Additive Manufacturing of Spent Fuel Storage Rack Model by Selective Laser Melting

Additive Manufacturing (AM) can fabricate 3D complex functional parts, which can reduce material waste and increase manufacturing efficiency significantly. These benefits make AM technique suitable for some critical industry applications. Confident application of the AM technique requires whole understanding of AM parts’ properties. Safety and economics are essential to nuclear power plant. In this study, an innovative 316L stainless steel spent fuel storage rack with integrative structure was designed, and a small model of this rack was fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM), mechanical properties of the 316L stainless steel manufactured by SLM technique are studied and discussed. Key technical issues of application of AM to manufacturing nuclear parts are also discussed.