Compositions for additive manufacturing and methods of additive manufacturing, particularly of nuclear reactor components
Additive manufacturing methods use a surrogate slurry to iteratively develop an additive manufacturing protocol and then substitutes a final slurry composition to then additively manufacture a final component using the developed additive manufacturing protocol. In the nuclear reactor component context, the final slurry composition is a nuclear fuel slurry having a composition: 30-45 vol. % monomer resin, 30-70 vol. % plurality of particles of uranium-containing material, >0-7 vol. % dispersant, photoactivated dye, photoabsorber, photoinitiator, and 0-18 vol. % (as a balance) diluent. The surrogate slurry has a similar composition, but a plurality of surrogate particles selected to represent a uranium-containing material are substituted for the particles of uranium-containing material. The method provides a means for in-situ monitoring of characteristics of the final component during manufacture as well as in-situ volumetric inspection. Compositions of surrogate slurries and nuclear fuel slurries are also disclosed.
1. A slurry for additive manufacturing having a composition, comprising (in vol. % relative to total volume of the slurry):
a monomer resin
30 vol. % to 45 vol. %;
a plurality of surrogate particles
30 vol. % to 70 vol. %;
a dispersant
>0 vol. % to 7 vol. %;
a photoactivated dye
greater than 0 vol. %;
a photoabsorber
greater than 0 vol. %;
a photoinitiator
greater than 0 vol. %; and
a diluent
0 vol. % to 18 vol. % as a balance,
wherein the particles have a composition including a uranium-containing material, and
wherein the uranium-containing material is uranium carbide, uranium oxycarbide, uranium nitride, or uranium silicide.
2. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles has a D50 particle size of 40 nm to 10 μm.
3. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the monomer resin is an acrylate-based monomer resin or a methacrylate-based monomer or mixtures thereof.
4. The slurry for additive manufacturing as in claim 3 , wherein the monomer resin is at least 50% acrylate-based.
5. The slurry for additive manufacturing as in claim 3 , wherein the monomer resin is 70 to 90% acrylate-based.
6. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 3 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is mono-functional, di-functional, tri-functional or tetra-functional or mixture thereof.
7. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 6 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is at least 50% di-functional.
8. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 7 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is at least 80% di-functional.
9. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 7 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is 70-90% di-functional.
10. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the photoactivated dye is a triarylmethane dye, the photoabsorber is a triazine-based photoabsorber, and the photoinitiator is a Type I or Type II photoinitiator.
11. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the diluent is inert.
12. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the diluent is methylnaphthalene.
13. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the composition is curable by photoinitiation.
14. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the photoactivated dye is C 25 H 30 ClN 3 , the photoabsorber is 2-hydroxyphenyl-s-triazine with 18-20% 2-methoxy-1-propyl-acetate, and the photoinitiator is Bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phenylphosphineoxide.
15. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles has a D50 particle size of 40 nm to 10 μm,
wherein the monomer resin is an acrylate-based monomer resin or a methacrylate-based monomer or mixtures thereof,
wherein the photoactivated dye is a triarylmethane dye,
wherein the photoabsorber is a triazine-based photoabsorber,
wherein the photoinitiator is a Type I or Type II photoinitiator, and
wherein the diluent is methylnaphthalene.
16. A method for manufacturing a component of a nuclear reactor system, the method comprising:
forming a green body of a component of a nuclear reactor system from the slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 1 , wherein the forming uses an additive manufacturing protocol.
17. The method according to claim 16 , further comprising sintering the green body to form the component of the nuclear reactor system.
18. A slurry for additive manufacturing having a composition, comprising (in vol. % relative to total volume of the slurry):
a monomer resin
30 vol. % to 45 vol. %;
a plurality of particles
30 vol. % to 70 vol. %;
a dispersant
>0 vol. % to 7 vol. %;
a photoactivated dye
greater than 0 vol. %;
a photoabsorber
greater than 0 vol. %;
a photoinitiator
greater than 0 vol. %; and
a diluent
0 vol. % to 18 vol. % as a balance,
wherein the particles have a composition including a uranium-containing material, and
wherein the uranium-containing material is a cermet of uranium oxide and tungsten, a cermet of uranium dioxide and tungsten, a cermet of uranium oxide and molybdenum, or a cermet of uranium dioxide and molybdenum.
19. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the plurality of particles has a D50 particle size of 40 nm to 10 μm.
20. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the monomer resin is an acrylate-based monomer resin or a methacrylate-based monomer or mixtures thereof.
21. The slurry for additive manufacturing as in claim 20 , wherein the monomer resin is at least 50% acrylate-based.
22. The slurry for additive manufacturing as in claim 20 , wherein the monomer resin is 70 to 90% acrylate-based.
23. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 20 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is mono-functional, di-functional, tri-functional or tetra-functional or mixture thereof.
24. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 23 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is at least 50% di-functional.
25. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 24 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is at least 80% di-functional.
26. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 24 , wherein the acrylate-based monomer resin is 70-90% di-functional.
27. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the photoactivated dye is a triarylmethane dye, the photoabsorber is a triazine-based photoabsorber, and the photoinitiator is a Type I or Type II photoinitiator.
28. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the diluent is inert.
29. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the diluent is methylnaphthalene.
30. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the composition is curable by photoinitiation.
31. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the photoactivated dye is C 25 H 30 ClN 3 , the photoabsorber is 2-hydroxyphenyl-s-triazine with 18-20% 2-methoxy-1-propyl-acetate, and the photoinitiator is Bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phenylphosphineoxide.
32. The slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the plurality of particles has a D50 particle size of 40 nm to 10 μm,
wherein the monomer resin is an acrylate-based monomer resin or a methacrylate-based monomer or mixtures thereof,
wherein the photoactivated dye is a triarylmethane dye,
wherein the photoabsorber is a triazine-based photoabsorber,
wherein the photoinitiator is a Type I or Type II photoinitiator, and
wherein the diluent is methylnaphthalene.
33. A method for manufacturing a component of a nuclear reactor system, the method comprising:
forming a green body of a component of a nuclear reactor system from the slurry for additive manufacturing according to claim 18 , wherein the forming uses an additive manufacturing protocol.
34. The method according to claim 33 , further comprising sintering the green body to form the component of the nuclear reactor system.