ADVANCED HEAT PIPES FOR AVLIS COLLECTOR PLATE COOLING

THE USE OF HEAT PIPES CAN GREATLY SIMPLIFY THE DIFFICULT PROBLEM OF COOLING THE PRODUCT COLLECTOR PLATES IN THE ATOMIC VAPOR LASER ISOTOPE SEPARATION (AVLIS) TECHNIQUE. BECAUSE OF VERY TIGHT SPACE REQUIREMENTS, THE COOLING TECHNIQUE USED MUST PROVIDE SUFFICIENT CAPABILITY TO EXTRACT THE NECESSARY HEAT AND STILL BE COMPACT SO AS TO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE ISOTOPE VAPORIZING BEAM TRAIN. THE HEAT PIPE CAN EFFECTIVELY SATISFY THESE REQUIREMENTS. THIS PROJECT CONTAINS AN OVERALL PROGRAM TO DEVELOP ADVANCED HEAT PIPES FOR COOLING THE AVLIS PRODUCT COLLECTOR PLATES. THE ADVANCED DESIGN WILL ELIMINATE THE PRODUCT PLATES CURRENTLY USED. THE URANIUM VAPOR WILL CONDENSE DIRECTLY ON THE HEAT PIPE EVAPORATOR SHELL, ELIMINATING THE THERMAL INTERFACE BETWEEN THESE TWO COMPONENTS AND THEREBY IMPROVINGTHE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. PHASE I OF THIS PROGRAM WILL CONCENTRATE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADVANCED HEAT PIPE DESIGN AS WELL AS AN EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE REQUIRED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY TO SUPPORT THE CONCEPT.