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DOE OSTI2014

Evaluation of the Performance of O-rings Made with Different Elastomeric Polymers in Simulated Geothermal Environments at 300°C

This paper aims to evaluate the survival of O-rings made with six different elastomeric polymers, EPDM, type I- and II-FKM, FEPM, FFKM, and FSR, in five different simulated geothermal environments at 300°C. It further defines the relative strengths and weaknesses of the materials in each environment. The environments tested were: 1) non-aerated steam-cooling cycles, 2) aerated steam-cooling cycles, 3) water-based drilling fluid, 4) CO2-rich geo-brine fluid, and, 5) heat-cool water quenching cycles. Following exposure, the extent of oxidation, oxidationinduced degradation, thermal behaviors, micro-defects, permeation depths of ionic species present in environments throughout the O-ring, silicate-related scale-deposition, and changes in mechanical properties were assessed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Capture From Existing Coal Fired Plants by Hybrid Sorption Using Solid Sorbents

A novel hybrid solid sorbent technology for CO₂ capture and separation from coal combustion-derived flue gas was evaluated. The technology – Capture of CO₂ by Hybrid Sorption (CACHYS™) – is a solid sorbent technology based on the following ideas: 1) reduction of energy for sorbent regeneration, 2) utilization of novel process chemistry, 3) contactor conditions that minimize sorbent-CO₂ heat of reaction and promote fast CO₂ capture, and 4) low-cost method of heat management. This report provides key information developed during the course of the project that includes sorbent performance, energy for sorbent regeneration, physical properties of the sorbent, the integration of process components, sizing of equipment, and overall capital and operational cost of the integrated CACHYS™ system. Seven sorbent formulations were prepared and evaluated at the lab-scale for energy requirements and CO₂ capture performance. Sorbent heat of regeneration ranged from 30-80 kJ/mol CO₂ and was found to be dependent on process conditions. Two sorbent formulations (designated HCK-4 & HCK-7) were down-selected for additional fixed-bed testing. Additional testing involved subjecting the sorbents to 100 continuous cycles in the fixed-bed reactor to determine performance as a function of time. The working capacity achieved for HCK-4 sorbent ranged from 5.5-8.0 g CO₂/100 g sorbent, while the HCK-7 typically ranged from 8.0-10.0 g CO₂/100 g sorbent. Overall, there was no deterioration in capacity with continuous cycling for either sorbent. The CACHYS™ bench-scale testing system designed and fabricated under this award consists of a dual circulating fluidized-bed adsorber and a moving-bed regenerator. The system takes a flue gas slipstream from the University of North Dakota’s coal-fired steam plant. Prior to being sent to the adsorber, the flue gas is scrubbed to remove SO₂ and particulate. During parametric testing of the adsorber, CO₂ capture achieved using the 2-bed configuration with recirculation in both beds was 65-70% with a high flue gas CO₂ loading (~7%) and up to 85% with a low flue gas CO₂ loading (~4%). A sorbent regenerator system consisting of a pre-heater, desorber, and cooler is used to heat the CO₂-rich sorbent with direct and indirect steam producing a nearly 100% pure stream of CO₂. Parametric testing of the regenerator system demonstrated the impact of process conditions on both desorption rate and the heat of regeneration. Clear evidence of the use of specific process conditions that lower the overall energy of desorption was identified. This observation validates measurements made at the laboratory-scale. Several longer-term continuous tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the sorbent/process as a function of time. Using a 2-bed configuration, sustained capture efficiency of 40-60% with a high flue gas CO₂ loading (~8%) and 70-80% with a low flue gas CO₂ loading (~4%) were achieved. However, sorbent working capacity was found to be considerably lower than laboratory-scale measurements. The low working capacity is attributed to insufficient sorbent/gas contact time in the adsorber. Sorbent properties that had a significant impact on CO₂ capture performance were identified. The results show that controlling these sorbent properties substantially improves CO₂ capture performance, with preliminary estimates indicating that relative improvement of ~30% is possible. Testing culminated with an operationally trouble-free test of 15 hours with sustainable performance. Overall, several practical strategies to increase performance of the sorbent and process were identified. The initial technical and economic assessment of the CACHYS™ process estimated the cost of CO2 capture was $36.19/ton with a 48.6% increase in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the 550 MWe net plant. Using additional data gathered over the course of the project, and with revised technical and economic assumptions, the estimated cost of CO₂ capture with the CACHYS™ process is $39/ton (only includes the cost of the CO2 capture system) with an increase in LCOE of 55.9%. Overall, CACHYS™ represents a significant improvement over the benchmark MEA system, and has demonstrated progress towards achieving DOE’s goals for CO₂ capture technologies.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2013

HTGR Economic / Business Analysis and Trade Studies Market Analysis for HTGR Technologies and Applications

This report provides supplemental information to the assessment of target markets provided in Appendix A of the 2012 Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Industry Alliance (NIA) business plan [NIA 2012] for deployment of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) in the 2025 – 2050 time frame. This report largely reiterates the [NIA 2012] assessment for potential deployment of 400 to 800 HTGR modules (100 to 200 HTGR plants with 4 reactor modules) in the 600-MWt class in North America by 2050 for electricity generation, co-generation of steam and electricity, oil sands operations, hydrogen production, and synthetic fuels production (e.g., coal to liquids). As the result of increased natural gas supply from hydraulic fracturing, the current and historically low prices of natural gas remain a significant barrier to deployment of HTGRs and other nuclear reactor concepts in the U.S. However, based on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Agency (EIA) data, U.S. natural gas prices are expected to increase by the 2030 – 2040 timeframe when a significant number of HTGR modules could be deployed. An evaluation of more recent EIA 2013 data confirms the assumptions in [NIA 2012] of future natural gas prices in the range of approximately $7/MMBtu to $10/MMBtu during the 2030 – 2040 timeframe. Natural gas prices in this range will make HTGR energy prices competitive with natural gas, even in the absence of carbon-emissions penalties. Exhibit ES-1 presents the North American projections in each market segment including a characterization of the market penetration logic. Adjustments made to the 2012 data (and reflected in Exhibit ES-1) include normalization to the slightly larger 625MWt reactor module, segregation between steam cycle and more advanced (higher outlet temperature) modules, and characterization of U.S. synthetic fuel process applications as a separate market segment.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2014

CFD Simulations of a Regenerative Process for Carbon Dioxide Capture in Advanced Gasification Based Power Systems

This project describes the work carried out to prepare a highly reactive and mechanically strong MgO based sorbents and to develop a Population Balance Equations (PBE) approach to describe the evolution of the particle porosity distribution that is linked with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to perform simulations of the CO2 capture and sorbent regeneration. A large number of MgO-based regenerable sorbents were prepared using low cost and abundant dolomite as the base material. Among various preparation parameters investigated the potassium/magnesium (K/Mg) ratio was identified as the key variable affecting the reactivity and CO2 capacity of the sorbent. The optimum K/Mg ratio is about 0.15. The sorbent formulation HD52-P2 was identified as the “best” sorbent formulation and a large batch (one kg) of the sorbent was prepared for the detailed study. The results of parametric study indicate the optimum carbonation and regeneration temperatures are 360° and 500°C, respectively. The results also indicate that steam has a beneficial effect on the rate of carbonation and regeneration of the sorbent and that the reactivity and capacity of the sorbent decreases in the cycling process (sorbent deactivation). The results indicate that to achieve a high CO2 removal efficiency, the bed of sorbent should be operated at a temperature range of 370-410°C which also favors production of hydrogen through the WGS reaction. To describe the carbonation reaction kinetics of the MgO, the Variable Diffusivity shrinking core Model (VDM) was developed in this project, which was shown to accurately fit the experimental data. An important advantage of this model is that the changes in the sorbent conversion with time can be expressed in an explicit manner, which will significantly reduce the CFD computation time. A Computational Fluid Dynamic/Population Balance Equations (CFD/PBE) model was developed that accounts for the particle (sorbent) porosity distribution and a new version of the method of moments, called Finite size domain Complete set of trial functions Method Of Moments (FCMOM) was used to solve the population balance equations. The PBE model was implemented in a commercial CFD code, Ansys Fluent 13.0. The code was used to test the model in some simple cases and the results were verified against available analytical solution in the literature. Furthermore, the code was used to simulate CO2 capture in a packed-bed and the results were in excellent agreement with the experimental data obtained in the packed bed. The National Energy Laboratory (NETL) Carbon Capture Unit (C2U) design was used in simulate of the hydrodynamics of the cold flow gas/solid system (Clark et al.58). The results indicate that the pressure drop predicted by the model is in good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, the model was shown to be able to predict chugging behavior, which was observed during the experiment. The model was used as a base-case for simulations of reactive flow at elevated pressure and temperatures. The results indicate that by controlling the solid circulation rate, up to 70% CO2 removal can be achieved and that the solid hold up in the riser is one of the main factors controlling the extent of CO2 removal. The CFD/PBE simulation model indicates that by using a simulated syngas with a composition of 20% CO2, 20% H2O, 30% CO, and 30% H2, the composition (wet basis) in the reactor outlet corresponded to about 60% CO2 capture with and exit gas containing 65% H2. A preliminary base-case-design was developed for a regenerative MgO-based pre-combustion carbon capture process for a 500 MW IGCC power plant. To minimize the external energy requirement, an extensive heat integration network was developed in Aspen/HYSYS® to produce the steam required in the regenerator and heat integration. In this process, liquid CO2 produced at 50 atm can easily be pumped and sequestered or stored. The preliminary economic analyses indicate that the estimated cost of carbon v capture is in the range of $31-$44/ton, suggesting that a regenerative MgO-Based process can be a viable option for pre-combustion carbon dioxide capture in advanced gasification based power systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2016

Optimizing the Costs of Solid Sorbent-Based CO 2 Capture Process Through Heat Integration

The focus of this project was the ADAsorb™ CO 2 Capture Process, a temperature-swing adsorption process that incorporates a three-stage fluidized bed as the adsorber and a single-stage fluidized bed as the regenerator. ADAsorb™ system was designed, fabricated, and tested under DOE award DEFE0004343. Two amine-based sorbents were evaluated in conjunction with the ADAsorb™ process: “BN”, an ion-exchange resin; and “OJ”, a metal organic framework (MOF) sorbent. Two cross heat exchanger designs were evaluated for use between the adsorber and regenerator: moving bed and fluidized bed. The fluidized bed approach was rejected fairly early in the project because the additional electrical load to power blowers or fans to overcome the pressure drop required for fluidization was estimated to be nominally three times the electrical power that could be generated from the steam saved through the use of the cross heat exchanger. The Energy Research Center at Lehigh University built and utilized a process model of the ADAsorb™ capture process and integrated this model into an existing model of a supercritical PC power plant. The Lehigh models verified that, for the ADAsorb™ system, the largest contributor to parasitic power was lost electrical generation, which was primarily electric power which the host plant could not generate due to the extraction of low pressure (LP) steam for sorbent heating, followed by power for the CO 2 compressor and the blower or fan power required to fluidize the adsorber and regenerator. Sorbent characteristics such as the impacts of moisture uptake, optimized adsorption and regeneration temperature, and sensitivity to changes in pressure were also included in the modeling study. Results indicate that sorbents which adsorb more than 1-2% moisture by weight are unlikely to be cost competitive unless they have an extremely high CO 2 working capacity that well exceeds 15% by weight. Modeling also revealed that reductions in adsorber pressure drop could negatively affect the CO 2 adsorption characteristics for sorbents with certain isobar adsorption characteristics like sorbent BN. Thus, reductions in pressure drop do not provide the efficiency benefits expected. A techno-economic assessment conducted during the project revealed that without heat integration, the a metal organic framework (MOF) sorbent used in conjunction with the ADAsorb™ process provided the opportunity for improved performance over the benchmark MEA process. While the addition of a cross heat exchanger and heat integration was found to significantly improve net unit heat rate, the additional equipment costs required to realize these improvements almost always outweighed the improvement in performance. The exception to this was for a supported amine sorbent and the addition of a moving bed cross heat exchanger alone or in conjunction with waste heat from the compressor used for supplemental regenerator heating. Perhaps one of the most important points to be drawn from the work conducted during this project is the significant influence of sorbent characteristics alone on the projected COE and LCOE associated with the ADAsorb™ process, and the implications associated with future improvements to solid sorbent CO 2 capture. The results from this project suggest that solid sorbent CO 2 capture will continue to see performance gains and lower system costs as further sorbent improvements are realized.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Pilot-Scale Evaluation of an Advanced Carbon Sorbent-Based Process for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture

The overall objective of this project is to achieve the DOE’s goal to develop advanced CO 2 capture and separation technologies that can realize at least 90% CO 2 removal from flue gas steams produced at a pulverized coal (PC) power plant at a cost of less than $40/tonne of CO 2 captured. The principal objective is to test a CO 2 capture process that will reduce the parasitic plant load by using a CO 2 capture sorbent that will require a reduced amount of steam. The process is based on advanced carbon sorbents having a low heat of adsorption, high CO 2 adsorption capacity, and excellent selectivity. While the intent of this project was to produce design and performance data by testing the sorbent using a slipstream of coal-derived flue gas at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) under realistic conditions and continuous long-term operation, the project was terminated following completion of the detailing pilot plant design/engineering work on June 30, 2016.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

Report on fundamental modeling of irradiation-induced swelling and creep in FeCrAl alloys

In order to improve the accident tolerance of light water reactor (LWR) fuel, alternative cladding materials have been proposed to replace zirconium (Zr)-based alloys. Of these materials, there is a particular focus on iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys due to much slower oxidation kinetics in high-temperature steam than Zr-alloys. This should decrease the energy release due to oxidation and allow the cladding to remain integral longer in the presence of high temperature steam, making accident mitigation more likely. As a continuation of the development for these alloys, the material response must be demonstrated to provide suitable radiation stability, in order to ensure that there will not be significant dimensional changes (e.g., swelling), as well as quantifying the radiation hardening and radiation creep behavior. In this report, we describe the use of cluster dynamics modeling to evaluate the defect physics and damage accumulation behavior of FeCrAl alloys subjected to neutron irradiation, with a particular focus on irradiation-induced swelling and defect fluxes to dislocations that are required to model irradiation creep behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Concentrating Solar Power Gen3 Demonstration Roadmap

Today's power-tower concentrating solar power (CSP) technology exists in large part as a result of Department of Energy (DOE) and utility industry funding of demonstration systems in the 1980s and 1990s. Today's most advanced towers are integrated with molten-salt thermal energy storage, delivering thermal energy at 565 degrees C for integration with conventional steam-Rankine cycles. The supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle has been identified as a likely successor to the steam-Rankine power cycle due to its potential for high efficiency when operating at elevated temperatures of 700 degrees C or greater. Over the course of the SunShot Initiative, DOE has supported a number of technology pathways that can operate efficiently at these temperatures and that hold promise to be reliable and cost effective. Three pathways - molten salt, particle, and gaseous - were selected for further investigation based on a two-day workshop held in August of 2016. The information contained in this roadmap identifies research and development challenges and lays out recommended research activities for each of the three pathways. DOE foresees that by successfully addressing the challenges identified in this roadmap, one or more technology pathways will be positioned for demonstration and subsequent commercialization within the next ten years. Based on current knowledge of the three power tower technologies, all three have the potential to achieve the SunShot goal of 6 cents/kilowatt-hour. Further development, modeling, and testing are now required to bring one or more of the technologies to a stage where integrated system tests and pilot demonstrations are feasible.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Dry Air Cooler Modeling for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Analysis

Modeling for commercially available and cost effective dry air coolers such as those manufactured by Harsco Industries has been implemented in the Argonne National Laboratory Plant Dynamics Code for system level dynamic analysis of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) Brayton cycles. The modeling can now be utilized to optimize and simulate sCO 2 Brayton cycles with dry air cooling whereby heat is rejected directly to the atmospheric heat sink without the need for cooling towers that require makeup water for evaporative losses. It has sometimes been stated that a benefit of the sCO 2 Brayton cycle is that it enables dry air cooling implying that the Rankine steam cycle does not. A preliminary and simple examination of a Rankine superheated steam cycle and an air-cooled condenser indicates that dry air cooling can be utilized with both cycles provided that the cycle conditions are selected appropriately

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2017

TA-60-1 Heavy Equipment Shop Areas SWPPP Rev 2 Jan 2017-Final

The primary activities and equipment areas at the facility that are potential stormwater pollution sources include; The storage of vehicles and heavy equipment awaiting repair; or repaired vehicles waiting to be picked up; The storage and handling of oils, anti-freeze, solvents, degreasers, batteries and other chemicals for the maintenance of vehicles and heavy equipment; and Equipment cleaning operations including exterior vehicle wash-down. Steam cleaning is only done on the steam cleaning pad area located at the north east end of Building 60-0001.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2015

Performance Evaluation of Mineral Additive-free Perfluoropolymer Nanocomposite O-ring in Simulated Geothermal Environments of 300C

The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of O-rings made with a mineral additive-free perfluoropolymer (FFKM) nanocomposite in mitigating irremovable silica- and silicate-scaling, inhibiting oxidative reactions, minimizing the changes in mechanical behaviors, and maintaining the integrity of O-rings after their exposure to the five different simulated geothermal environments at 300°C: 1) 0.01N sodium metasilicate (SMS)-laden non-aerated (NR2R R(g) Rsaturated) steam-cooling cycles; 2) 0.01N SMS-laden aerated steam-cooling cycles; 3) water-based drilling fluid; 4) COR2R-rich geo-brine fluid; and, 5) heat-cool water quenching cycles (thermal shock). All the thermochemical environments 1 to 4 were carried out under a pressure of 8.3 MPs.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Catalyst-Assisted Manufacture of Olefins from Natural Gas liquids: Prototype Development and Full-Scale Testing

The steam cracking of ethane to ethylene consumes the greatest amount energy of any process currently practiced by the US chemical industry. U.S. ethylene production consumed an estimated 450 trillion BTU of energy to produce nearly 53 billion pounds of ethylene in 2010. A significant portion of this energy consumption is to overcome the insulating effect of coke (carbonaceous deposits) on the internal surfaces of cracker furnace tubes. This buildup of coke is the result of both metal-catalyzed coke formation on the tube walls (“filamentous coke”), and deposition of gas-phase coke on the tube walls (“amorphous coke”). Coke buildup requires a continuous increase in energy input (firing of external coil tube wall) to achieve the same conversion of ethane feedstock to ethylene product, until the tubes must be taken out of service and the coke removed by steam treatment (“decoking”). This step interrupts production and increases the cost of ethylene. Coke buildup also shortens the coil life by increasing the rate of “creep” (sagging) that occurs due to higher temperature operation and migration of the deposited carbon into the coil metal.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Corrosion of Structural Materials for Advanced Supercritical Carbon- Dioxide Brayton Cycle

The supercritical carbon-dioxide (referred to as SC-CO 2 hereon) Brayton cycle is being considered for power conversion systems for a number of nuclear reactor concepts, including the sodium fast reactor (SFR), fluoride saltcooled high temperature reactor (FHR), and high temperature gas reactor (HTGR), and several types of small modular reactors (SMR). The SC-CO 2 direct cycle gas fast reactor has also been recently proposed. The SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle (discussed in Chapter 1) provides higher efficiencies compared to the Rankine steam cycle due to less compression work stemming from higher SC-CO 2 densities, and allows for smaller components size, fewer components, and simpler cycle layout. For example, in the case of a SFR using a SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle instead of a steam cycle would also eliminate the possibility of sodium-water interactions. The SC-CO 2 cycle has a higher efficiency than the helium Brayton cycle, with the additional advantage of being able to operate at lower temperatures and higher pressures. In general, the SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle is well-suited for any type of nuclear reactor (including SMR) with core outlet temperature above ~ 500°C in either direct or indirect versions. In all the above applications, materials corrosion in high temperature SC-CO 2 is an important consideration, given their expected lifetimes of 20 years or longer. Our discussions with National Laboratories and private industry early on in this project indicated materials corrosion to be one of the significant gaps in the implementation of SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle. Corrosion can lead to a loss of effective load-bearing wall thickness of a component and can potentially lead to the generation of oxide particulate debris which can lead to three-body wear in turbomachinery components. Another environmental degradation effect that is rather unique to CO 2 environment is the possibility for simultaneous occurrence of carburization during oxidation of the material. Carburization can potentially lead to embrittlement of structural alloys in SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle. An important consideration in regards to corrosion is that the temperatures can vary widely across the various sections of the SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle, from room temperature to 750°C, with even higher temperatures being desirable for higher efficiencies. Thus the extent of corrosion and corrosion mechanisms in various components and SC-CO 2 Brayton cycle will be different, requiring a judicious selection of materials for different sections of the cycle. The goal of this project was to address materials corrosion-related challenges, identify appropriate materials, and advance the body of scientific knowledge in the area of high temperature SC-CO 2 corrosion. The focus was on corrosion of materials in SC-CO 2 environment in the temperature range of 450°C to 750°C at a pressure of 2900 psi for exposure duration for up to 1000 hours. The Table below lists the materials tested in the project. The materials were selected based on their high temperature strength, their code certification status, commercial availabilities, and their prior or current usage in the nuclear reactor industry. Additionally, pure Fe, Fe-12%Cr, and Ni-22%Cr were investigated as simple model materials to more clearly understand corrosion mechanisms. This first phase of the project involved testing in research grade SC-CO 2 (99.999% purity). Specially designed autoclaves with high fidelity temperature, pressure, and flow control capabilities were built or modified for this project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

BISON Fuel Performance Analysis of IFA-796 Rod 3 & 4 and Investigation of the Impact of Fuel Creep

In order to improve the accident tolerance of light water reactor (LWR) fuel, alternative cladding materials have been proposed to replace the currently used zirconium (Zr)-based alloys. Of these materials, there is a particular focus on iron-chromiumaluminum (FeCrAl) alloys because they exhibit slower oxidation kinetics in high-temperature steam than Zr-alloys. This should decrease the energy release due to oxidation and slow cladding consumption in the presence of high temperature steam. These alloys should also exhibit increased “coping time” in the event of an accident scenario by improving the mechanical performance at high temperatures, allowing greater flexibility to achieve core cooling. As a continuation of the development of these alloys, in-reactor irradiation testing of FeCrAl cladded fuel rods has started. In order to provide insight on the possible behavior of these fuel rods as they undergo irradiation in the Halden Boiling Water Reactor, engineering analysis has been performed using FeCrAl material models implemented into the BISON fuel performance code. This milestone report provides an update on the ongoing development of modeling capability to predict FeCrAl cladding fuel performance and to provide an early look at the possible behavior of planned in-reactor FeCrAl cladding experiments. In particular, this report consists of two separate analyses. The first analysis consists of fuel performance simulations of IFA-796 rod 4 and two segments of rod 3. These simulations utilize previously implemented material models for the C35M FeCrAl alloy and UO2 to provide a bounding behavior analysis corresponding to variation of the initial fuel cladding gap thickness within the fuel rod. The second analysis is an assessment of the fuel and cladding stress states after modification of the fuel creep model that is currently implemented in the BISON fuel performance code. Effects from modifying the fuel creep model were identified for the BISON simulations of the IFA-796 rod 4 experiment, but show that varying the creep model (within the range investigated here) only provide a minimal increase in the fuel radius and maximum cladding hoop stress. Continued investigation of fuel behavioral models will include benchmarking the modified fuel creep model against available experimental data, as well as an investigation of the role that fuel cracking will play in the compliance of the fuel. Correctly calculating stress evolution in the fuel is key to assessing fuel behavior up to gap closure and the subsequent deformation of the cladding due to PCMI. The inclusion of frictional contact should also be investigated to determine the axial elongation of the fuel rods for comparison with data from this experiment.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Renewable hydrogen production via thermochemical/electrochemical coupling

A coupled electrochemical/thermochemical cycle was investigated to produce hydrogen from renewable resources. Like a conventional thermochemical cycle, this cycle leverages chemical energy stored in a thermochemical working material that is reduced thermally by solar energy. However, in this concept, the stored chemical energy only needs to be partially, but not fully, capable of splitting steam to produce hydrogen. To complete the process, a proton-conducting membrane is driven to separate hydrogen as it is produced, thus shifting the thermodynamics toward further hydrogen production. This novel coupled-cycle concept provides several benefits. First, the required oxidation enthalpy of the reversible thermochemical material is reduced, enabling the process to occur at lower temperatures. Second, removing the requirement for spontaneous steam-splitting widens the scope of materials compositions, allowing for less expensive/more abundant elements to be used. Lastly, thermodynamics calculations suggest that this concept can potentially reach higher efficiencies than photovoltaic-to-electrolysis hydrogen production methods. This Exploratory Express LDRD involved assessing the practical feasibility of the proposed coupled cycle. A test stand was designed and constructed and proton-conducting membranes were synthesized. While the full proof of concept was not achieved, the individual components of the experiment were validated and new capabilities that can be leveraged by a variety of programs were developed.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2017

Design and Testing for a New Thermosyphon Irradiation Vehicle

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) requires most materials and all fuel experiments to be placed in a pressure containment vessel to ensure that internal contaminants such as fission products cannot be released into the primary coolant. It also requires that all experiments be capable of withstanding various accident conditions (e.g., loss of coolant) without generating vapor bubbles on the surface of the experiment in the primary coolant. These requirements are intended to artificially increase experiment temperatures by introducing a barrier between the experimental materials and the HFIR coolant, and by reducing heat loads to the HFIR primary coolant, thus ensuring that no boiling can occur. A proposed design for materials irradiation would remove these limitations by providing the required primary containment with an internal cooling flow. This would allow for experiments to be irradiated without concern for coolant contamination (e.g., from cladding failure of advanced fuel pins) or for specimen heat load. This report describes a new materials irradiation experiment design that uses a thermosyphon cooling system to allow experimental materials direct access to a liquid coolant. The new design also increases the range of conditions that can be tested in HFIR. This design will provide a unique capability to validate the performance of current and advanced fuels and materials. Because of limited supporting data for this kind of irradiation vehicle, a test program was initiated to obtain operating data that can be used to (1) qualify the vehicle for operation in HFIR and (2) validate computer models used to perform design- and safety-basis calculations. This report also describes the test facility and experimental data, and it provides a comparison of the experimental data to computer simulations. A total of 51 tests have been completed: four tests with pure steam, 12 tests with argon, and 35 tests with helium. A total of 10 tests were performed at subatmospheric pressure, and four of these were performed with pure steam. One test was conducted at a high power of 92.7 kW, six tests were HFIR startups, and two tests were HFIR loss of offsite power (LOOP). Pressures up to 10 MPa, vapor temperatures up to 583 K (310°C), and heater temperatures above 600 K (327°C) have been reached in these tests. Two computer programs, RELAP5-3D and TRACE, have been used to simulate the tests. The TRACE code has shown good agreement with the test data and has been used to model a variety of tests. This experimental facility has been very useful in demonstrating the viability of this new type of irradiation facility.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Demonstrating Hybrid Heat Transport and Energy Conversion System Performance Characterization Using Intelligent Control Systems

The debate continues on the magnitude and validity of climate change caused by human activities. However, there is no debate about the need to make buildings, modes of transportation, factories, and homes as energy efficient as possible. Given that climate change could occur with the wasteful use of fossil fuel and the fact that fossil energy costs could and will swing wildly, it is imperative that every effort be made to utilize energy sources to their fullest. Hybrid energy systems (HES) are two or more separate energy producers used together to produce energy commodities. The HES this report focuses on is the use of nuclear reactor waste heat as a source of further energy utilization. Nuclear reactors use a fluid to cool the core and produce the steam needed for the production of electricity. Traditionally this steam, or coolant, is used to convert the energy then cooled elsewhere. The heat is released into the environment without being used further. By adding technologies to nuclear reactors to use the wasted heat, a system can be developed to make more than just electricity and allow for loading following capabilities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2018

Advanced Ultrasupercritical (AUSC) Materials Thick-Walled Cycling Header Development for ComTest-AUSC (Final Report)

Alstom Power Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE) recently completed “Advanced Ultrasupercritical (AUSC) Materials Thick-Walled Cycling Header Development for ComTest-AUSC” under Award No. DE-FE0026183 for the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL). This project developed a design for testing of a high temperature nickel-based superalloy thick-walled header to simulate cycling and flexible plant operation in new and existing plants. The objective was to simulate the expected thermal stresses of a new AUSC plant or a retrofit header in an existing plant to improve flexible dynamic operation while maintaining component integrity and overall power plant reliability. The high performance superalloy materials that enable higher operating temperatures and pressures can support future transformational power technologies including new AUSC plants at 4250-5000 psi, 730°C/760°C or will serve as a replacement component in a repowered or retrofit USC coal powered cycling plant at 3600 psi, 600°C. These alloys can also enable supercritical CO2 cycles, nuclear power, solar power and more efficient natural gas combined cycle units as targeted by the U.S. DOE/NETL Cross-Cutting Research Technology Program Plan. Recently developed advanced nickel alloys such as Inconel 740H (740H) and Haynes 282 (H282) have been successfully tested on a pilot scale for fireside corrosion using steam loop tubing at AUSC temperatures of 760°C in actual operating coal fired boiler. These high strength materials have been demonstrated their adequacy for use in other high temperature boiler components such as superheater tubes. Thick-walled superheater outlet headers which operate at high temperatures and pressure under severe cycling condition are considered as one of the most critical component in the AUSC coal fired boiler. Over the design life of a plant, these headers are exposed to the most severe fatigue and creep damage accumulation and need to be properly designed for the expected cycling in an AUSC plant with flexible operation. These materials need to demonstrate adequate design life of 20 to 30 years for creep and fatigue conditions. The following tasks were performed: 1. A conceptual design was developed of a thick-walled component representative of typical headers with several tube connections and proper flow rates (~100,000 lbs/hr) suitable for Phase II test at 760°C operation. This was based on a process analysis of expected full scale new and component retrofit designs for AUSC; 2. A multi-physics flow and heat transfer computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the component for proper layout of the header configuration, number and geometry (size) of tubes required for bypass flow, flow rates through the tubing, and sectional pressure drops was performed. Steam to header metal heat transfer film coefficients in the header section and the tubes during the two stages (half load and full load) of the cycling operation were evaluated and used in the stress analysis; 3. Detailed analytical evaluation of the thick-walled pipe and tube connections for mechanical integrity under cycling conditions was performed. This included transient thermal stress analysis and fatigue usage estimation including the tube-to-pipe weld geometries and weld materials; 4. A layout and design of the thick-walled test component was developed and instrumentation required for a test was identified; 5. Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) creep prediction models were extended to 740H and H282 and validated with public data on 740H and H282 for use in creep analysis. In addition, detailed creep analyses were performed separately for the design life of the conceptual AUSC superheater outlet header using these General Electric (GE) creep constitutive models. GE was the prime contractor for the project, which was directed by Principal Investigator Robert Schrecengost and Lead Scientist Dr. B. Reddy Ganta. Other collaborative participants in this project included GE Global Research, GE Boiler Engineering, and a Technical Consultant from EPRI.

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