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NASA NTRS1976

Study of the application of solar chemical dehumidification system to wind tunnel facilities of NASA Lewis Research Center at Cleveland, Ohio

Energy utilization and cost payback analyses were prepared for proposed modifications. A 50,000 CFM standard compact packaged solid desiccant dehumidifier utilizing high temperature hot water (HTHW) for desiccant regeneration was added. The HTHW is generated by utilizing solar energy and is stored in a storage tank. A steam boiler is provided as a back-up for the solar system. A 50,000 CFM standard compact package solid desiccant dehumidifier utilizing high temperature hot water (HTHW) for desiccant regeneration was added. The HTHW is generated by utilizing a steam boiler and a heat exchanger and is stored in a storage tank.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2024

Feedstock/pretreatment screening for bioconversion of sugar and lignin streams via deacetylated disc-refining

Recent publications have shown the benefits of deacetylation disc-refining (DDR) as a pretreatment process to deconstruct biomass into sugars and lignin residues. Major advantages of DDR pretreatment over steam and dilute acid pretreatment are the removal of acetyl and lignin during deacetylation. DDR does not generate hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural which are commonly produced from steam and dilute acid pretreatments. Acetate, lignin, HMF, and furfural are known inhibitors during enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Another advantage of deacetylation is the production of lignin-rich black liquor, which can be upgraded to other bioproducts. Furthermore, due to the lack of sugar degradation during deacetylation, DDR has significantly less sugar loss than other pretreatment methods. Previous studies for DDR have primarily focused on corn stover, but lacked the investigative studies of other feedstocks. This study was designed to screen various DDR process conditions at pilot scale using three different feedstocks, including corn stover, poplar, and switchgrass. The impact of the pretreatment conditions was evaluated by testing hydrolysates for bioconversion to 2,3-butanediol. Pretreatment of biomass by DDR showed high-conversion-yields and 2,3-BDO fermentation production yields. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the pretreatment for biomass to sugar was also developed based on NREL’s Aspen Model. This study shows that the cellulose and hemicellulose in poplar was more recalcitrant than herbaceous feedstocks which ultimately drove up the sugar cost. Switchgrass was also more recalcitrant than corn stover but less than poplar.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2016

FUEL PERFORMANCE MODELING OF FECRAL CLADDING FAILURE DURING LOSS OF COOLANT CONDITIONS

Accident tolerant materials are defined as those that provide significantly increased response time in the event of an accident while providing similar or improved performance as the conventional UO2/Zircaloy-4 fuel rods during normal operation. One avenue for materials to demonstrate enhanced accident tolerance is to have improved reaction (e.g., oxidation) kinetics with steam, resulting in slower hydrogen (or other combustible gases) generation rate, while maintaining acceptable thermo-mechanical properties, fuel-clad interactions, and fission product behavior. Due to their improved reaction kinetics with steam compared to Zircaloy-4, iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys are being considered as an accident tolerant cladding material. In order to determine whether FeCrAl alloys are indeed accident tolerant materials, comparisons between conventional zirconium-based claddings under accident conditions is required. To this end, we have developed a burst (failure) criterion for FeCrAl using existing experimental data for first-generation alloys. This model was incorporated into the BISON fuel performance code to perform comparative studies with Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes under non-oxidizing and oxidizing LOCA conditions. The separate effects LOCA conditions considered were adopted from the PUZRY and REBEKA test series. Due to the fact that FeCrAl alloys have a larger thermal absorption cross-section and higher stiffness than Zircaloy-4, cladding thickness will be smaller for FeCrAl than for Zircaloy-4. Three different cladding thicknesses were analyzed in this work. The results indicate that for both non-oxidizing (PUZRY) and oxidizing (REBEKA) LOCA conditions, FeCrAl has similar burst behavior (i.e., time to burst and pressure at burst) as Zircaloy-4. It should be noticed that this study used data for first-generation FeCrAl alloys to develop the burst criterion. Although no burst data?currently exists for C35M (a second-generation FeCrAl alloy under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory), improved burst behavior is anticipated. As burst data for C35M becomes available the burst criterion will be updated and the simulations revisited to determine the accident tolerance of second-generation FeCrAl alloys.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Fuel performance modeling of FeCrAl cladding failure during loss of coolant conditions

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Neutron tomography of axially symmetric objects using 14 MeV neutrons from a portable neutron generator

In nuclear boiling water reactor cores, the distribution of water and steam (void) is essential for both safety and efficiency reasons. In order to enhance predictive capabilities, void distribution assessment is performed in two-phase test-loops under reactor-relevant conditions. This article proposes the novel technique of fast-neutron tomography using a portable deuterium-tritium neutron generator to determine the time-averaged void distribution in these loops. Fast neutrons have the advantage of high transmission through the metallic structures and pipes typically concealing a thermal-hydraulic test loop, while still being fairly sensitive to the water/void content. However, commercially available fast-neutron generators also have the disadvantage of a relatively low yield and fast-neutron detection also suffers from relatively low detection efficiency. Fortunately, some loops are axially symmetric, a property which can be exploited to reduce the amount of data needed for tomographic measurement, thus limiting the interrogation time needed. In this article, three axially symmetric test objects depicting a thermal-hydraulic test loop have been examined; steel pipes with outer diameter 24 mm, thickness 1.5 mm, and with three different distributions of the plastic material POM inside the pipes. Data recorded with the FANTOM fast-neutron tomography instrument have been used to perform tomographic reconstructions to assess their radial material distribution. Here, a dedicated tomographic algorithm that exploits the symmetry of these objects has been applied, which is described in the paper. Results are demonstrated in 20 rixel (radial pixel) reconstructions of the interior constitution and 2D visualization of the pipe interior is demonstrated. The local POM attenuation coefficients in the rixels were measured with errors (RMS) of 0.025, 0.020, and 0.022 cm{sup −1}, solid POM attenuation coefficient. The accuracy and precision is high enough to provide a useful indication on the flow mode, and a visualization of the radial material distribution can be obtained. A benefit of this system is its potential to be mounted at any axial height of a two-phase test section without requirements for pre-fabricated entrances or windows. This could mean a significant increase in flexibility of the void distribution assessment capability at many existing two-phase test loops.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Hybridizing Solar Heat with a Geothermal Binary Power Plant Using a Solar Steam Topping Turbine

Solar-thermal hybridization is a way to boost power generation of geothermal power plants, especially when the geothermal resource cannot supply the design flow or temperature. A new process using a high-pressure steam topping turbine can almost double the conversion rate of solar energy to power compared to the common practice of solar brine heating, and thus improve economic viability. This study looked at one such plant. Output from a geo-solar hybrid is typically increased both from the additional solar energy and from restoring turbine design-point efficiency. In this new process, a third effect occurs: the addition of a solar topping cycle increases the geothermal energy extracted from the brine. Process flow diagrams, off-design results, and economic results are presented. Three representative geothermal locations in the U.S. are evaluated, as are the effects of thermal storage, solar field sizing, and tax incentives.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2018

An Integrated Supercritical System for Efficient Produced Water Treatment and Power Generation

The main goal of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of an integrated supercritical (SC) water desalination and power generation system for treatment of produced waters from CO 2 sequestration, oil production, and coal-bed methane recovery. This system may offer a transformative approach to generating power from coal or natural gas (NG) and purifying saline water or produced water with high total dissolved solids (TDS) in a zero-liquid discharge plant. The closed-loop steam cycle of conventional power plants was replaced with an open-loop steam cycle that heated the pretreated produced water above the SC point of water (374 °C and 221 bar) to precipitate and separate the salts dissolved in the water. After separation of the precipitated salt, the SC steam required further treatment to reduce the salt content from ~100 mg/L (ppm) to <1 ppm to make it suitable for use in turbines for power generation. A SC membrane distillation unit was used to polish the SC steam, which could be sent through a series of turbines for power generation, and the steam exiting the low-pressure turbine could be condensed by cooling water to produce pure water. Project tasks included a process simulation and a techno-economic evaluation of the integrated system; design and assembly of SC salt precipitation and membrane distillation systems; development and characterization of advanced carbon membranes for SC membrane distillation; and pretreatment, desalination, and purification of different produced water samples with salt concentrations of 30,000–200,000 ppm to a high-purity (<1 ppm) level. Process simulations were performed for 550 MW SC coal-fired or NG baseline cases and various scenarios for the proposed integrated SC system using produced water as the water source and coal or NG as the fuel source. Simulation results indicated that the net plant efficiency loss of the proposed SC cogeneration process would be in the range of <1% to ~4%, in which NG and lower TDS produced water cases would have higher efficiencies. The proposed process for coal-fired cases could provide all water needs for the power generation process and generate additional pure water for beneficial use. A techno-economic analysis was performed to estimate the cost of produced water treatment (dollars /kgal of treated water) by conventional treatment processes compared with the proposed cogeneration process. The cost estimation for the proposed cogeneration system included the cost of pretreatment, the cost of power loss to integrate the water desalination process into the power generation system, and the cost of plant modification or retrofitting. The cost of produced water treatment was calculated by assuming three different scenarios in which converting a baseline power plant to the proposed cogeneration plant would increase the cost of the boiler and feed water system by 10%, 50%, and 100%. Results indicated that the cost of produced water treatment, even with a 100% cost increase, was in the range of $8.6–11.6 dollars per kgal, which is about half of the treatment cost by conventional methods. The cost of produced water treatment by the proposed cogeneration system could be further reduced or a considerable income could be generated if the values of saltwater and freshwater products are considered. Overall, the techno-economic analysis results indicated that the proposed integrated SC system could potentially treat produced water at a cost significantly lower than the cost of produced water treatment by conventional technologies. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed treatment system at a laboratory scale, a SC salt precipitation and membrane distillation system was designed and fabricated to treat a simulated brine or pretreated produced water by precipitating salts and further polishing the SC steam containing ~100 ppm salts to a high-purity steam. Through baseline tests with NaCl solutions, with concentrations ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 ppm, it was demonstrated that concentrated feed solutions could be treated by precipitating salt at SC conditions to a TDS level of 130 ppm. Produced water samples were collected from a potential CO 2 sequestration site, a coal-bed methane site, and an oilfield in Illinois. Representative samples were characterized for various water quality parameters, including pH; turbidity; conductivity; and concentrations of selected anions, cations, alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon, total suspended solids, TDS, and total petroleum hydrocarbons. The produced water samples were first treated by conventional pretreatment methods to remove residual oil, dissolved organic matter, and scale-forming species. Pretreatment methods included coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, activated carbon adsorption, and ion-exchange adsorption. Pretreated produced waters were treated at SC conditions in which salts were precipitated. Analysis of treated samples revealed that the concentration of Na (the main cation) in produced waters was reduced dramatically from 14,000–47,400 ppm in the feed to 21–80 ppm in treated waters. Concentrations of other main cations (Ca, Mg, Sr, K) also decreased significantly from initial values of ~1,000–22,000 ppm to ~1 ppm or less. However, a significant increase in the concentrations of Fe, Ni, Cu, and Co was observed, mainly caused by leaching of these elements from the system (vessels, filters, tubing), which is manufactured from alloys containing Fe, Ni, Cu, and Co. To polish the SC steam containing a salt content of ~100 ppm to a high-purity level of <1 ppm, a SC membrane distillation treatment using carbon membranes was employed. Different types of self-standing or supported carbon membranes were developed from graphite, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and pyrolytic carbon. Screening tests revealed that only a limited number of developed carbon membranes were suitable for the purification of steam at SC conditions. Membranes that were either fragile and lacked mechanical strength or had large pores and showed limited salt rejection (<20%) were found to be unsuitable for the purification of SC steam. Promising carbon membranes that were successfully tested for purifying SC steam included two graphite membranes (i.e., AF-5, a porous graphite material, and FGS, a flexible graphite sheet) and a carbon nanotube membrane grown on a Hastelloy substrate and then further modified using a proprietary method (i.e., membrane C). The AF-5 membrane exhibited a stable water flux of ~50 kg/m 2 ∙h and ~40% salt rejection. The FGS membrane had a high salt rejection of 95%–98% but a lower water flux of ~15 kg/m 2 ∙h. Membrane C showed an extremely high flux of 200-800 kg/m 2 ∙h, which is one order of magnitude higher than the water flux of conventional membranes. Membrane C also exhibited 87%–93% salt rejection. Overall, a two-stage or multistage polishing treatment by these membranes could lower the salt content of the SC steam from initial values of ~100–200 ppm to the steam quality of <1 ppm or to parts per billion levels required for the power cycle.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS1979

A 15kWe (nominal) solar thermal electric power conversion concept definition study: Steam Rankine reheat reciprocator system

An evaluation was made of the potential of a steam Rankine reheat reciprocator engine to operate at high efficiency in a point-focusing distributed receiver solar thermal-electric power system. The scope of the study included the engine system and electric generator; not included was the solar collector/mirror or the steam generator/receiver. A parametric analysis of steam conditions was completed leading to the selection of 973 K 12.1 MPa as the steam temperature/pressure for a conceptual design. A conceptual design was completed for a two cylinder/ opposed engine operating at 1800 rpm directly coupled to a commercially available induction generator. A unique part of the expander design is the use of carbon/graphite piston rings to eliminate the need for using oil as an upper cylinder lubricant. The evaluation included a system weight estimate of 230 kg at the mirror focal point with the condenser mounted separately on the ground. The estimated cost of the overall system is $1932 or $90/kW for the maximum 26 kW output.

Fuller, H.↗

DOE OSTI2022

A Novel Process for Carbon Dioxide Conversion to Fuel

In this project, TDA developed a new mixed metal oxide-based sorbent that converts CO2 (captured from coal fired power plants) to CO, which can then be combined with renewable H2 generated by water electrolysis or H2 from steam methane reforming to produce different liquid fuels. TDA’s absorbent-based CO2 conversion process uses a redox process, which splits the catalytic reforming of methane with CO2 reaction into two stages: CO2 reduction to CO and CH4 reforming into H2 and CO which eliminates the equilibrium limitations. The CO produced in the two-stage reactor system can then be further reacted with renewable H2 to produce methanol, naphtha, diesel, or gasoline. We worked with the Advanced Power & Energy Program (APEP) of University of California, Irvine (UCI) to design and develop the liquid fuel synthesis process that is built around this new material. We demonstrated the techno-economic viability of the new sorbent based redox process to convert CO2 into synthesis gas by demonstrating continuous carbon dioxide reduction in a prototype test system for over 585 hours while converting up to 10 kg CO2/day. With the successful completion of the R&D effort, the technology is now ready for a larger pilot-scale demonstration and the technology readiness has been raised from TRL 3 to TRL 5. In collaboration with UCI, we completed a high-fidelity process design and economic analysis. The required sale price (RSP) for gasoline (Case 1 NG-MTG) is $4.91/gal and naphtha and diesel (Case 2 NG-FT) are $4.23/gal and $6.07/gal, respectively, on a 2011 dollar basis. To put these costs in perspective, the California prices in current dollars (with its strict specifications) for regular grade gasoline from last year to current year have varied from a low of $3.10/gal in January 2021 to a high of $5.76/gal in March 2022, while prices for diesel from last year to current year have varied from a low of $3.40/gal in January 2021 to a high of $6.41/gal in May 2022 according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency data. It should be noted that the gasoline and diesel produced by these designs of Case 1 and Case 2 would be of very high quality and both nitrogen and sulfur free. These RSPs are based on a cost of imported electricity of $64/MWh based on the low-end current wind generated electricity cost (Genevieve 2011). This cost is by far the largest component of the variable costs used in computing the RSPs. A sensitivity analysis of these RSPs to the cost of imported electricity shows that the cost of the imported electricity has a significant effect on the RSPs. The life cycle analysis (LCA) shows that the total cradle-to-gate CO2 emissions for both liquid fuels (diesel and gasoline) were negative, indicating that overall more CO2 is consumed than released during production of the fuel from CO2 feed stack for both cases (-296 kgCO2 per MT gasoline for Case 1 and -705 kgCO2 per MT diesel for Case 2). On a cradle-to-grave comparison, the use of diesel produced using TDA’s process (2,457 kgCO2 per MT diesel) would release 37.6% less CO2 compared to petroleum based diesel (3,937 kgCO2 per MT diesel) while the use of gasoline produced using TDA’s process (2,792 kgCO2 per MT gasoline) would release 29.3% less CO2 compared to petroleum based gasoline (3,946 kgCO2 per MT gasoline). With the successful completion of the R&D effort, the technology is now ready for a bench-scale demonstration and the technology readiness has been raised from TRL 3 (Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof of concept) to TRL 5 (Laboratory scale similar system validation in relevant environment).

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Integration of IH 2 ® with Cool Reformer for the Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to Drop In Fuels

GTI Energy has integrated the Cool Reformer technology with the IH 2® -50 pilot plant (which can process a maximum of 50kg/day of biomass feed) to demonstrate the suitability of this new reforming technology for producing hydrogen within IH 2 ® process. As part of this study, we showed that all of the hydrogen required for the IH 2® process could be produced from steam reforming the IH 2® light gas generated within the process and the system can be integrated in a cost-effective way compared to the use of standard SMRs.

08 HYDROGEN↗

NASA NTRS1981

The small community solar thermal power experiment

Contractors were asked to develop a preferred system concept, to perform sensitivity analyses, and to outline recommended approaches for the follow-on design program of a one-megawatt solar thermal demonstration plant. The systems recommended by the contractors in each of the categories were: (1) McDonnell-Douglas Astronautics Company: Central tower with field of south-facing heliostats; (2) General Electric Company: Field of parabolic dishes with steam piped to a central turbine-generator unit; and (3) Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation: Field of parabolic dishes with a Stirling cycle engine/generator unit at the focus of each dish. A description of each of the proposed experimental plants is given.

Kiceniuk, T.↗

DOE OSTI2017

Estimation of Core Recovery Time with TRACE

Following the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, safety related concerns about the zirconium based claddings used in current light water reactors have increased. High corrosion resistance and low neutron absorption cross section make zirconium a suitable cladding material for normal nuclear plant operational conditions. However, for nuclear accident scenarios when safety functions of the plant are lost, Zr claddings undergo exothermic reaction with steam and exacerbate the accident conditions. The exothermic reaction increases the temperature of the cladding and accelerates core melting in severe accident progression. And the generation of explosive hydrogen gas accumulates and challenges the structural integrity. The accident tolerant fuel (ATF) concept is the fuel and cladding system that gives a longer time margin, compared to standard Zr claddings, to cope with the accident when core cooling systems are lost in a nuclear power plant. The ATF cladding should have slower oxidation kinetics and less hydrogen generation than Zr to alleviate consequences of cladding interaction with steam at high temperatures. The maximum time available to mitigate progression of severe accident is an important measure to evaluate benefits of ATF claddings. For this work, the maximum time available to mitigate progression of severe accident is selected as the time at which cladding melting reaction starts. Melting reaction is selected as an upper limit because of the degradation of coolable geometry. Maintaining the coolable geometry is a regulation criteria for both loss of coolant (LOCA) analyses and outside the LOCA analyses. Once the melting of the cladding starts, it exacerbates the deformation of the fuel assembly and hottest rods within the core cannot be cooled by water reflood and results in fuel melting progression. The aim of this work is to evaluate time margin gain of ATF cladding in a severe accident scenario of LOCA without safety injections and station blackout considering oxidation kinetics only. Also it is assumed that safety injections are recovered before melting of the claddings start and the sensitivity of safety injection actuation time on core recovery is analyzed. The core recovery time is the time when makeup water from safety injections quench the fuel rods and halt the progression of the severe accident. This time is estimated by initiating safety injections at different times and observing the hot rod behavior which represents 1/5. of the core in this work. It is considered that core is not recoverable when 20% of the core is damaged.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Coupling of Thermal Energy Storage with Small Modular Reactors

Thermal energy storage has been proposed as a load management strategy for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) deployed on constrained grids and/or in hybrid energy systems (1). Hybrid energy systems can include process steam applications, and the presence of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar. Under these conditions, the reactor can be subjected to significant time varying electric loads. One strategy for accommodating these loads is to operate the reactor in a load follow mode where reactor power is modulated to match the electric demand. In addition to lost energy potential, load follow operation can result in additional stresses on the fuel and other mechanical components. A more attractive approach is to operate the reactor at or near steady state and bypass excess steam to a thermal energy storage system. The thermal energy can then be recovered later, either for electric generation during periods of peak electric demand, or for uses in process steam applications. In previous work, the design of a sensible heat Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system was proposed for SMR applications (2). In this paper we examine coupling of the TES system to a SMR, typical of Integral Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) designs currently under development. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Al and Cr Content on Air and Steam Oxidation of FeCrAl Alloys and Commercial APMT Alloy

To develop the next generation of accident-tolerant fuel cladding for light-water nuclear reactors, wrought FeCrAlY alloys with varying amounts of Cr and Al and commercial Kanthal APMT alloy were evaluated for short-term (4 h) oxidation resistance in steam and air at 1200–1475 °C. Model alloys with lower Cr contents and higher Al contents were evaluated in this paper as lower Cr contents are desirable for radiation damage resistance during operation. As expected, a synergistic effect was found between the Cr and Al contents to enable protective Al 2 O 3 formation under these conditions. Characterization of the alumina scales formed in steam found that the scale morphology was affected by the alloy Y content and detailed scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) detected Y segregation along scale grain boundaries at 1200 °C. However, after 4 h at 1475 °C, Y and Hf were not segregated to the oxide grain boundaries formed on APMT and the scale had a single layer structure. Finally, compared to oxidation in air, STEM characterization of the outer scale showed differences in the Fe and Cr distributions in steam.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Enhancing Steam Side Heat Transfer via Microdroplet Ejection using Inorganic Coatings

Thermoelectric power generation is a key component of the United States energy portfolio and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. It is therefore imperative that new technologies are developed that minimize the environmental impact of these plants. The objective of this work is to reduce the cooling water demand of Rankine based power cycles by improving the heat transfer performance of steam condensers. This will be accomplished by modifying the surfaces of steam condensers with inorganic nanostructures, thus enabling highly-efficient droplet ejecting condensation heat transfer. Nelumbo's process to create droplet ejecting surfaces has been optimized for aluminum heat exchangers and is actively being commercialized in the HVAC and refrigeration industry. The scope of this project is to refine the process towards materials commonly used in the construction of shell and tube heat exchangers, namely 304 stainless steel and cupronickel alloys, and demonstrate it's benefits at the laboratory scale. The improved heat transfer performance achieved through this surface modification has the potential to reduce cooling water flow rates by up to 39%.

Montes, Nick↗

DOE OSTI2022

HYBRID Modeling of DETAIL Experimental Facility

Idaho National Laboratory continues to be at the forefront of advanced reactor systems and integrated energy systems research. Through the Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS) and Microreactor Agile Non-nuclear Test Bed (MAGNET) experiments in the Dynamic Energy Transport and Innovation Laboratory (DETAIL) within the Engineering Systems Laboratory, a mix of digital and physical testing systems can explore the operation of thermally and electrically integrated systems. Modeling of these systems has been done using the HYBRID modeling repository of the Integrated Energy Systems program. DETAIL also contains high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) units to produce hydrogen and generate the load imposed on MAGNET and TEDS. The dynamic modeling capabilities within the IES program describe the DETAIL components as-built and can be used to evaluate controls, process flows, and overall system conditions.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2025

Numerical simulation for the design of induction heating based radio frequency reactor for ethylene production

Ethylene is a vital petrochemical compound produced in vast amounts yearly by manufacturers that have enough scale to overcome the inherent thermodynamic inefficiencies of the process. In order to address the inefficiencies that prevent smaller scale or intermittent production ethylene, investigation of new production methods are required. In this work, we investigate the use of a radio frequency (RF) based reactor system that generates heat internally as opposed to applying heat externally via steam or direct combustion of fossil fuels. In order to guide the design of an electromagnetic based reactor system, we have created a macroscale model capable of capturing heat generation at the susceptors from a produced electromagnetic field and subsequent chemical reactions. Several susceptor and induction coil designs were investigated to better understand the performance of the system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2014

Advanced ODS FeCrAl alloys for accident-tolerant fuel cladding

ODS FeCrAl alloys are being developed with optimum composition and properties for accident tolerant fuel cladding. Two oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) Fe-15Cr-5Al+Y2O3 alloys were fabricated by ball milling and extrusion of gas atomized metallic powder mixed with Y2O3 powder. To assess the impact of Mo on the alloy mechanical properties, one alloy contained 1%Mo. The hardness and tensile properties of the two alloys were close and higher than the values reported for fine grain PM2000 alloy. This is likely due to the combination of a very fine grain structure and the presence of nano oxide precipitates. The nano oxide dispersion was however not sufficient to prevent grain boundary sliding at 800 C and the creep properties of the alloys were similar or only slightly superior to fine grain PM2000 alloy. Both alloys formed a protective alumina scale at 1200 C in air and steam and the mass gain curves were similar to curves generated with 12Cr-5Al+Y2O3 (+Hf or Zr) ODS alloys fabricated for a different project. To estimate the maximum temperature limit of use for the two alloys in steam, ramp tests at a rate of 5 C/min were carried out in steam. Like other ODS alloys, the two alloys showed a significant increase of the mas gains at T~ 1380 C compared with ~1480 C for wrought alloys of similar composition. The beneficial effect of Yttrium for wrought FeCrAl does not seem effective for most ODS FeCrAl alloys. Characterization of the hardness of annealed specimens revealed that the microstructure of the two alloys was not stable above 1000 C. Concurrent radiation results suggested that Cr levels <15wt% are desirable and the creep and oxidation results from the 12Cr ODS alloys indicate that a lower Cr, high strength ODS alloy with a higher maximum use temperature could be achieved.

cladding↗