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TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Sensors for Passive Temperature Measurement Fabricated using Additive Manufacturing A new technique for manufacturing encapsulated melt wire chips for use in nuclear r... TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Sensors for Passive Temperature Measurement Fabricated using Additive Manufacturing A new technique for manufacturing encapsulated melt wire chips for use in nuclear reactors and other high temperature, harsh environments. 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 this melt wire array fabrication technology. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses and ultimately an improved way of life for the American people. Overview: The harsh environment inside nuclear reactors makes it a challenge for a variety of materials form fuels to structural materials for their operations. Melt wires are a passive sensing technique to determine peak temperatures during a nuclear test under harsh radiation environment. Melt wire capsules are used by evaluating (during post irradiation examination) whether a melt wire melted. Currently, up to five wires can be placed in a single capsule. This yields some level of temperature resolution, but the manufacturing process is difficult and time consuming, while evaluating the wires during PIE is not easy. INL’s technology seeks to improve temperature resolution, add spatial resolution, and make both manufacturing and evaluation simple. Description: Researchers at INL have invented a technique to manufacture encapsulated melt wire chips for use in reactors via advanced printing techniques. The miniaturized melt wire sensors with two millimeters in diameter is capable of multiple melt wires in a single chip. The graded compositions allow for control over the melting temperatures of the wires and a level of spatial resolution for the temperature measurement. Evaluation of the melt arrays can be made electrically by incorporating printed pins into the substrate between adjacent wires and measuring the resistance between them. Benefits: Improved measurement resolution Improved efficiency of fabrication and evaluation Applications: Melt wires Development Status: TRL 4. The technique has been validated in a laboratory environment. IP Status: Patent Application No. 17/303,633, “Sensors for Passively Measuring a Maximum temperature of a Nuclear Reactor, and Related Methods,” BEA Docket No. BA-993. 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. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities. 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 Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.