StoryManufacturing
Kairos Power commissions automated fuel pebble inspection and tracking in Albuquerque
Kairos Power has commissioned an automated system at its Manufacturing Development Campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that inspects and marks graphite fuel pebbles for its fluoride salt-cooled reactor. Each pebble is measured, laser-scanned and engraved with a unique code that links to its inspection record, and the system is already processing pebbles for upcoming hardware tests.
- Each pebble's diameter, geometry and density are measured in real time, and its surface is scanned by lasers to the micron level.
- An infrared laser engraves three redundant data matrix codes about half a millimetre deep, without breaking the shell.
- The near-term target is 70,000 inspected pebbles for test platforms, including the second Engineering Test Unit.
- The announcement gives no throughput figures; the system is also meant to support the Hermes 2 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.