DUST BUSTERS

GLASS AND METALLIC

URANIUM DUST SEPARATION
SYSTEM
ISAAC CORGATELLI
EMILY MACK
JOSEPH NORMAN
YING YANG
VALUE PROPOSITION
• Every year there is more need for clean, reliable energy
• Some new advanced nuclear reactor designs are safer and more economically feasible
• Manufacturing of fuel for these designs creates mixed glass and metallic uranium waste
• Project is to create a system to separate useful uranium from glass and zirconium oxide
• Team will provide analysis for upscaling for use in the industry
THE WASTE PRODUCT
• Fuel is cast in quartz tubes coated in zirconium oxide
powder
• Quartz tubes are broken off from the fuel pins, generating
waste product
• Final waste product consists of quartz shards, zirconium
oxide, and fine particles of uranium/zirconium alloy

Manufacturing Process

Waste Product Example

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
• Design needs to fully process material batch within 15 minutes
• Must separate out 95% of surrogate material by weight
• Process must be dry to avoid criticality safety concerns
• Process must require no human input besides loading and
unloading of material
SEPARATION METHODS
• Mass separation:
• Difficult due to dry process preference
• Complicated by uranium tracking
requirements
• Would require extensive material pre-
processing
• Magnetic separation:
• Has been studied previously for use
with this waste product
• Does not require precise particle
size control
• More commercially available
 MAGNETISM

• Three types of magnetism: ferromagnetism,

paramagnetism, and diamagnetism
• All materials are weakly diamagnetic
• Iron, cobalt, and nickel are ferromagnetic
• Many other materials are paramagnetic
• Paramagnetism manifests as extremely
weak magnetic attraction
• Uranium is relatively highly paramagnetic

Specific magnetic susceptibilities

 MAGNETIC ROLLER CONCEPT
• Combats gravity effect on material
• Only requires slight stream separation
FLUX ANALYSIS

Individual Magnet Linear Halbach Array

Linear N-S Array Radial N-S Array

MATERIAL SURROGATE
• Because real Uranium cannot be used in our case, a surrogate material must be used for testing
• Surrogate should imitate the magnetic properties of Uranium.
• Zirconium Oxide and Quartz tubes are easily obtainable

Quartz Tube

Titanium Granules Surrogate Material

• 0.5x susceptibility of uranium • Equivalent volume of metal
• Nontoxic in mixture
• Potentially pyrophoric • Glass is size classified ZrO2 Powder
PREVIOUS DESIGN

• Permanent magnets invert to

separate material sitting on top
• Recycling bin carries material
back up to magnets for
continuous processing
• Changed design due to difficulty
of tuning and suboptimal
magnet utilization
ROLLER DESIGN
• Machine allows for continuous recycling
of material over the bare magnet roller
• Construction from polycarbonate and 3D
printed parts provides valuable proof of
concept before upscaling to industry
ROLLER MACHINE OPERATION
3D PRINTING
 MACHINING
• Lexan (polycarbonate) used for structure
• High strength and clear for easy viewing
• Side plates machined by UI facilities and all other
plated machined in the ME machine shop
PURCHASED PARTS
• 280 ½’’ N52 magnet
cubes
• Glass test tubes
• Titanium sponge:
800g, 0.5-1mm
• 1/2" x 24" x 48" Lexan
• 3 DC motors
• Vibrating motor
• Items from our BOM
 MOTOR CONTROL / WIRING

• An emergency switch controls the entire circuit for safety.

• Two 12V-2A-150RPM-5.09kgf⋅cm DC Gear Motors control the ring and magnet, respectively.
• Three 24V-5A-120W Power Supplies control three motors.
• A 24V-30W Vibration Motor shakes the plate, which causes the mixture to fall along it.
FINAL SOLIDWORKS DESIGN
• Includes motor
mounts and alignment
for sprockets
• Brush mounted behind
roller to remove any
residual material after
each cycle
• Contact surfaces of
ring are rubber and
sandpaper tape for
optimum grip
FINAL PRODUCT

• Powered by three separate

24V power supplies
• All shafts ride on purchased
roller bearings
• All blue parts are 3D printed
PLA
• Clear parts are machined
Lexan or plexiglass
TESTING PROCEDURE
• Tests were performed with multiple
weight batches of surrogate material
• Material is loaded onto the vibrating
platform via the cutout on the side plate
• Optimal results were found with smaller
batch sizes due to less material clogging

Final Surrogate Material

OPERATION
HEAVY LOAD
OPERATION
SEPARATION RESULTS
• Tests with 0.5 – 1mm titanium granules
yield approximately 95% separation by
weight
• Zirconium Oxide is present in final
product
• Significant glass shards make it into the
separated product due to bouncing
CHALLENGES

• WORKING WITH N52 MAGNETS

• FINDING USEABLE AND ACCURATE
MATERIAL SURROGATE
• TUNING SYSTEM TO MINIMIZE LOSS
OF MATERIAL FROM BOUNCING
• SHIPPING DELAYS ON ESSENTIAL
COMPONENTS
REMAINING ISSUES / FUTURE WORK
• MATERIAL LOSS FROM BOUNCING
• WARPING IN LEXAN STRUCTURE
• FINE TUNING OF ROLLER SPEED
-1.5 RPM RING
-17 RPM ROLLER
• SMART CONTROLS AND AUTOMATED
RECOVERY MONITORING
• FUTURE WORK SHOULD FOCUS ON
USE OF INDUSTRIAL ROLLERS WITH
CASCADING DESIGNS
PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
• Scaling up for use in industry would require modifications to
design to eliminate material loss
• Existing industrial separators would likely work well with
modification
• Cascading design would allow for multiple passes and
continuous processing
BUDGET
Budget Overview

Project Budget: $5,000.00

Total Expenses: $3,712.81
Budget Excess: $1,287.19
Notable Expense Items
• N52 Cube Magnets: $775
• Lexan Machining: $500
• 4x ½" Flange Bearing: $300
• 24" Diameter PVC: $275
• ½"x2'x4' Lexan Sheet: $235
QUESTIONS?