A custom-built additive manufacturing system is now up and running at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). The lab’s Directed Energy Deposition (DED) system, which utilizes a powerful, class 4 laser, is designed to develop new alloys and parts for practical applications at speeds that significantly reduce the turnaround time compared to traditional manufacturing methods….
Additive Manufacturing (AM), sometimes referred to as 3D printing, is a novel method of manufacturing that has grown considerably in recent years. A team of five scientists from Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was recently granted a patent on behalf of Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BSRA) for a new, innovative approach to AM. The team…
Savannah River National Laboratory’s (SRNL) packaging and transportation group leverages over 200 years of combined experience in the radioactive material packaging arena to ensure materials are safely contained. With a renewed focus on nuclear energy in the United States, the safe storage and transportation of nuclear material is critical in the new advanced reactor fuel…
In the United States, there is a push to increase energy security and capacity for numerous needs and applications. Numerous companies are working on developing advanced small modular reactors (SMR) with numerous different reactor and fuel types. However, nearly all of them require High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU). HALEU contains a higher percentage of Uranium-235 compared to all…
With plans to increase the number of research and commercial nuclear reactors across the next decade, dealing with spent nuclear fuel (SNF) will continue to be a challenge facing our nation. While SNF can be reprocessed, numerous separation steps are required to convert this material into a usable product. Scientists at the Savannah River National…
Since the 1970s, the commercial nuclear industry has been attempting to address the issue of excess spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage and disposal. With industry focused on deployment of advanced small modular reactors (SMR) over the course of the next ten years, a viable solution is needed to handle SNF coming out of these reactors….
As experts in corrosion evaluation and extended dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), scientists at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) are poised to address a unique problem facing our nation. The U.S. possesses an inventory of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear research reactors that is susceptible to corrosion and requires safe processing and storage…
In December, Johney Green Jr. was selected by Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC., to serve as the Laboratory Director at Savannah River National Laboratory. Green began his tenure at SRNL Jan. 6, 2025. Prior to joining SRNL, Green served as the Associate Laboratory Director for mechanical and thermal engineering sciences at the National Renewable Energy…
Savannah River National Laboratory established a new joint appointment with University of Florida professor Nathalie A Wall. Wall is director of University of Florida’s Nuclear Engineering Program, and her research interests include radiochemistry, nuclear wastes, nuclear forensics, the nuclear fuel cycle, and the environmental behavior of radionuclides. Wall will collaborate with SRNL on projects related…
The efforts of the collaborative plant-based contaminant monitoring project between Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers resulted in the development of a series of charts that analyze the data collected from the hyperspectral camera images. The graphs below are an early proof of concept of the machine learning component…
Savannah River National Laboratory established its first joint appointment with University of Notre Dame and Associate Professor Amy Hixon. Hixon’s research focuses on understanding and quantifying the behavior of actinide elements in natural and engineering systems in three key areas: 1) environmental radiochemistry; 2) chemical and physical properties of nuclear materials; and 3) synthesis and…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began utilizing Bahia grass, a drought and heat tolerant plant, for environmental remediation in March of 2023. After an introduction from the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) became a collaborator on the project, providing expertise in machine learning for…