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Title: Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop

Abstract

In 2017 the Transient Reactor Test Facility was restarted after being placed in a standby state since 1994. This Test Reactor’s restart has since enabled the progressive development of new nuclear technologies within the U.S. that were previously required to outsource to other countries. While the reactor’s restart was a large feat worthy of recognition, the experimental use of its characteristics has required the further development of in-pile experimental infrastructure sufficient to support programmatic needs. This hardware have taken the form of capsule designs (compact and elongated) as well as loop concepts representing the phenomena of interest for a subset of separate effects tests desire for each respective testing campaign. The Transient Testing Program has a large-integrated effort that aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy’s current needs. This study compliments those programmatic elements by developing, fabricating and demonstrating a full-scale flowing water loop in an out-of-pile environment. The goal of this effort is to develop a pragmatic understanding of the engineering capabilities and limitations associated with geometric form-factors, metering technology, and controls logic under representative thermal hydraulic conditions that would be experienced within the TREAT reactor during an in-pile reactivity initiated accident test. The outcomes of this study resultmore » in an evaluation of the conceptual design of a comprehensive flowing water loop including objective figures of merit (FoMs) for comparing unique instrumentation and the basis for their selection during operations. These efforts directly contribute to and are required for the further advancement of transient testing capabilities within the U.S.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  2. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1631146
Report Number(s):
INL/JOU-20-57026-Rev000
Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5450; TRN: US2200749
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC07-05ID14517
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nuclear Technology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 206; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis - formerly American Nuclear Society (ANS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; TREAT; Thermal Hydraulics; ATF

Citation Formats

Marcum, Wade, LaBrier, Daniel, Brown, Emory, Yan, Yikuan, and Woolstenhulme, Nicolas. Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1080/00295450.2020.1720559.
Marcum, Wade, LaBrier, Daniel, Brown, Emory, Yan, Yikuan, & Woolstenhulme, Nicolas. Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop. United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1720559
Marcum, Wade, LaBrier, Daniel, Brown, Emory, Yan, Yikuan, and Woolstenhulme, Nicolas. Tue . "Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop". United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1720559. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1631146.
@article{osti_1631146,
title = {Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop},
author = {Marcum, Wade and LaBrier, Daniel and Brown, Emory and Yan, Yikuan and Woolstenhulme, Nicolas},
abstractNote = {In 2017 the Transient Reactor Test Facility was restarted after being placed in a standby state since 1994. This Test Reactor’s restart has since enabled the progressive development of new nuclear technologies within the U.S. that were previously required to outsource to other countries. While the reactor’s restart was a large feat worthy of recognition, the experimental use of its characteristics has required the further development of in-pile experimental infrastructure sufficient to support programmatic needs. This hardware have taken the form of capsule designs (compact and elongated) as well as loop concepts representing the phenomena of interest for a subset of separate effects tests desire for each respective testing campaign. The Transient Testing Program has a large-integrated effort that aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy’s current needs. This study compliments those programmatic elements by developing, fabricating and demonstrating a full-scale flowing water loop in an out-of-pile environment. The goal of this effort is to develop a pragmatic understanding of the engineering capabilities and limitations associated with geometric form-factors, metering technology, and controls logic under representative thermal hydraulic conditions that would be experienced within the TREAT reactor during an in-pile reactivity initiated accident test. The outcomes of this study result in an evaluation of the conceptual design of a comprehensive flowing water loop including objective figures of merit (FoMs) for comparing unique instrumentation and the basis for their selection during operations. These efforts directly contribute to and are required for the further advancement of transient testing capabilities within the U.S.},
doi = {10.1080/00295450.2020.1720559},
journal = {Nuclear Technology},
number = 6,
volume = 206,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}

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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Isometric rendering of the TREAT reactor13

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