Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) Acquisition Strategy
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
The Department of Energy has selected the High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor design for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project. The NGNP will demonstrate the use of nuclear power for electricity and hydrogen production. It will have an outlet gas temperature in the range of 900°C and a plant design service life of 60 years. The reactor design will be a graphite moderated, helium-cooled, prismatic or pebble-bed reactor and use low-enriched uranium, TRISO-coated fuel. The plant size, reactor thermal power, and core configuration will ensure passive decay heat removal without fuel damage or radioactive material releases during accidents. The NGNP Materials Research and Development (R&D) Program is responsible for performing R&D on likely NGNP materials in support of the NGNP design, licensing, and construction activities. Selection of the technology and design configuration for the NGNP must consider both the cost and risk profiles to ensure that the demonstration plant establishes a sound foundation for future commercial deployments. The NGNP challenge is to achieve a significant advancement in nuclear technology while at the same time setting the stage for an economically viable deployment of the new technology in the commercial sector soon after 2020. The purpose of this report is to address the acquisition strategy for the NGNP Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV). This component will be larger than any nuclear reactor pressure vessel presently in service in the United States. The RPV will be taller, larger in diameter, thicker walled, heavier and most likely fabricated at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site of multiple subcomponent pieces. The pressure vessel steel can either be a conventional materials already used in the nuclear industry such as listed within ASME A508/A533 specifications or it will be fabricated from newer pressure vessel materials never before used for a nuclear reactor in the US. Each of these characteristics will present a procurement and fabrication challenge to the producer of the RPV.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1389176
- Report Number(s):
- INL/EXT-08-13951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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