Critical Experiments at Sandia National Laboratories: Technical Meeting on Low-Power Critical Facilities and Small Reactors
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has conducted radiation effects testing for the Department of Energy (DOE) and other contractors supporting the DOE since the 1960's. Over this period, the research reactor facilities at Sandia have had a primary mission to provide appropriate nuclear radiation environments for radiation testing and qualification of electronic components and other devices. The current generation of reactors includes the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR), a water-moderated pool-type reactor, fueled by elements constructed from UO2-BeO ceramic fuel pellets, and the Sandia Pulse Reactor III (SPR-III), a bare metal fast burst reactor utilizing a uranium-molybdenum alloy fuel. The SPR-III is currently defueled. The SPR Facility (SPRF) has hosted a series of critical experiments. A purpose-built critical experiment was first operated at the SPRF in the late 1980's. This experiment, called the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Critical Experiment (CX), was designed to explore the reactor physics of a nuclear thermal rocket motor. This experiment was fueled with highly-enriched uranium carbide fuel in annular water-moderated fuel elements. The experiment program was completed and the fuel for the experiment was moved off-site. A second critical experiment, the Burnup Credit Critical Experiment (BUCCX) was operated at Sandia in 2002. The critical assembly for this experiment was based on the assembly used in the CX modified to accommodate low-enriched pin-type fuel in water moderator. This experiment was designed as a platform in which the reactivity effects of specific fission product poisons could be measured. Experiments were carried out on rhodium, an important fission product poison. The fuel and assembly hardware for the BUCCX remains at Sandia and is available for future experimentation. The critical experiment currently in operation at the SPRF is the Seven Percent Critical Experiment (7uPCX). This experiment is designed to provide benchmark reactor physics data to support validation of the reactor physics codes used to design commercial reactor fuel elements in an enrichment range above the current 5% enrichment cap. A first set of critical experiments in the 7uPCX has been completed. More experiments are planned in the 7uPCX series. The critical experiments at Sandia National Laboratories are currently funded by the US Department of Energy Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP). The NCSP has committed to maintain the critical experiment capability at Sandia and to support the development of a critical experiments training course at the facility. The training course is intended to provide hands-on experiment experience for the training of new and re-training of practicing Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineers. The current plans are for the development of the course to continue through the first part of fiscal year 2011 with the development culminating is the delivery of a prototype of the course in the latter part of the fiscal year. The course will be available in fiscal year 2012.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1030370
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2010-7649C; TRN: US1105952
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Technical Meeting on Low-Power Critical Facilities and Small Reactors, Ottawa, ON (Canada), 1-3 Nov 2010
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION
ACPR REACTOR
BENCHMARKS
BURNUP
CERAMICS
CRITICALITY
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL PELLETS
POOL TYPE REACTORS
PROPULSION
PULSED REACTORS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
REACTOR PHYSICS
RESEARCH REACTORS
RHODIUM
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
URANIUM CARBIDES
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
URANIUM ALLOYS
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR)
UO2-BeO Ceramic Fuel Pellets
Sandia Pulse Reactor III (SPR-III)
Burnup Credit Critical Experiment (BUCCX)
Seven Percent Critical Experiment (7uPCX)
Training Course