AUTOMATED LITHIUM LIQUID METAL HANDLING STATION

THIS PROJECT WILL CONCEIVE AND DEVELOP AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR FILLING EXPERIMENTAL OR PRODUCTION CONTAINERS WITH LITHIUM AND WILL SPECIFY AN OPTIMUM HANDLING PROTOCOL THAT WILL IMPROVE OR MAINTAIN LITHIUM PURITY. IT IS DESIRED THAT THE SYSTEM BE SIMPLE IN CONCEPT, SAFE AND CONVENIENT IN OPERATION, AND OF RELATIVELY LOW COST. THE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM WILL BE BASED ON LIQUID METAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED DURING THE MANY YEARS IN WHICH LITHIUM HAS BEEN A MATERIAL OF INTEREST AS A SPACE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REACTION COOLANT. PARTICULAR ADVANTAGE WILL BE TAKEN OF TECHNIQUES, EQUIPMENT, AND INSTRUMENTATION THAT HAS BEEN USED AT THE OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY DURING ITS MANY YEARS OF DEVELOPING EXPERIMENTAL POWER SYSTEMS USING LIQUID METALS, INCLUDING LITHIUM. PHASE I WILL DRAW TOGETHER THE LATEST PERTINENT INFORMATION ON LITHIUM HANDLING (PURIFICATION AND FILL) SYSTEMS, ESTABLISH SPECIFIC DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE U.S. NAVY APPLICATION, ESTABLISH COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS DATA, AND PRODUCE A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THAT WILL SATISFY NAVY REQUIREMENTS.