Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Advanced Reactor”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility Progress

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the world’s premier test reactors for studying the effects of intense neutron radiation on reactor materials and fuels. The ATR began operation in 1967, and has operated continuously since then, averaging approximately 250 operating days per year. The combination of high flux, large test volumes, and multiple experiment configuration options provide unique testing opportunities for nuclear fuels and material researchers. The ATR is a pressurized, light-water moderated and cooled, beryllium-reflected highly-enriched uranium fueled, reactor with a maximum operating power of 250 MWth. The ATR peak thermal flux can reach 1.0 x1015 n/cm2-sec, and the core configuration creates five main reactor power lobes (regions) that can be operated at different powers during the same operating cycle. In addition to these nine flux traps there are 68 irradiation positions in the reactor core reflector tank. The test positions range from 0.5” to 5.0” in diameter and are all 48” in length, the active length of the fuel. The INL also has several hot cells and other laboratories in which irradiated material can be examined to study material radiation effects. In 2007 the US Department of Energy (DOE) designated the ATR as a National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) to facilitate greater access to the ATR and the associated INL laboratories for material testing research by a broader user community. Goals of the ATR NSUF are to define the cutting edge of nuclear technology research in high temperature and radiation environments, contribute to improved industry performance of current and future light water reactors, and stimulate cooperative research between user groups conducting basic and applied research. The ATR NSUF has developed partnerships with other universities and national laboratories to enable ATR NSUF researchers to perform research at these other facilities, when the research objectives cannot be met using the INL facilities. The ATR NSUF program includes a robust education program enabling students to participate in their research at INL and the partner facilities, attend the ATR NSUF annual User Week, and compete for prizes at sponsored conferences. Development of additional research capabilities is also a key component of the ATR NSUF Program; researchers are encouraged to propose research projects leading to these enhanced capabilities. Some ATR irradiation experiment projects irradiate more specimens than are tested, resulting in irradiated materials available for post irradiation examination by other researchers. These “extra” specimens comprise the ATR NSUF Sample Library. This presentation will highlight the ATR NSUF Sample Library and the process open to researchers who want to access these materials and how to propose research projects using them. This presentation will provide the current status of all the ATR NSUF Program elements. Many of these were not envisioned in 2007, when DOE established the ATR NSUF.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

10 CFR 830 Major Modification Determination for Advanced Test Reactor LEU Fuel Conversion

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), located in the ATR Complex of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), was constructed in the 1960s for the purpose of irradiating reactor fuels and materials. Other irradiation services, such as radioisotope production, are also performed at ATR. The ATR is fueled with high-enriched uranium (HEU) matrix (UAlx) in an aluminum sandwich plate cladding. The National Nuclear Security Administration Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) strategic mission includes efforts to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological material at civilian sites around the world. Converting research reactors from using HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU) was originally started in 1978 as the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Program under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Within this strategic mission, GTRI has three goals that provide a comprehensive approach to achieving this mission: The first goal, the driver for the modification that is the subject of this determination, is to convert research reactors from using HEU to LEU. Thus the mission of the ATR LEU Fuel Conversion Project is to convert the ATR and Advanced Test Reactor Critical facility (ATRC) (two of the six U.S. High-Performance Research Reactors [HPRR]) to LEU fuel by 2017. The major modification criteria evaluation of the project pre-conceptual design identified several issues that lead to the conclusion that the project is a major modification.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2014

An Analysis of Methanol and Hydrogen Production via High-Temperature Electrolysis Using the Sodium Cooled Advanced Fast Reactor

Integration of an advanced, sodium-cooled fast spectrum reactor into nuclear hybrid energy system (NHES) architectures is the focus of the present study. A techno-economic evaluation of several conceptual system designs was performed for the integration of a sodium-cooled Advanced Fast Reactor (AFR) with the electric grid in conjunction with wind-generated electricity. Cases in which excess thermal and electrical energy would be reapportioned within an integrated energy system to a chemical plant are presented. The process applications evaluated include hydrogen production via high temperature steam electrolysis and methanol production via steam methane reforming to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen which feed a methanol synthesis reactor. Three power cycles were considered for integration with the AFR, including subcritical and supercritical Rankine cycles and a modified supercritical carbon dioxide modified Brayton cycle. The thermal efficiencies of all of the modeled power conversions units were greater than 40%. A thermal efficiency of 42% was adopted in economic studies because two of the cycles either performed at that level or could potentially do so (subcritical Rankine and S-CO2 Brayton). Each of the evaluated hybrid architectures would be technically feasible but would demonstrate a different internal rate of return (IRR) as a function of multiple parameters; all evaluated configurations showed a positive IRR. As expected, integration of an AFR with a chemical plant increases the IRR when “must-take” wind-generated electricity is added to the energy system. Additional dynamic system analyses are recommended to draw detailed conclusions on the feasibility and economic benefits associated with AFR-hybrid energy system operation.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Machine-Learning-aided Approach for Predicting the Thermal Expansion Behaviors in Advanced Test Reactor Capsules (NURETH-20 full paper)

Instrumented experiments at test reactors are essential to deploying new advanced reactor systems. Designing new experiments and generating data on specific conditions require both time and cost investment. A high-fidelity model of the experiment environment can be created using finite element analysis software to support the actual experiments, but computation time is still a concern in applying outcomes to real-time usage (e.g., a digital twin). This research proposes a machine-learning-aided approach to temperature and displacement predictions, based on the thickness of the outer gas gap on the experimental capsule used for the in-pile demonstration of a novel thermal conductivity probe in the Advanced Test Reactor. The capsule consisted of U10Zr fuel, a rodlet, sodium, and inner and outer capsules. There were gas gaps between the fuel and rodlet and between the inner and outer capsule. The learning data consisted of an experimental capsule’s radial distributions of temperature and displacement, as obtained from Abaqus and the physical features. For the first step, temperature was predicted using three positional parameters. Then the displacement was predicted using six different positional parameters. Each physical feature was normalized to be both nondimensional and standardized. The temperature and displacement predictions showed good agreement in all cases involving interpolation and extrapolation. Also, data similarity enhancement increased the similarity between training and target data increasing the predictive accuracy of machine-learning models. In some cases of extrapolation, the accuracy of the machine-learning model showed limited performance, but still data similarity enhancement improved the accuracy.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Foreword: Special issue on the U.S. Department of Energy Microreactor Program

This is a foreword for a sponsored Nuclear Technology Special Issue that is focused on the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Microreactor Program and associated research and development (R&D) activities. Led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the DOE-NE Microreactor Program is one of four, national advanced reactor campaigns under the Advanced Reactor Technologies umbrella in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Deployment. The other three national advanced reactor campaigns are focused on Molten Salt, High Temperature Gas, and Fast reactor concepts providing a robust portfolio of national laboratory and university expertise and R&D infrastructure in support of enabling and accelerating commercial deployment of advanced reactor (generally non-light water cooled) concepts.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE AGC-4 IRRADIATION IN THE ADVANCED TEST REACTOR AND DESIGN OF AGC-5 (HTR16-18469)

The United States Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Program will irradiate up to six nuclear graphite creep experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The graphite experiments are being irradiated over an approximate eight year period to support development of a graphite irradiation performance data base on the new nuclear grade graphites now available for use in high temperature gas reactors. The goals of the irradiation experiments are to obtain irradiation performance data, including irradiation creep, at different temperatures and loading conditions to support design of the Very High Temperature Gas Reactor (VHTR), as well as other future gas reactors. The experiments each consist of a single capsule that contain six stacks of graphite specimens, with half of the graphite specimens in each stack under a compressive load, while the other half of the specimens are not be subjected to a compressive load during irradiation. The six stacks have differing compressive loads applied to the top half of diametrically opposite pairs of specimen stacks. A seventh specimen stack in the center of the capsule does not have a compressive load. The specimens are being irradiated in an inert sweep gas atmosphere with on-line temperature and compressive load monitoring and control. There are also samples taken of the sweep gas effluent to measure any oxidation or off-gassing of the specimens that may occur during initial start-up of the experiment. The first experiment, AGC-1, started its irradiation in September 2009, and the irradiation was completed in January 2011. The second experiment, AGC-2, started its irradiation in April 2011 and completed its irradiation in May 2012. The third experiment, AGC-3, started its irradiation in late November 2012 and completed in the April of 2014. AGC-4 is currently being irradiated in the ATR. This paper will briefly discuss the preliminary irradiation results of the AGC-4 experiment, as well as the design of AGC-5.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗