Quanta Engineering LLC

Day 1 of the First Tech Challenge World's Championship competition in Houston is complete!
Team 9808, the HCA Chargers, sporting the logos of Garmin, Missouri S&T, and of course, Quanta Engineering, won their first match of the day! The remaining matches had their ups and downs, from solving last minute belt tensioning issues to alliance partners' bots malfunctioning.
These young men and women are our future, and we are in good hands!
Tune in via:
https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/2025/team/9808

What do we spy?
Quanta Engineering is a proud sponsor of Heritage Christian Academy's Charger Robotics Team!
https://www.instagram.com/chargers9808/
https://www.heritagechristian.net/student-life/robotics

Happy Veterans Day!
To all who stood up, took an oath, and served, we salute you.

Engineering structures does not mean they always carry a load to a foundation of concrete and steel, fixed to the ground.
Sometimes, that foundation floats...
Just finished up a small marina expansion, adding a 1600 sqft store to a previously open dock.
Can't wait to see the finished product.

Real World, Not an April Fools' Joke:
$900M offer for SMR funding opens again—realigned to energy dominance agenda

$900 Million seems like a lot. And it is.

What is an SMR? Small Modular Reactor. That's not really a "type" of reactor. That's one of the problems with SMRs. It's a vague, nebulous term. The idea is basically referring to reactors and systems built in manufacturing plants and shipped on-site in modules, with minimal on-site fabrication.

This recent realignment of the solicitation from the DOE targets risks associated with Gen III+ Light Water Small Modular Reactors.

So, what is a "Light Water Reactor" (LWR)? They include Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), for example.

So, why not Gen IV Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) like the liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR)?

Why not Liquid Metal Cooled Nuclear Reactors (LMRs) like the Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)?

As you might notice, one thing that plagues STEM industries is TLA (Three Letter Acronym) creep.

STEM professionals already have to deal with it. Even outside the nuclear space.

But why limit to "advanced light water reactors?"

By the way, that also eliminates the CANDU reactor.

Now, this isn't going to go to a small company, either. The solicitation is designed to be "$800M to support up to two first mover teams" and approximately "$100M to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps."

Are we essentially providing a bail-out to some SMR LWR companies? There are only a handful of companies that seem to fit the bill.

Should we limit the funding to two first movers? Or should we be looking for new technology development? How do we reconcile the drive for new development with the overbearing 10CFR53?
https://www.ans.org/news/2025-03-26/article-6894/smr-doe-doene-oecd-small-modular-reactors-light-water-reactors/

$900M offer for SMR funding opens again—realigned to energy dominance agenda Power & Operations$900M offer for SMR funding opens again—realigned to energy dominance agendaMarch 26, 2025, 3:03PMNuclear NewsThe Department of Energy reissued a $900 million solicitation on March 24 designed to de-risk the deployment of “Gen-III+” light water small modular reactors. The sam...

We love seeing updates for new materials.
Big question though: What will the economics of it be?

IN617 currently costs about $44-$48/kg vs 316 SS at $4.5-$7 per kg.
Now, I only use that comparison because people tend to know 316 SS more.
You do not make the same components from IN617 as you do 316 SS.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the manganese performs compared to cobalt. While both elements provide similar improvements to alloys. Theoretically, this can lower the cost of IN617-M1 from IN617.

Of course, next would be certifications for use in nuclear applications.

PNNL team creates “super alloy” for nuclear reactors MaterialsPNNL team creates “super alloy” for nuclear reactorsFebruary 28, 2025, 9:30AMANS Nuclear CafePNNL researchers (from left) Isabella van Rooyen, Subhashish Meher, and Steven Livers are part of the team that developed a durable new nickel-based “super alloy” by replacing cobalt with ma...

One of the topics in Nuclear is how to handle things. Whether that thing is hot or cold, if it's radioactive, you do not want to touch it.

Today, ORNL's Adam Carroll hosted a presentation of industry partners on Nuclear Robotics and Remote Systems for ANS.

You can watch the recording here:

https://www.ans.org/webinars/view-rrsdindustryupdates/

Automation and robotics isn't limited to nuclear. What I'm really excited about is the future of Molten Salt Reactors. Even in the 1960s, Dr. Alvin Weinberg's team developed automation for servicing their MSRE.

Come work with a company that a proven track record of working with engineering automation!

Nuclear Robotics and Remote Systems Updates from Industrial Partners -- ANS / Webinars ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.

There are several events coming up discussing Molten Salt, from chemistry to its use in reactors..
From October 21-23, Brookhaven National Laboratory's Laser Electron Accelerator Facility (LEAF) is hosting their LEAF 25 Workshop as they present on pulse radiolysis.
You can learn more about LEAF25 here:
https://www.bnl.gov/leaf25/

LEAF 25: A Workshop on Modern Applications of Pulse Radiolysis Celebrating 25 years of the Laser Electron Accelerator Facility (LEAF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, this workshop is being held to educate and grow a new and diverse community of scientists to make use of the unique and valuable techniques of pulse radiolysis.

This is good news.
I'm looking forward to what the future brings.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/constellation-inks-power-supply-deal-with-microsoft-2024-09-20/

With all the recent discussion about the Polaris Dawn mission, I've seen an uptick in posts questioning our original Apollo Missions.
This is one of the best explanations I've seen about the design and structure of the Lunar Module.

What's inside of the Lunar Module? Come see inside the Lunar Module using 3D animation.Watch my space videos playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgVMn8k8t5JNeGds2KjPLXh37Y2oHuKHW⬇...