Harper International has been awarded a contract to supply an advanced thermal-processing system for the sintering of nuclear-fuel pellets. Sintering is the final step in the refinement of nuclear fuels before they can be used in nuclear power plants. Nuclear-fuel sintering systems must meet several critical requirements, including hydrogen gas atmosphere with controlled dew point in the 1700-1800C temperature range and temperature uniformity.
Harper’s furnace systems for the nuclear industry meet or exceed the necessary requirements and are currently in operation on four continents. Harper is also involved with green-energy projects involving silicon production, solar cells, wind energy and thermal processing of advanced materials for energy storage systems.