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At least 415 records · Page 23

Technical Program Plan for INL Advanced Reactor Technologies Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program

High-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) are graphite moderated nuclear reactors cooled with helium. Their high outlet temperatures and thermal energy conversion efficiency enable efficient and cost effective integration with non electricity generating applications. These applications include process heat and hydrogen production for petrochemical and other industrial processes that require operating temperatures between 300 and 900°C. HTGRs will supplement the use of premium fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, improve overall energy security in the United States by reducing dependence on foreign fuels, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)/greenhouse gas emissions. The HTGR design uses helium as a coolant, graphite as a neutron moderator, and ceramic particle fuel. Helium is chemically inert and neutronically transparent. The graphite core slows down the neutrons, retains its strength at high temperatures, provides structural stability, and acts as a substantial heat sink during transient conditions. The ceramic particle fuel is extremely robust and retains the radioactive by products of the fission reaction within the coated particle under normal and off normal conditions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Technical Program Plan for INL Advanced Reactor Technologies Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program

High-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) are graphite moderated nuclear reactors cooled with helium. Their high outlet temperatures and thermal energy conversion efficiency enable efficient and cost effective integration with non electricity generating applications. These applications include process heat and hydrogen production for petrochemical and other industrial processes that require operating temperatures between 300 and 900°C. HTGRs will supplement the use of premium fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, improve overall energy security in the United States by reducing dependence on foreign fuels, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)/greenhouse gas emissions. The HTGR design uses helium as a coolant, graphite as a neutron moderator, and ceramic particle fuel. Helium is chemically inert and neutronically transparent. The graphite core slows down the neutrons, retains its strength at high temperatures, provides structural stability, and acts as a substantial heat sink during transient conditions. The ceramic particle fuel is extremely robust and retains the radioactive by products of the fission reaction within the coated particle under normal and off normal conditions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Technical Program Plan for INL Advanced Reactor Technologies Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program

High-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) are graphite moderated nuclear reactors cooled with helium. Their high outlet temperatures and thermal energy conversion efficiency enable efficient and cost effective integration with non electricity generating applications. These applications include process heat and hydrogen production for petrochemical and other industrial processes that require operating temperatures between 300 and 900°C. HTGRs will supplement the use of premium fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, improve overall energy security in the United States by reducing dependence on foreign fuels, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)/greenhouse gas emissions. The HTGR design uses helium as a coolant, graphite as a neutron moderator, and ceramic particle fuel. Helium is chemically inert and neutronically transparent. The graphite core slows down the neutrons, retains its strength at high temperatures, provides structural stability, and acts as a substantial heat sink during transient conditions. The ceramic particle fuel is extremely robust and retains the radioactive by products of the fission reaction within the coated particle under normal and off normal conditions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NDMAS

Overview of Current ART-GCR Data: Fuel Fabrication, Irradiation Monitoring (Fuel & Graphite – near real-time for HDG-1), Post-Irradiation Examination (Fuel & Graphite), Graphite Characterization (Baseline and Irradiated), High Temperature Metals Mechanical Tests, Design, Methods, and Validation Data, Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR), Argonne National Laboratory’s Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), Oregon State University’s High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF), Generation IV International VHTR Materials Handbook, Additional related data, and Advanced Test Reactor operations (near real-time).

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Thermophysical properties of high-density, sintered monoliths of yttrium dihydride in the range 373–773 K

Yttrium dihydride is a promising nuclear reactor moderator for high-temperature, thermal micro-reactors due to its ability to retain hydrogen to high temperatures while having a relatively low impact on neutron economy. However, it is difficult to fabricate yttrium dihydride in high-density, near net-shape monoliths for moderator applications due to challenges associated with the hydrogen absorption process. Here, high-density monoliths of yttrium dihydride were prepared by powder metallurgical methods. The lattice strain and thermal expansion coefficient were measured using neutron diffraction of powders of directly-hydrided yttrium, while the molar heat capacity and thermal diffusivity of sintered yttrium dihydride were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and laser flash analysis (LFA), respectively. The molar heat capacity of yttrium dihydride was also calculated using density functional theory (DFT) for comparison. These parameters were used to then calculate the thermal conductivity and resistivity of yttrium dihydride as a function of temperature. The thermophysical properties of materials produced by both methods were observed to be consistent with the values from literature for yttrium dihydride. Due to the novelty of producing yttrium dihydride by powder metallurgical methods, this result indicated that the sintered monoliths were of high quality and that powder metallurgy is a viable method for large-scale production of yttrium dihydride monoliths for nuclear reactor moderator applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Brief summary of the evolution of high-temperature creep-fatigue life prediction models for crack initiation

The evolution of high-temperature, creep-fatigue, life-prediction methods used for cyclic crack initiation is traced from inception in the late 1940's. The methods reviewed are material models as opposed to structural life prediction models. Material life models are used by both structural durability analysts and by material scientists. The latter use micromechanistic models as guidance to improve a material's crack initiation resistance. Nearly one hundred approaches and their variations have been proposed to date. This proliferation poses a problem in deciding which method is most appropriate for a given application. Approaches were identified as being combinations of thirteen different classifications. This review is intended to aid both developers and users of high-temperature fatigue life prediction methods by providing a background from which choices can be made. The need for high-temperature, fatigue-life prediction methods followed immediately on the heels of the development of large, costly, high-technology industrial and aerospace equipment immediately following the second world war. Major advances were made in the design and manufacture of high-temperature, high-pressure boilers and steam turbines, nuclear reactors, high-temperature forming dies, high-performance poppet valves, aeronautical gas turbine engines, reusable rocket engines, etc. These advances could no longer be accomplished simply by trial and error using the 'build-em and bust-em' approach. Development lead times were too great and costs too prohibitive to retain such an approach. Analytic assessments of anticipated performance, cost, and durability were introduced to cut costs and shorten lead times. The analytic tools were quite primitive at first and out of necessity evolved in parallel with hardware development. After forty years more descriptive, more accurate, and more efficient analytic tools are being developed. These include thermal-structural finite element and boundary element analyses, advanced constitutive stress-strain-temperature-time relations, and creep-fatigue-environmental models for crack initiation and propagation. The high-temperature durability methods that have evolved for calculating high-temperature fatigue crack initiation lives of structural engineering materials are addressed. Only a few of the methods were refined to the point of being directly useable in design. Recently, two of the methods were transcribed into computer software for use with personal computers.

Halford, Gary R.↗

Flow-Tube Reactor Experiments on the High Temperature Oxidation of Carbon Weaves

Under entry conditions carbon weaves used in thermal protection systems (TPS) decompose via oxidation. Modeling this phenomenon is challenging due to the different regimes encountered along a flight trajectory. Approaches using equilibrium chemistry may lead to over-estimated mass loss and recession at certain conditions. Concurrently, there is a shortcoming of experimental data on carbon weaves to enable development of improved models. In this work, a flow-tube test facility was used to measure the oxidation of carbon weaves at temperatures up to 1500 K. The material tested was the 3D carbon weave used for the heat shield of the NASA Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology, ADEPT. Oxidation was characterized by quantifying decomposition gases (CO and CO2), by mass measurements, and by microscale surface analysis. The current set of measurements contributes to the development of finite rate chemistry models for carbon fabrics used in woven TPS materials.

Woven TPS↗

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors: Core Design

General Attributes of Modular Prismatic and Pebble Bed HTGRs Common features and physics Neutronics Thermal-Fluidics Plant Systems and Power Conversion Instrumentation and Control Normal Operation and Power Maneuvers

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Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor: Safety Design Approach

Deployment Objectives Flexibly co-locate with new industry users of nuclear energy Steam and electric cogeneration applications Direct process heat with temperature ranges from 700°C to 950°C Enabling Requirements Meet regulatory dose limits at the Exclusion Area Boundary (EAB) 25 rem Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) for duration of the release from 10 CFR 50.34 (10 CFR 52.79) at Exclusion Area Boundary (EAB) for design basis accidents EAB is estimated approximately 400 meters from the modular HTGR plant (to support co-location with industrial facilities) Meet safety goals for cumulative individual risk for normal and off-normal operation Design goal: meet EPA Protective Action Guides (PAGs) at EAB 1 rem TEDE for sheltering Design basis and beyond design basis events are considered Realistically evaluated at the EAB Emergency planning and protection

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Modular High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor: Accident Analysis

Types of Potential Accidents and Reactor Response Codes and Tools Experimental Validation Safety Analysis Approach Licensing Modernization Project Use of PRA in LMP, ASME/ANS, Non-LWR PRA Standard Methods for Incorporating Passive System Reliability into a PRA

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