Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on our many blessings, and being a part of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one for which I am especially grateful.
July in the Tri-Cities usually brings sunny skies, hot weather and high demand for electricity as many of us retreat to air-conditioned homes and offices.
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.
Led by Battelle in collaboration with the Bonneville Power Administration, the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project is the largest field test of smart grid systems to date.
