Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2020)

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1698024· OSTI ID:1698024

Kultgen, D. ^[1]; Weathered, M. ^[1]; Kent, E. ^[1]; Grandy, C. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

This report documents the operations and testing that was performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2020. The METL facility had a very successful second year of operations having logged over 730 days (as of September 19, 2020) of operations with molten sodium either flowing or static. The METL piping and vessel system was filled with sodium on September 19, 2018 after a successful transfer of sodium from fifteen 55-gallon drums. FY2020 saw the successful reconditioning and insertion of the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) for its second round of testing, the full use of the 18-inch Flexi-Cask system, the second extraction of the GTA from METL, and the removal of sodium from the GTA test article by the carbonation process followed by an alcohol wash. In addition, METL is being prepared to support a second larger experiment, a thermal hydraulic experiment, called Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA).

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1698024
• Report Number(s): ANL-ART--210; 162638
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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