PLENTIFUL ENERGY

into the receiver crucible. The heavy metal in the process crucible is then melted
and consolidated into ingots in shaped recesses in the bottom of the process
crucible.
Figure 8-7. Schematic of Cathode Processor
The main features of the cathode processor are the vessel, the induction-heated
furnace region inside the vessel at the top, and the condenser region inside the
vessel at the bottom. The cathode processor is bottom-loaded and is therefore
supported in an elevated position within the cell. An elevating mechanism raises
and lowers the crucible assembly into position and the bottom flange seals the
furnace prior to the heating cycle. When in the lowered position, a trolley moves
these components to an adjacent window for crucible handling operations.
The third step is the injection casting furnace. There, the fuel ingots from the
cathode processor are fabricated into new fuel slugs. Injection casting has been the
primary metal fuel fabrication technique from the initial operation of EBR-II. The
batch size is 1025 kg for the FCF casting furnace, a limit set by criticality safety
constraints.
Shown in Figure 8-8, the casting furnace vessel provides confinement for the
casting operation. The furnace crucible is machined graphite. A center
thermocouple well in the bottom of the graphite crucible allows melt temperature
measurement. The furnace atmosphere is controlled by an external high-purity
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