Summary Technical Report for Conceptual Design of MARCH-SERTTA
The Transient Reactor Test facility (TREAT) was constructed in the late 1950’s, provided thousands of transient irradiations before being placed in standby in 1994, and resumed reactor operations in 2017 in order to reclaim its crucial role in nuclear-heated safety research [1]. Starting in September of 2018, TREAT performed its first series of new fueled transient experiments using a novel modular irradiation vehicle, termed the Minimal Activation Retrievable Capsule Holder (MARCH) system. The MARCH system was developed to support high throughput testing and post transient examination by using fresh fuel samples arranged in low-activation hardware materials. Deployment of this irradiation vehicle system was supported by the Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) program. These initial experiments used inert gas atmosphere capsules (referred to as the Separate Effects Test Holder, SETH) containing small rodlets composed of UO2 pellets in zirconium alloy cladding with temperature measurement instruments. The initial SETH campaign was conducted in order to commission irradiation capabilities and deepen the understanding of specimen to core energy coupling. Building upon the successes of the initial SETH campaign, an evolution of the capsule design has been conceptualized in order to support the same kind of high throughput, cost effective, rodlet scale testing, but with the notable improvement of being able to immerse specimens in liquid water for testing conditions better representing Light Water Reactors (LWR). This capsule is referred to as the MARCH system Static Environment Rodlet Transient Test Apparatus (MARCH-SERTTA).
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US DOE Office of Nuclear Energy
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1605175
- Report Number(s):
- INL/EXT-18-51912-Rev000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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