Next Generation Nuclear Plant Intermediate Heat Exchanger Acquisition Strategy
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
DOE has selected the High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) 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 to 950°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 Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX).This component will be operated in flowing, impure helium on the primary and secondary side at temperatures up to 950°C. There are major high temperature design, materials availability, and fabrication issues that need to be addressed. The prospective materials are Alloys 617, 230, 800H and X, with Alloy 617 being the leading candidate for the use at 950°C. The material delivery schedule for these materials does not pose a problem for a 2018 start up as the vendors can quote reasonable delivery times at the moment. The product forms and amount needed must be finalized as soon as possible. An issue for the fabrication of the IHX pressure and tubular design heat exchanger is the identification of vessel fabrication vendors with the appropriate ASME certifications to perform nuclear work. The number of these firms has declined over the last 20 years and the NGNP will be competing for these services with resurgent orders for LWR’s and chemical process facility components in a world market. The first three designs listed; plate machined heat exchanger (PMHE), plate fin heat exchanger ( PFHE), and the plate stamped heat exchanger (PSHE) are compact heat exchanger designs. The tubular IHX is a standard industrial design. The foam, capillary, and ceramic IHX designs are less mature technologies.
- 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:
- 1389177
- Report Number(s):
- INL/EXT-08-14054
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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