Engineering topics

Kirkland, Will

Publications and source records attributed to Kirkland, Will.

4 records

DOE OSTI2022

Simplified Formulas for External Pressure Design

Design of vessels for external pressure currently requires a chart-based solution or analytical approaches which are not necessarily intuitive. In this paper, we propose simple formulas for the external pressure evaluation of pipes and other cylindrical pressure vessels. We present a conceptual comparison between the elastic and elastic-plastic stability of structural columns and that of cylindrical vessels of long, intermediate, and short length. Their common features allow an accurate and straightforward approach for external pressure design. The approach is also extended to spherical caps, conical vessels, and formed heads.We compare the method presented to the current acceptance criteria from various design codes, including the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII, Code Case 2286, and EN 13445-3, as well as codes for steel and aluminum structures. In further discussion, the simplified method is compared against the results of more than 500 experiments on the buckling of cylindrical and spherical vessels published over the past two centuries.This simple but accurate approximation is conceptually intuitive, analytically straightforward, and shows potential utility in pressure vessel design codes, as well as piping design codes such as B31 that currently reference ASME VIII for external pressure design.

Kirkland, Will↗

DOE OSTI2022

Transformational challenge reactor design characteristics

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program was conceived with the goal to reduce costs and time frames associated with advanced reactor deployment by leveraging developments in advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, data science, and rapid prototyping and testing. The final deliverable of the TCR program was to be an operational test of a novel reactor design. The TCR core design incorporates a dense tri-structural-isotropic/SiC fuel form and volumetrically efficient yttrium hydride moderator, both of which were manufactured and characterized under the TCR program. The TCR is a 3 MW{sub th} He-cooled experimental nuclear reactor designed to reach a total integrated burnup of less than 24 effective full-power hours to keep the radioactive source term to a very low level. TCR design process revealed a positive moderator coefficient; however, the negative doppler coefficients for the fuel and thermal expansion of fuel, moderator, and core support plate yield an overall negative reactivity coefficient. Calculated fuel element temperatures and stresses are well within safety margins. The maximum hypothetical accident (i.e., de-pressurized loss of forced cooling) yields only a modest increase in reactor temperatures that are all within safety margins. This paper summarizes the high-level TCR design characteristics, which were derived from neutronics, thermohydraulics, thermomechanics, and safety analyses.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Compilation of Published Test Data for Cylindrical and Spherical Vessels under External Pressure

This dataset is a compilation of the results of previously-published failure tests of cylindrical and spherical pressure vessels, pipes, shells, and caps under external pressure. This data has been used for the article 'Simplified Formulas for External Pressure Design' by W. Kirkland and C. Bett, presented at the ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference 2022. Paper number PVP2022-78354.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Transformational Challenge Reactor Safety Design and Radionuclide Retention Strategy

An integrated safety design and radionuclide (RN) retention strategy is developed to support the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) demonstration. This demonstration aims to showcase viability for rapid deployment of a novel reactor by leveraging the advances in materials, manufacturing, and computational sciences through a highly integrated and agile design and development approach. This strategy provides a logical description and understanding of how RNs are contained within the facility. Rather than discussing fission product barriers individually between separate design and safety basis reports, this paper provides a consistent description and narrative to better facilitate regulatory interactions and focus safety design efforts. The principal barriers credited include the various coating layers in the tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particle, the silicon carbide (SiC) matrix hosting the particles within the fuel element, the helium pressure boundary, and the confinement system. The choice and assumed performance of the credited barriers are highly conservative, which is a direct reflection of the low hazard that the TCR demonstration presents and the need to simplify and focus the safety review process accordingly. However, the strategy and the associated framework are generalized and may be adopted and tailored to support other advanced reactor demonstration efforts.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗