Six energy technologies that do everything from protect fish to monitor the health of flow batteries are getting a boost at PNNL with support from DOE's Technology Commercialization Fund.
Steve Short, a nuclear engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been selected as a fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Pointing the finger at chemical criminals: Several scientists from PNNL and other institutions will discuss new methods and approaches at the American Chemical Society's national meeting in San Francisco April 2-6.
In fast-neutron reactors, fuel is sealed in ~7 millimeter diameter steel tubes called cladding. When a high-energy "fast" neutron strikes an atom in the steel, it can knock the atom out of place, like a cue ball striking another billiard ball. This leaves two types of damage in the metal: an empty spot where the atom was, and the displaced atom wedged between other atoms. Over time, these defects typically drive undesirable rearrangement of the microstructure, potentially reducing the life of the cladding.
