry_tube.jpg

Scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed a corrosion test in a neutron radiation field to support the continued development of molten salt reactors.

From left, Amit Naskar, Ngoc Nguyen and Christopher Bowland in ORNL’s Carbon and Composites Group bring a new capability—structural health monitoring—to strong, lightweight materials promising for transportation applications.

Carbon fiber composites—lightweight and strong—are great structural materials for automobiles, aircraft and other transportation vehicles. They consist of a polymer matrix, such as epoxy, into which reinforcing carbon fibers have been embedded. Because of differences in the mecha...

Physics_silicon-detectors.jpg

Physicists turned to the “doubly magic” tin isotope Sn-132, colliding it with a target at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to assess its properties as it lost a neutron to become Sn-131.

ORNL is again hosting a workshop focused on the next generation of molten salt reactors.

Experts focused on the future of nuclear technology will gather at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the fourth annual Molten Salt Reactor Workshop on October 3–4.

Researchers 3D printed molds for precasting concrete using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing, or BAAM™, system at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Complex, durable mold designs can be produced in less time than traditional wood or fib

The construction industry may soon benefit from 3D printed molds to make concrete facades, promising lower cost and production time. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are evaluating the performance of 3D printed molds used to precast concrete facades in a 42-story buildin...

3D printed permanent magnets with increased density were made from an improved mixture of materials, which could lead to longer lasting, better performing magnets for electric motors, sensors and vehicle applications. Credit: Jason Richards/Oak Ridge Nati

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have improved a mixture of materials used to 3D print permanent magnets with increased density, which could yield longer lasting, better performing magnets for electric motors, sensors and vehicle applications. Building on previous research, ...

ORNL’s new salt purification lab offers tools to make and purify the salt and perform corrosion testing, which are essential steps in qualifying molten salt reactor technologies for commercial use. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a salt purification lab to study the viability of using liquid salt that contains lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride, known as FLiBe, to cool molten salt reactors, or MSRs. Multiple American companies developing advanced reactor technol...

Kevin Robb, a staff scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is taking what he learned from developing the Liquid Salt Test Loop—a key tool in deploying molten salt technology applications

Thanks in large part to developing and operating a facility for testing molten salt reactor (MSR) technologies, nuclear experts at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are now tackling the next generation of another type of clean energy—concentrating ...

A conceptual illustration of proton-proton fusion in which two protons fuse to form a deuteron. Image courtesy of William Detmold.

Nuclear physicists are using the nation’s most powerful supercomputer, Titan, at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility to study particle interactions important to energy production in the Sun and stars and to propel the search for new physics discoveries Direct calculatio...