materials
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Commentary
How Digital Modeling of Materials Will Make Next Generation Nuclear Possible
A revolution is underway in the nuclear energy sector. For the first time in decades, the field is brimming with urgency, ambition, and capital. Buoyed by growing energy demands, geopolitical recalibration, and climate pressures, nuclear power is undergoing a renaissance, one that will be driven not just by next-generation reactor designs, but by the materials […]
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Research and Development
Tackling Weld Failures in Thermal Energy Storage Tanks
Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) systems face significant material challenges. Specifically, industry-standard 347H austenitic stainless steel used in the manufacture of molten salt tanks can be subject to severe stress relaxation cracking (SRC). The results of a consortium project could have an answer for the problem. The findings suggest that […]
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Rolls Out Label Program to Define ‘Clean’ Construction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a plan to implement a new label program that it expects will help federal purchasers and buyers find and choose more climate-friendly construction materials. Under the label program, which stems from “extensive public input,” the EPA will initially focus on asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel products with “lower […]
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Hydrogen
Advancing Ceramic Matrix Composites and Environmental Barrier Coatings for Hydrogen Turbines: Challenges and Opportunities
Decarbonization goals call for advancing high-impact energy technologies. The U.S. has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a goal that presents both challenges and opportunities in the field of advanced materials. This ambitious goal requires a wide range of technological advancements to enable the shift from fossil fuel-based systems to more sustainable and low-carbon […]
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Waste to Energy
Maximizing Corrosion Prevention in Waste-to-Energy Plants
Waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities have the potential to become one of the most sustainable and reliable forms of energy creation on the planet, but they have their challenges. The most eco-conscious way of adopting WtE is by repurposing fossil fuel plants and retrofitting them for burning and transforming biomass. Whether working with old or new mechanisms, […]
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O&M
Corrosion Research Leads to Material Improvements and More Reliable Systems
Fossil-fueled power plants are billion-pound investments that businesses (as well as whole nations themselves) around the world can’t afford to simply discard. Yet, the combinations of old plant, new fuels, and new operating conditions lead to corrosion, faults, downtime, and inefficiencies for plant operators and manufacturers. But these kinds of bridging technologies—between the “black” and […]
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Research and Development
Forging Materials with the ‘Right Stuff’ for Tomorrow’s Energy Systems
One of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL’s) key initiatives aims to bridge the gap in research infrastructure and accelerate advanced alloy development and manufacturing. Materials are
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Press Releases
Enerpac Plays Critical Role in The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nucor’s Industry-changing Discovery for Solar Panel Piles
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (December 10, 2020) – When Marc Maguire, assistant professor of construction programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, started testing the strength of piles made by Nucor and used in the support assemblies of solar panels, he didn’t expect such surprising results. These tests ― conducted by the Durham School of Architectural Engineering […]
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Nuclear
BWXT: 3D Printing Breakthrough Could Speed Advanced Nuclear Reactor Development
BWX Technologies (BWXT) on Nov. 23 said it has demonstrated the ability to additively manufacture nickel-based super alloys and refractory-metal-based alloys for use in nuclear components. The company also said it has “accomplished component-level qualification, leading to a more efficient certification of nuclear materials configured in complex geometries.” The 3D printing breakthroughs achieved through a […]
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Research and Development
Power Plant Solutions, Technologies, and Research in a Renewable Energy World
In line with global emissions targets, energy markets are moving ever more quickly to take up renewables. Such a move is obviously important to ensure carbon reduction targets can be met. This does however create an issue—one that’s not been given the attention it deserves—of the impact this has on the conventional power plants that […]
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