Reactivation of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility Neutron Radiography Program

Conference · Sun Sep 02 04:00:00 EDT 2018

OSTI ID:1484514

Jensen, Shawn R ^[1]; E. Craft, Dr. Aaron ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory

Reactivation of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility Neutron Radiography Program The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility is a 19,000 MW reactor located at the Idaho National Laboratory designed to perform transient testing on nuclear fuel experiments and materials. A neutron radiography facility was installed with the first radiograph being produced in 1967 that utilized the indirect (or transfer) method of neutron radiography to examine irradiated nuclear fuels and experiment test loops. The TREAT neutron radiography facility performed approximately 5,000 radiographs by the spring of 1977. The original radiography facility was upgraded in 1974-1975 to correct previous deficiencies and to improve capabilities. In 1986, an upgraded aperture was installed to increase the resolution of images followed by a major reactor upgrade completed in 1988. Overall, the existing neutron radiography system was in good working order. Originally built in 1958, the TREAT Facility was in operation until it was placed in a shutdown status in 1994. Following the Fukishima disaster and seeing a need for enhanced accident tolerant fuels, the United Stated Department of Energy decided to restart the TREAT facility and resume transient operations. In November 2017, the TREAT reactor was successfully restarted and is currently performing operational testing in preparation for initial experiment irradiations and transient testing. This paper reports on efforts to reactivate the TREAT neutron radiography station. A few minor shielding and system improvement upgrades have been completed along with the installation of a dedicated room for computed radiography equipment. Detailed beam characterization work was not performed following the last reactor upgrade. To characterize the neutron beam, gold foil activation measurements were made to determine an average neutron flux and flux profile. Additional multi-foil activation measurements will be made to calculate the energy spectrum. An open beam image will be taken that will provide the information about variations in the beam profile. A series of system qualification shots will also take place to accurately determine the effective image quality and image acquisition parameters. Full operational status of the TREAT neutron radiography system is scheduled for late summer of 2018.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Department of Energy NE (DOE-NE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1484514
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-18-45105-Rev000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Neutron Radiography
TREAT
Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility