Method for producing collimators and other components from neutron absorbing materials using additive manufacturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019108923-A1
Application number	US-201816155134-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 9, 2018
Priority date	Oct 9, 2017
Publication date	Apr 11, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Collimators and other components for use in neutron scattering experiments or to provide neutron shielding in nuclear reactors or accelerator based neutron sources are produced by additive manufacturing from neutron absorbing material, such as boron carbide (B 4 C) or isotopically enriched boron carbide ( 10 B).

First claim

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1 . A method of additively manufacturing a neutron absorbing component with a 3D printer, the method comprising:
repeatedly spreading a neutron absorbing powder into layers to form a powder bed on a build platform; repeatedly and selectively binding the layers of neutron absorbing powder with binder to produce the neutron absorbing component in the powder bed on the build platform; curing the neutron absorbing component; and de-powdering the neutron absorbing component from the powder bed.

2 . The method of claim 1 further including infiltrating the neutron absorbing component with ethyl cyanoacrylate.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the neutron absorbing component has less than 5% hydrogen by weight.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the neutron absorbing component has less than 2% hydrogen by weight.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the neutron absorbing component is formed in the shape of a neutron collimator.

6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the shape of the neutron collimator is unmanufacturable by machining, casting, and wire electrical discharge machining cutting.

7 . The method of claim 5 wherein the shape of the neutron collimator is unmanufacturable by fused deposition modeling additive manufacturing.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein repeatedly and selectively binding the layers of neutron absorbing powder with binder to produce the neutron absorbing component in the powder bed on the build platform includes repeatedly and selectively depositing binder on the layers to produce the neutron absorbing component in the powder bed on the build platform.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the neutron absorbing powder is at least one of boron carbide and enriched boron carbide.

10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the neutron absorbing powder is at least one of cadmium, gadolinium oxide, and lithium-6 carbonate.

11 . The method of claim 1 further including isolating the neutron absorbing powder from moving parts of the 3D printer.

12 . A method of additively manufacturing a component, the method comprising:
loading neutron absorbing powder into a powder feed supply of a binder jet printer; positioning a build platform of the binder jet printer; spreading the neutron absorbing powder from the powder feed supply into a layer on the build platform; selectively depositing binder with a movable binder jet print head on the layer of neutron absorbing powder on the build platform; repeating said positioning the build platform of the binder jet printer, said spreading the neutron absorbing powder from the powder feed supply into a layer on the build platform, and said selectively depositing binder with the movable binder jet print head on the layer of neutron absorbing powder on the build platform to binder jet print a neutron absorbing component in a powder bed on the build platform; and de-powdering the neutron absorbing component from the powder bed.

13 . The method of claim 12 further including heating the neutron absorbing component to cure the neutron absorbing component.

14 . The method of claim 12 further including infiltrating the neutron absorbing component with ethyl cyanoacrylate.

15 . The method of claim 12 wherein the neutron absorbing component has less than 5% hydrogen by weight.

16 . The method of claim 12 wherein the neutron absorbing component has less than 2% hydrogen by weight.

17 . The method of claim 12 wherein the neutron absorbing component is a neutron collimator.

18 . The method of claim 17 wherein the neutron collimator has a shape unmanufacturable by machining, casting, and wire electrical discharge machining cutting.

19 . The method of claim 17 wherein the neutron collimator has a shape unmanufacturable by fused deposition modeling additive manufacturing.

20 . The method of claim 12 further including isolating the neutron absorbing powder from moving parts of the binder jet printer.

Assignees

• Ut Battelle Llc

Inventors

• Anderson David C
• Ramirez-Cuesta Anibal J
• Stone Matthew B
• Elliott Amelia M
• Siddel Derek H

Classifications

• B29C64/153

  using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting · CPC title

• G21K1/025

  using multiple collimators, e.g. Bucky screens; other devices for eliminating undesired or dispersed radiation · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• G21K1/046 Primary

  varying the contour of the field, e.g. multileaf collimators · CPC title

• G21F1/00

  Shielding characterised by the composition of the materials · CPC title