The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) bureau of nuclear energy announced on July 29 that Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) recently completed testing of sensors for small light water reactor systems. The performance data will be shared with U.S. nuclear companies to improve sensor instrumentation for advanced small modular light water reactors (SMRs). The data could also be used to support other advanced types of reactors that are cooled by gas, liquid metal or molten salt.
ORNL tested nuclear resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) using a thermosiphon test loop and a dedicated vapor loop specially designed for the project. The robust temperature sensors were tested under the expected operating conditions of an advanced SMR that uses the natural water cycle to cool the reactor.
The researchers also assessed the sensor response time required to detect changes in coolant conditions that would require a safe shutdown of the reactor.
“Since the signals involved are used to initiate a safe shutdown of the reactor during an incident, the validation of the performance of the instruments is subject to strict regulatory review,” said nuclear engineer Nesrin Ozgan Cetiner, lead researcher for the project at ORNL, is currently radiation scientist at WITH. “Our research results will help industrial partners select nuclear-grade RTDs that are suitable for safety-related temperature measurements of the reactor coolant and main steam of small modular reactors.”
The project was supported by DOE’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), which makes government research institutions more accessible to the nuclear community to support the commercialization of innovative nuclear technologies ORNL to test the performance of sensors and cables for the next generation of nuclear reactors said Alexander H. Hashemian, a senior research engineer at AMS.
One of the motivations for the GAIN voucher was to characterize sensor performance under conditions common to NuScale Power and other SMRs with natural circulation, such as: B. SMR-160 from Holtec, are relevant. “Ultimately, our goal is to support the DOE’s Atomic Energy Bureau in its mission to help the nation develop a new generation of reactor technology,” said Cetiner. “The commercial companies that build the reactors and manufacture the equipment need our research to ensure that these tools work as intended.”
ORNL and AMS finalize their results and prepare guidelines for the exchange with industrial partners.
Meanwhile, nuclear fuel technology company Lightbridge Corporation announced on July 19 that it had entered into a Research and Development Collaboration (CRADA) with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division, the executive contractor of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) the DOE. The main objective of this agreement is to advance a critical phase in the Lightbridge Fuel ™ manufacturing process by demonstrating a casting process using depleted uranium-zirconium material. The total project value of CRADA is approximately $ 663,000, with three quarters of that amount being funded by the DOE for the scope carried out by PNNL.
Seth Grae, President & CEO of Lightbridge Corporation, commented, “We are excited to launch our second R&D initiative through the DOE and GAIN programs.” He added that the GAIN program “remains an excellent one This is an opportunity for Lightbridge to work with the US government to gain access to world class staff and facilities. Partnering with the GAIN program allows us to save the high cost of time and capital to create these experiments ourselves while retaining our intellectual property and accelerating our R&D efforts.
Image: Water circuit with installed RTD sensor (Photo credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy)
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