Sporian Developing Sensors for Generation IV Nuclear Systems

Online, August 17, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Sporian Microsystems has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to evaluate advanced materials, sensor designs and packaging for use in Generation IV nuclear reactors. Gen IV reactor concepts are being developed to use fuels fashioned from recycled reactor fuel. Reduction of proliferation risk and improvements in physical protection are being designed into Gen IV concepts to help thwart those who would target nuclear power plants for terrorist acts or use them improperly to develop materials for nuclear weapons. Gen IV concepts will feature advances in safety and reliability to improve public confidence in nuclear energy.

The Sporian materials and sensor technology are aimed to survive extremely harsh conditions including high temperatures and high pressures, plus exposure to liquid sodium, fast helium flow, gamma and neutron radiation. The development effort will leverage Sporian's expertise in technology areas including: MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems), PDCs (polymer derived ceramic materials) and electronics packaging for harsh environments. "Our sensor was originally designed for traditional coal and natural gas-based generating turbines and for propulsion turbines. Our goal is to prove that we can leverage the same technology for Gen IV reactors. This will help diversify America's energy portfolio," said Sporian principal investigator Dr. Yiping Liu. Sporian will provide a subcontract to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA to assist with the evaluation of this technology.

Sporian has previously developed temperature / pressure multi sensor suites, packaging, and associated electronics for harsh combustion environments such as natural gas turbines, steam turbines, coal gasifiers, and propulsion turbine engines. These sensors survive extremely harsh conditions including temperatures in excess of 1000C, pressures in excess of 1000 PSI, plus exposure to corrosive and oxidizing gasses. These efforts have been funded by NASA, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and internally by Sporian.