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Cross-section of the target chamber in an artist’s concept of an inertial fusion energy power plant

LLNL researchers have developed additive manufactured fuel targets for IFE.  They have been successful in using TPL to fabricate low density (down to 60 mg/cm3) and low atomic number (CHO) polymeric foams for potential targets, and some have been tested at the OMEGA Laser Facility. With TPL, LLNL researchers have also been able to fabricate a full fuel capsule with diameter of ~ 5mm or…

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Nanoporus gold

By combining 3D printing and dealloying., researchers at LLNL have developed a method for fabricating metal foams with engineered hierarchical architectures consisting of pores at least 3 distinct length scales. LLNL’s method uses direct ink writing (DIW), a 3D printing technique for additive manufacturing to fabricate hierarchical nanoporous metal foams with deterministically controlled 3D…