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At least 487 records · Page 27

SPC-70646 Specification for Reactor Supplemental Shielding for Use in DOME

NRIC is developing the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC): to allow for testing of advanced reactors in support of future licensing and commercial operations. One such need is a neutron and photon radiation shielding system to protect personnel and equipment from harsh neutron and photon fluxes during reactor operations and post shut down operations, disassembly, and decommissioning.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Irradiation Testing of Sensors - ASI Program Review 2022

This is a powerpoint presentation for the annual Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program webinar. The following is a summary of the presentation. Advanced instrumentation enables testing of nuclear fuels and materials in support of the US advanced nuclear technology industry. A number of promising sensor technologies are in the pipeline. The early part of sensor development can be done outside of the reactor environment, but full technical readiness requires experience gained from in-core performance testing. Customers usually have only one shot to conduct their irradiation experiments. Because of the high costs test sponsors are frequently reluctant to incorporate unproven technologies in reactor experiments. Therefore, it is vital to demonstrate newly-developed sensors in operational conditions, prior to incorporating them into long-term high-value experiments. Successful completion of these activities will create new monitoring capabilities in high-power test reactors (such as ATR) as well as specialty reactors such as TREAT.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Probing time-resolved plasma-driven solution electrochemistry in a falling liquid film plasma reactor: Identification of HO$^−_2$ as a plasma-derived reducing agent

Many applications involving plasma–liquid interactions depend on the reactive processes occurring at the plasma–liquid interface. In this article, we report on a falling liquid film plasma reactor allowing for in situ optical absorption measurements of the time-dependence of the ferricyanide/ferrocyanide redox reactivity, complemented with ex situ measurement of the decomposition of formate. We found excellent agreement between the measured decomposition percentages and the diffusion-limited decomposition of formate by interfacial plasma-enabled reactions, except at high pH in thin liquid films, indicating the involvement of previously unexplored plasma-induced liquid phase chemistry enabled by long-lived reactive species. We also determined that high pH facilitates a reduction-favoring environment in ferricyanide/ferrocyanide redox solutions. In situ conversion measurements of a 1:1 ferricyanide/ferrocyanide redox mixture exceed the measured ex situ conversion and show that conversion of a 1:1 ferricyanide/ferrocyanide mixture is strongly dependent on film thickness. We identified three dominant processes: reduction faster than ms time scales for film thicknesses >100 µm, •OH-driven oxidation on time scales of <10 ms, and reduction on 15 ms time scales for film thickness <100 µm. We attribute the slow reduction and larger formate decomposition at high pH to HO$^−_2$ formed from plasma-produced H 2 O 2 enabled by the high pH at the plasma–liquid interface as confirmed experimentally and by computed reaction rates of HO$^−_2$ with ferricyanide. Overall, this work demonstrates the utility of liquid film reactors in enabling the discovery of new plasma-interfacial chemistry and the utility of atmospheric plasmas for electrodeless electrochemistry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

SAS4A/SASSYS-1 Validation with EBR-II Tests Performed During the SHRT Testing Program (Rev. 2)

The EBR-II sodium-cooled fast reactor supported a wide range of fast reactor research activities. The final fifteen years of operations at EBR-II were used for experiments and tests to demonstrate the importance of passive safety in liquid metal reactors and the capability of such systems to provide strong passive responses during off-normal conditions. The Shutdown Heat Removal Test program at EBR-II provided test data supporting the validation of computer codes for design, licensing, and operation of LMRs, among other objectives. The program included nearly sixty tests, most of which were protected and unprotected loss of flow and loss of heat sink tests run at various initial powers and flow rates. This report documents the results of modeling and simulation of tests from the Shutdown Heat Removal Test program to support validation of Argonne’s SAS4A/SASSYS-1 fast reactor safety analysis code. SHRT-17 and SHRT-6 were protected loss of flow tests where a loss of electrical power to all sodium coolant pumps was simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness of natural circulation cooling characteristics. SHRT-45R, SHRT-39, and SHRT-43R were unprotected loss of flow tests where the control rod scram function of the plant protection system was disabled to demonstrate the effectiveness of EBR-II’s passive reactivity feedbacks. BOP-301 and BOP-302R were unprotected loss of heat sink tests that demonstrated how reactivity feedback effects driven by changes to the core inlet temperature can shut down the fission process. PICT-5/6 demonstrated how core power could be increased and decreased via changes in the intermediate sodium and feedwater flow rates. This validation activity leverages modeling and simulation efforts that originated under an International Atomic Energy Agency Coordinated Research Project for benchmark analysis of the EBR-II Shutdown Heat Removal Tests. The SAS4A/SASSYS-1 models originally developed for the CRP have been modernized to utilize new code features and modeling practices. Differences between the predicted and measured test data were explored and the causes of these differences were identified as being due to modeling approximations, uncertainty in transient component behavior, and instrumentation uncertainties. Overall, it was concluded that for all tests simulated there was good agreement between the flow, power, and temperature predictions and the measured data.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Elucidating the corrosion mechanism of Ni-based superalloys in the presence of uranium-containing chloride molten salt

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to the advancement of nuclear reactor technology through initiatives such as the Advanced Reactor Development Program (ARDP), in an effort to diversify the United States energy portfolio towards more sustainable energy options. The ARDP includes demonstration by industry partners of molten chloride fast reactors (MCFRs). Construction of MCFRs requires qualified nuclear structural materials. Unfortunately, there are no current materials that are fully qualified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the construction of molten salt reactors, including MCFRs. Adapting current structural material qualifications requires expansion of our current knowledgebase on the property-performance relationships regarding corrosion performance. In this investigation, we assess microstructural changes in a Ni-based superalloy after exposure to a UCl3¬-containing chloride salt eutectic mixture through a correlated multi-modal approach combining several advanced characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy/focused ion beam (SEM/FIB) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM/FIB analysis will illustrate changes in elemental composition, microstructure, and isotopic information acquired from energy x-ray dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), respectively. This information will then aid in identifying localized regions to elucidate the corrosion mechanism with TEM through a combination of electron diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and additional EDS. The findings from this investigation will further expand our assessment of the corrosion performance of structural materials in molten salt chloride systems, aiding to developing fully qualified materials for construction of MCFRs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Initial demonstration of automated fuel performance modeling with 1977 EBR-II metallic fuel pins using BISON code with FIPD and IMIS databases

Using the BISON fuel performance code, simulations were conducted using an automated process to read initial and operating conditions from the Fuels Irradiation and Physics Database (FIPD) and Integral Fast Reactor materials information system (IMIS) database, which contains metallic fuel data from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II). This work demonstrates use of an integrated framework to access the vast majority of EBR-II experimental fuel pin data to support rapid development of fuel performance models for next-generation metallic fuel systems. With this capability, validation for fuel qualification can be performed rapidly. Between IMIS and FIPD, there is enough information to conduct 1977 unique EBR-II metallic fuel pin histories from 24 different experiments, at varying levels of detail between the two databases. Each of these histories includes a high-resolution power history, flux history, coolant channel flow rates, and coolant channel temperatures. Fission gas release (FGR), cumulative damage fraction (CDF), fuel axial swelling, cladding profilometry, and burnup were all simulated in BISON. The results were compared to post-irradiation examination (PIE) results for the initial demonstration of automated BISON modeling. BISON simulations conducted with IMIS and FIPD were in rough agreement with PIE measurements and calculations. Cladding profilometry, FGR, and fuel axial swelling were found to be in rough agreement with PIE measurements, depending on the physics used within the BISON input files. Here, the mechanical contact solver chosen was found to significantly impact axial fuel swelling and cladding strain predictions. CDF values were assessed to see whether pin failure may have been predicted (CDF ≥ 1). This work suggests that continued development of an automated tool for BISON should focus on inclusion of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) experimental data for a larger database for metallic fuel, improved physical models to better capture fuel performance, such as fuel-cladding interactions, and a more detailed comparison with available PIE data to further the BISON model development.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Development and Characterization of 3D-Printed Cementitious Sytems for Innovative Nuclear Systems

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) is being developed to demonstrate a revolutionary approach to deploying new nuclear power systems by building and operating an additively manufactured microreactor. This initiative provides a unique opportunity to investigate the possibility of taking advantage of the recent development of the 3D-printed concrete system using the Sky Big Area Additive Manufacturing (SkyBAAM) printer at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two pathways have been pursued in parallel since the end of the second quarter of FY19: 1. Development of methods to characterize the performance of additive manufacturing concrete using traditional Portland-cement based solution, and 2. Investigation of the opportunity to develop innovation of printable materials with higher irradiation-resistance performance using nontraditional concrete solutions in favor of carbonated cementitious materials (CCMs). This report describes the results achieved to date for both pathways. The main results are listed below: 1. A test protocol has been established to characterize the fracture properties of 3D-printed concrete; this protocol will be used to assess the performance of printed traditional and nontraditional cementitious materials, with a focus on performance of the interfaces inherent to the additive manufacturing process. 2. A state-of-the-art review of the mechanisms, fabrication method, and performance of CCMs was conducted. CCMs appear to be a viable, highly innovative, more performant alternative to Portland-based cementitious solution for the erection of biological shield pending some materials development.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Electrically Heated Testing of the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) Experiment Using a Depleted Uranium Core

The Kilopower project aims to develop and demonstrate scalable fission-based power technology for systems capable of delivering 110 kW of electric power with a specific power ranging from 2.5 - 6.5 Wkg. This technology could enable high power science missions or could be used to provide surface power for manned missions to the Moon or Mars. NASA has partnered with the Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Labs, and Y-12 National Security Complex to develop and test a prototypic reactor and power system using existing facilities and infrastructure. This technology demonstration, referred to as the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY), will undergo nuclear ground testing in the summer of 2017 at the Nevada Test Site. The 1 kWe variation of the Kilopower system was chosen for the KRUSTY demonstration. The concept for the 1 kWe flight system consist of a 4 kWt highly enriched Uranium-Molybdenum reactor operating at 800 degrees Celsius coupled to sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes deliver heat to the hot ends of eight 125 W Stirling convertors producing a net electrical output of 1 kW. Waste heat is rejected using titanium-water heat pipes coupled to carbon composite radiator panels. The KRUSTY test, based on this design, uses a prototypic highly enriched uranium-molybdenum core coupled to prototypic sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes transfer heat to two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC-E2s) and six thermal simulators, which simulate the thermal draw of full scale power conversion units. Thermal simulators and Stirling engines are gas cooled. The most recent project milestone was the completion of non-nuclear system level testing using an electrically heated depleted uranium (non-fissioning) reactor core simulator. System level testing at the Glenn Research Center (GRC) has validated performance predictions and has demonstrated system level operation and control in a test configuration that replicates the one to be used at the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada National Security Site. Fabrication, assembly, and testing of the depleted uranium core has allowed for higher fidelity system level testing at GRC, and has validated the fabrication methods to be used on the highly enriched uranium core that will supply heat for the DAF KRUSTY demonstration.

Briggs, Maxwell H.↗

MEITNER Resource Team Modeling and Simulation Support to Holos-Quad Reactor Development (Final CRADA Report)

The main objective of this CRADA is to provide Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)’s modeling and simulation capabilities via ARPA-E's MEITNER (Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration) Resource Team (RT) arrangement to support the demonstration of the viability of HolosGen’s Holos-Quad reactor design. The Holos-Quad reactor design is an advanced reactor concept that incorporates many new design features, such as the neutron-coupled Subcritical Power Modules (SPMs) in its core design, elimination of balance of plant (BOP) by direct integration of a helium Brayton cycle power conversion system with each SPM, among many other innovative features. The demonstration of the viability of such an innovative reactor design warrants iterations of modeling and simulation and testing. The purpose of this project is to utilize ANL’s modeling and simulation capabilities in nuclear reactor analysis and power conversion system analysis to inform HolosGen and the Design Team (DT) in the design and optimization of the Holos-Quad concept. The major work scopes of this project include: to investigate conceptual designs and materials for radiation shielding to protect personnel and internal components such as turbomachinery; Assess the the helium Brayton cycle power conversion system performance in both nominal and load following conditions; Investigate power conversion components and overall system performance; Identify control strategies to enable load following; Perform simulations of HolosGen’s subscale simulator and using available test data for code validation/benchmark purpose; Perform core thermal-hydraulics, safety analysis, and structural analysis.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Development of Microreactor Automated Control System (MACS): Surrogate Plant-level Modeling and Control Algorithms Integration

This report discusses progress on the modeling and integration task as part of the development of Microreactor Automated Control System (MACS). What follows is a discussion of the software tools used to develop a surrogate microreactor plant-level model, MACS module development, and a summary of the findings from integration with a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setup at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Oak Ridge National Laboratory worked with INL to understand available hardware at INL (such as existing control platforms). With this information and using a preliminary framework for MACS with software interfaces defined, surrogate models and initial automated control algorithms were created for integration into the hardware to provide a HIL demonstration platform for MACS. Available reduced order reactor models that leverage existing microreactor neutronics and thermal hydraulics models have been integrated in the surrogate plant-level model. The surrogate model has been evaluated for sensitivity of all parameters and the MACS software modules (including the surrogate model) have been demonstrated to interact with the hardware. The integration, however, pointed to the need for further improvements to the framework—and specifically improvements to the interfaces to ensure that the HIL simulator is capable of longer-term stable operation with MACS in the loop. These improvements will be the focus of future research.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Multi-Physics Simulations of Molten Chloride Fast Reactor using Nek5000 and PROTEUS-NODAL

This report documents the FY20 work to demonstrate a specific multi-physics capability within NEAMS tools to model molten chloride fast reactors (MCFR). Specifically, the CFD code Nek5000 and the neutronics code PROTEUS-NODAL were coupled off-line to calculate the delayed neutron precursor distribution within the flowing fuel salts in an MCFR core. An MCFR benchmark problem and a 3D test problem based on a conceptual MSR design were successfully solved through the coupled simulation of Nek5000 and PROTEUS-NODAL. In the coupled simulations for these test problems, Nek5000 provided high-quality flow field information, and PROTEUS-NODAL performed the neutron diffusion calculation along with the precursor drift model. The impact of precursor drift on the core status was also investigated. Additionally, the precursor drift model implemented in PROTEUS-NODAL was verified by making use of the reference precursor distribution generated from Nek5000. Results of these test problems suggest that the multi-physics capability of Nek5000 and PROTEUS-NODAL was properly developed for tracking delayed neutron precursor drift.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Feasibility Study of Advanced Manufacturing Techniques and Compositions of High Entropy Alloys

In line with the objectives of Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Materials and Manufacturing technologies program (AMMT), this work focuses on new materials development and qualification research and development for next-generation, high-temperature nuclear reactors. While the currently qualified nuclear materials have demonstrated significant irradiation resistance at high temperatures, the community is still interested in materials that can sustain the harsh environments found in nuclear reactors for temperatures up to 1,000°C for nearly 100,000 hours. High entropy alloys (HEAs) have the potential to serve in these extreme environments of next generation nuclear reactors due to their unique phase transformation pathways and nanoscale and mesoscale microstructures. The current work focuses on understanding such nuclear energy relevant HEAs through a detailed literature survey and developing a decision matrix with criteria for identification of HEAs with may have most impact and value for further examination.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multiscale Experiments and Multiphysics Simulation of Multiphase Flow for Transportable Small Modular Reactors

A new type of safe, small, transportable nuclear reactor would address the intense and ever-growing global demand for energy produced via a resilient, carbon-free energy source. In this regard, transportable small modular reactors (SMRs) are being designed and developed for electricity generation within small/micro-grid/off-grid isolated systems, as well as for heat generation in industrial/residential applications. These reactors feature the capability to be fully factory fabricated and then directly transported to utilities’ sites as “plug-and-play” systems. Research and development (R&D) programs are underway at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to successfully design, develop, and demonstrate such safe-by-design mobile reactor technologies, in collaboration with partner organizations. Multiscale experimental facilities and multiphysics simulation tools are required for reactor design verification and validation (V&V), and licensing. These advanced reactors are intended to feature passive safety systems such as passive containment cooling systems (PCCS), which consist of multiphase flows and multispecies distributions. This seminar talk will focus on designing and analyzing transportable SMR PCCS by using multiscale experiments and multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to support reactor licensing and safety. The corresponding research challenges are addressed via supportive verification and validation results generated by the models and simulation tools in combination with selective parametric and uncertainty analysis. This solution approach could blaze the trail for commercial adoption of such technologies. The facilities, simulation capabilities, and research opportunities available at INL in regard to such reactors and the integrated energy systems with which they go hand in hand are also discussed briefly, and may spark interest in deeper research as well as new collaborative projects.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Electrically Heated Testing of the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) Experiment Using a Depleted Uranium Core

The Kilopower project aims to develop and demonstrate scalable fission-based power technology for systems capable of delivering 1 to 10 kW of electric power with a specific power ranging from 2.5 to 6.5 W/kg. This technology could enable high-power science missions or could be used to provide surface power for manned missions to the Moon or Mars. NASA has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), and Y−12 National Security Complex to develop and test a prototypic reactor and power system using existing facilities and infrastructure. This technology demonstration, referred to as the "Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY)," will undergo nuclear ground testing by the end of calendar year (CY) 2017 at the NNSS. The 1-kWe variation of the Kilopower system was chosen for the KRUSTY demonstration. The concept for the 1-kWe flight system consists of a 4 kWt highly enriched uranium-molybdenum reactor operating at 800 degC coupled to sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes deliver heat to the hot ends of eight 125-W Stirling convertors producing a net electrical output of 1 kW. Waste heat is rejected using titanium-water heat pipes coupled to carbon composite radiator panels. The KRUSTY test, based on this design, uses a prototypic highly enriched uranium-molybdenum core coupled to prototypic sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes transfer heat to two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC−E2s) and six thermal simulators, which simulate the thermal draw of full-scale power conversion units. Thermal simulators and Stirling engines are gas cooled. The most recent project milestone was the completion of nonnuclear system-level testing using an electrically heated depleted uranium (DU) (nonfissioning) reactor core simulator at the NASA Glenn Research Center. System-level testing has validated performance predictions and has demonstrated system-level operation and control in a test configuration that replicates the one to be used at the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the NNSS. Fabrication, assembly, and testing of the DU core has allowed for higher fidelity system-level testing at Glenn, and has validated the fabrication methods to be used on the highly enriched uranium core that will supply heat for the DAF KRUSTY demonstration.

Briggs, Maxwell H.↗

Feature extraction for subtle anomaly detection using semi-supervised learning

The demand for automated and effective monitoring techniques has soared with the increased digitization of industrial monitoring systems. State-of-the-art machine learning methods are effectively detecting abrupt changes in system states. However, these methods lack comparable maturity in detecting subtle changes that may be signs of incipient faults. This manuscript argues that the current anomaly detection methods can be enhanced by exploring weak patterns to enable subtle variation detection. Specifically, the concept of semi-supervised learning is employed, with labels representing knowledge about some anomalous conditions of a system. The basic idea is to extract a candidate set of weak patterns discarded by state-of-the-art baselining algorithms. With few labeled anomalous data, the algorithm selects the weak patterns and allows for their possible fusion using the highest sensitivity to the labeled anomalies. Here, the method’s applicability is demonstrated using a representative pressurized water reactor (PWR) model simulated by Dymola.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Immortal rays: Rethinking random ray neutron transport on GPU architectures

The Random Ray Method (TRRM) is a recently developed adaptation of the Method of Characteristics for neutral particle transport simulations. TRRM has demonstrated excellent performance on 3D nuclear reactor benchmark problems using CPU-based compute systems. When porting to GPU-based systems, however, new performance challenges arise that are unique to processors targeting massive fine-grained parallelism. For smaller problems, or for large problems that are domain decomposed across many computational nodes, the problem size per node has insufficient parallelism to saturate GPU node resources, thus greatly limiting speedup. In this study, we report on a newly developed “immortal ray” variant of TRRM. Here, the immortal ray technique exposes significantly more fine-grained parallelism by fundamentally reformulating the numerical details of ray discretization, resulting in performance tradeoffs with significant overall benefit on GPUs. For very small 2D simulation problems we found the new immortal ray variant allowed for up to a 4.4x speedup when run on a single GPU. For larger 3D simulation problems we found the new variant improved strong scaling by 3x when run on the Summit supercomputer.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cross-Scale Catalyst Modeling Applied to H 2 Storage and Release via Formic Acid

Here, we propose the Systems-to-Atoms (S2A) modeling framework that integrates the kinetics of reaction chemistry and structural configurations across various length scales with the aim of establishing a versatile template for multiscale modeling of reactive flow problems and to predict the operando activity of catalyst materials. The approach encompasses a microkinetic model to analyze surface reactions on individual facets of catalyst nanoparticles coupled with the computation of average surface reaction rates for catalyst nanoparticles of specific size distributions. Macro-homogeneous surface reaction kinetics are derived as a function of catalyst loading and used as input parameters for the continuum-scale reactor model. The cross-scale framework enables the optimization of catalyst utilization through reactor design and operating strategy. To demonstrate the framework, we studied the storage and release of hydrogen from formic acid, a promising liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC), over Pd, Pt, and Cu catalysts. The framework predicts observed trends in formic acid dehydrogenation activity for catalysts with comparable weight loadings and metal particle diameters, demonstrating satisfactory quantitative alignment. Finally, the seamless transmission of parameter uncertainties between scales is also discussed.

08 HYDROGEN↗