Design characteristics of the Idaho National Laboratory high-temperature gas-cooled test reactor - 18703
- Nuclear Science and Technology Division, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 8341, U.S.A (United States)
- Center for Space Nuclear Research, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States)
A point design for a graphite-moderated, high-temperature, gas-cooled test reactor (HTG-TR) has been developed by Idaho National Laboratory as part of a U.S. Department of Energy initiative to explore and potentially expand existing U.S. test reactor capabilities. This paper provides a summary of the design and its main attributes. The 200-MW HTG-TR is a thermal-neutron spectrum reactor composed of hexagonal prismatic fuel and graphite reflector blocks. The HTG-TR is designed to operate at 7 MPa with a coolant inlet/outlet temperature of 325/650 deg. C and utilizes tri-structural isotropic particle fuel with an enrichment of 15.5-wt% {sup 235}U. The primary mission of the HTG-TR is material irradiation, and therefore the core has been specifically designed and optimized to provide the highest possible thermal and fast-neutron fluxes. The highest thermal-neutron flux (3.90 E+14 n/cm{sup 2}/s) occurs in the outer reflector, and the maximum fast-flux levels (1.17 E+14 n/cm{sup 2}s) are produced in the central reflector column, where most of the graphite has been removed. The core features a large number of irradiation positions with large test volumes and long test lengths, providing an ideal environment for thermal-neutron irradiation of large test articles. The total available test volume is more than 1,100 L. Up to four test loop facilities can be accommodated with pressure tube boundaries to isolate test articles and test fluids (e.g., liquid metal, liquid salt, and light water) from the helium primary coolant system. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23032737
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: HTR 2016: International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology, Las Vegas, NV (United States), 6-10 Nov 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 4 refs.; available from American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (US)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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