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Title: Design Studies for a Multiple Application Thermal Reactor for Irradiation Experiments (MATRIX)

Abstract

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a high power density test reactor specializing in fuel and materials irradiation. For more than 45 years, the ATR has provided irradiations of materials and fuels testing along with radioisotope production. Should unforeseen circumstances lead to the decommissioning of ATR, the U.S. Government would be left without a large-scale materials irradiation capability to meet the needs of its nuclear energy and naval reactor missions. In anticipation of this possibility, work was performed under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program to investigate test reactor concepts that could satisfy the current missions of the ATR along with an expanded set of secondary missions. A survey was conducted in order to catalogue the anticipated needs of potential customers. Then, concepts were evaluated to fill the role for this reactor, dubbed the Multi-Application Thermal Reactor Irradiation eXperiments (MATRIX). The baseline MATRIX design is expected to be capable of longer cycle lengths than ATR given a particular batch scheme. The volume of test space in In-Pile-Tubes (IPTs) is larger in MATRIX than in ATR with comparable magnitude of neutron flux. Furthermore, MATRIX has more locations of greater volume having high fast neutron flux than ATR. From themore » analyses performed in this work, it appears that the lead MATRIX design can be designed to meet the anticipated needs of the ATR replacement reactor. However, this design is quite immature, and therefore any requirements currently met must be re-evaluated as the design is developed further.« less

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1177211
Report Number(s):
INL/CON-13-30832
TRN: US1500146
DOE Contract Number:  
AC07-05ID14517
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: PHYSOR 2014. The Role of Reactor Physics Toward a Sustainable Future, Kyoto (Japan), 28 Sep - 3 Oct 2014
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; MATERIALS TESTING REACTORS; FAST NEUTRONS; THERMAL REACTORS; DESIGN; SPACE; NUCLEAR FUELS; PLANNING; ATR; LEU; MATRIX; replacement; test reactor

Citation Formats

Pope, Michael A., Gougar, Hans D., and Ryskamp, J. M. Design Studies for a Multiple Application Thermal Reactor for Irradiation Experiments (MATRIX). United States: N. p., 2015. Web.
Pope, Michael A., Gougar, Hans D., & Ryskamp, J. M. Design Studies for a Multiple Application Thermal Reactor for Irradiation Experiments (MATRIX). United States.
Pope, Michael A., Gougar, Hans D., and Ryskamp, J. M. 2015. "Design Studies for a Multiple Application Thermal Reactor for Irradiation Experiments (MATRIX)". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1177211.
@article{osti_1177211,
title = {Design Studies for a Multiple Application Thermal Reactor for Irradiation Experiments (MATRIX)},
author = {Pope, Michael A. and Gougar, Hans D. and Ryskamp, J. M.},
abstractNote = {The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a high power density test reactor specializing in fuel and materials irradiation. For more than 45 years, the ATR has provided irradiations of materials and fuels testing along with radioisotope production. Should unforeseen circumstances lead to the decommissioning of ATR, the U.S. Government would be left without a large-scale materials irradiation capability to meet the needs of its nuclear energy and naval reactor missions. In anticipation of this possibility, work was performed under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program to investigate test reactor concepts that could satisfy the current missions of the ATR along with an expanded set of secondary missions. A survey was conducted in order to catalogue the anticipated needs of potential customers. Then, concepts were evaluated to fill the role for this reactor, dubbed the Multi-Application Thermal Reactor Irradiation eXperiments (MATRIX). The baseline MATRIX design is expected to be capable of longer cycle lengths than ATR given a particular batch scheme. The volume of test space in In-Pile-Tubes (IPTs) is larger in MATRIX than in ATR with comparable magnitude of neutron flux. Furthermore, MATRIX has more locations of greater volume having high fast neutron flux than ATR. From the analyses performed in this work, it appears that the lead MATRIX design can be designed to meet the anticipated needs of the ATR replacement reactor. However, this design is quite immature, and therefore any requirements currently met must be re-evaluated as the design is developed further.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1177211}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

Conference:
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