Speeds and feeds for plutonium

[TeachMePlease]

Man you machinists are a bunch of pansies. I worked with toxics, acids, and pyrophorics for like $37k/yr when I was working production chemistry. You know, add this too fast or get a rip in your suit and you aren't going home today type stuff.

Not sure if that makes me a pansy or you an idiot, or somewhere in between

 

[Milland]

Not sure if that makes me a pansy or you an idiot, or somewhere in between

Everyone in this field is a panidiot, doesn't matter what we cut...


["panidiot" is apparently already a word on the Interwebs. I shouldn't have been surprised]

 

[Rick Finsta]

Not sure if that makes me a pansy or you an idiot, or somewhere in between

A very educated, skilled, and experienced idiot, thank you very much!

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

Machining plutonium?
I guess you glow in the dark when you leave?

I remember visiting a facility that machined uranium, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

 

[Orange Vise]

Plutonium's easy money.

HSS, 2000 SFM.

 

[Milland]

Plutonium's easy money.

HSS, 2000 SFM.

I see what you did there...

 

[Yan Wo]

Genuinely curious what the SFM would be for exotic materials like plutonium

0 SFM, 0 DOC, 0 FR, and stay back at least 2 miles.

 

[Strostkovy]

Pure plutonium exists in the alpha phase and machines like cast iron. Keep it cool though because it transitions to a beta allotrope which has a different density and will mess with your dimensions. Weapons grade plutonium is plutonium-239 alloyed with gallium or aluminum to keep it in the beta phase at room temperature, which collapses to the denser alpha phase during detonation which causes the mass to become critical. The beta phase machines like aluminum. RTGs are also stabilized for their operating temperature to be in the beta phase, (though they use Pu-238) or possibly in the gamma phase for high temperature types. Beta transitions to low density gamma phase at increased temperature, so cooling is a must. The coolant obviously gets contaminated with poisonous plutonium.

Radiation isn't really a concern unless you have a lot of Pu-240 in your Pu-239 because the spontaneous fission will produce a lot of fission fragments and gamma radiation.

 

[plastikdreams]

It really does sound like a badass job...

 

[Rick Finsta]

The coolant obviously gets contaminated with poisonous plutonium.

You know, I'm thinking this through and I can't come up with a reason that this coolant would cease being a used oil and need handling under RCRA Part C.

Every once in a while I would run into stuff like this in the waste industry where I'd have to convince the boss that "no it isn't illegal, but I think it is a very bad idea; let's avoid this ethics trap."

 

[claya]

The linked article is pretty fascinating on how Pu is machined, and the history behind it at Lanl. Of course Lanl commissioned a custom turning center from Hardinge. It also includes a story about how the EPA & FBI literally shut down production of warhead production for a decade. Nice to know that the EPA and the DoD are on the same team.

 

[DDoug]

The linked article is pretty fascinating on how Pu is machined, and the history behind it at Lanl. Of course Lanl commissioned a custom turning center from Hardinge. It also includes a story about how the EPA & FBI literally shut down production of warhead production for a decade. Nice to know that the EPA and the DoD are on the same team.

At Rocky flats they shot at them....
Rocky Flats Plant - Wikipedia