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TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Temperature-enhanced Electrical Feed-through Conductors For feed-through users and manufacturers who are dissatisfied with the temperature or sealing factor of current... TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Temperature-enhanced Electrical Feed-through Conductors For feed-through users and manufacturers who are dissatisfied with the temperature or sealing factor of current feed-through systems. This technology is a new feed-through system capable of a vacuum-tight seal at elevated temperatures. Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize the feed-through conductor. Overview: This technology is a feed-through system for vacuum induction furnaces. Vacuum chamber induction furnace systems are used to produce alloy buttons or castings of metal fuel for research. Connecting the induction power to the internal coil assembly is often challenging due to space limitations. Due to the temperature of the induction coil, a typical polymer seal will fail. Other higher temperature materials are available but do not provide the vacuum tight seal required. INL’s feed-through system uses a commercially available design with internal component modifications to provide a metal sealed system that has proven very robust in service. Description: Currently, small conductor feed-through systems are available that use a straight thread O-ring (STOR) sealing system. This type of connection is small and requires little space to configure. These feed-through systems have various sealing materials for higher temperatures but do not provide a tight enough seal for vacuum induction furnaces. By modifying some of the internal components, a metal seal can be incorporated. The conductor is used as part of the vacuum seal while still performing its primary function of current flow to the induction coil. Currently, a 5/16 diameter conductor is being used but this would not be limited to larger or smaller conductors. Benefits: Benefits include Very robust Units are small and require little space for installation Easily rebuildable Reduced dross on metal melted systems Leak tests show systems holding at better than 10-8 std cc He Applications: Applications include: Small and large vacuum induction furnaces Pressurized systems Development Status: Systems have been modified and in use for several years at INL. IP Status: INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Kala Majeti at td@inl.gov or 248-877-8866.