Flow instrumentation and operating experience in a condensing alkali metals test loop
Test method for determining condensing heat transfer characteristics of liquid alkali metals
TEST METHOD↗
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Molten Salt Loop Testing of Sensors and Off-Gas Components: FY23 progress
The Liquid Salt Test Loop (LSTL) at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was developed to demonstrate technology for high-temperature fluoride salt systems (Figure 1). The LSTL is primarily constructed using Inconel 600 alloy and operates at temperatures of up to 700°C. The facility is loaded with 165 kg of LiF-NaF-KF salt (FLiNaK). This salt provides a relevant test environment for de-risking technology while avoiding the costs and hazards associated with beryllium-based or uranium-bearing salts. FLiNaK is also an advantageous salt for the secondary side of molten salt reactors. The facility’s major components include a centrifugal pump for salt circulation, an air-based heat exchanger to reject heat, a suite of instrumentation, and trace heating to prevent salt freezing. Additional heating is available through an induction heater rated at 200 kW. The relatively large heating and cooling capability enables the formation of a temperature gradient across the loop (i.e., a hot and a cold side), which is important for chemistry and corrosion studies. The LSTL is a unique US capability for high-temperature molten halide salt testing. Although some efforts are underway at universities, the LSTL’s scale, co-located purification system, and relatively large power differentiates it from other testing systems. Furthermore, unlike efforts within industry, access to the DOE-supported facility and communication of results, which are generally disseminated publicly, result in a broad significance in the molten salt reactor community.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2020)
This report documents the operations and testing that was performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2020. The METL facility had a very successful second year of operations having logged over 730 days (as of September 19, 2020) of operations with molten sodium either flowing or static. The METL piping and vessel system was filled with sodium on September 19, 2018 after a successful transfer of sodium from fifteen 55-gallon drums. FY2020 saw the successful reconditioning and insertion of the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) for its second round of testing, the full use of the 18-inch Flexi-Cask system, the second extraction of the GTA from METL, and the removal of sodium from the GTA test article by the carbonation process followed by an alcohol wash. In addition, METL is being prepared to support a second larger experiment, a thermal hydraulic experiment, called Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA).
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2021)
This report documents the operations and testing that was performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2021. The METL facility had a very successful third year of operations having logged about 944 days of operations with molten sodium either in a flowing or static condition. Operations were paused in April 20, 2021 to accommodate the refurbishing of building 308’s alkali metal passivation booth and scrubber (AMPB&S). METL is being prepared to support a second larger experiment, the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) and expects to resume the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) testing. The technology development team is also developing two additional experiments, a gripper test article and a flow sensor test article that are expected to go into METL in late FY22 or early FY23.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2022)
This report documents the operations, testing, maintenance, and improvements that were performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2022. The METL facility had a very successful fourth year of operations and went through some new experiences such as taking the facility from its frozen state in October 2021 and thawing the facility and also recovering from an oxide plug in one of the cold trap lines. After the facility was fully thawed, the METL staff maintained the facility in a continuous molten state – either flowing sodium or a static flow condition. METL facility continued supporting the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) testing and hosted its first 28” test vessel experiment, called the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) which was inserted into Test Vessel 4. Work to accommodate two additional experiments, a gripper test article (GrTA) and a flow sensor test article (F-STAr) continued as they are expected to make their debut in FY2023. In addition, the steam piping for the B308 scrubber unit was replaced with stainless steel piping and controls and new parts for the scrubber were purchased – such as a new pump, new storage tank, and new blower and motor. These components will ultimately replace the existing scrubber components when those 1970’s era require replacement.
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Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations, Maintenance, and Testing - FY2025
This report documents the operations, maintenance, and improvements that were performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) and its supporting infrastructure during FY2024. The METL facility had a very successful seventh year of operations while supporting the testing of multiple test article experiments in the facility. The METL facility continued supporting the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) testing and the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) with the full testing with both the primary and secondary systems. Work to accommodate two additional experiments, a flow sensor test article (F-STAr) gripper test and a fuel handling gripper test article (GrTA) continued as they are expected to undergo testing in METL in FY2025. In addition, a new 18” test article, the Sample Testing Basket (STB) was used a few times to provide screening tests for sodium service materials. A fifth test vessel was installed in the location of Test Vessel 6, and a wet vapor nitrogen sodium processing system was developed and initially tested.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Deployment of additional LWR test loops and BWR / Ramp testing in ATR – I-Loop [Slides]
Abstract not provided.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Phase 3 integrated water recovery testing at MSFC: Single loop test results and lessons learned
A series of tests has been conducted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to evaluate the performance of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) water recovery system. Potable and urine reclamation processors were integrated with waste water generation equipment and sucessfully operated for a total of 144 days. This testing marked the first occasion in which the waste feed sources for the previous potable and hygiene loops were combined into a single loop and processed to potable water quality. Reclaimed potable water from the combined waste waters routinely met the SSF water quality specifications.In the last stage of testing, data was obtained that indicated that the water processor (WP) presterilizer may not be required to meet the potable water quality specification. The removal of the presterilizer from the Water Processor design would provide a significant power savings, though an increase in the residence time of the catalytic oxidation reactor may be required to meet the potable microbial and total Organic Carbon specifications. This paper summarizes the test objectives, system design, test activities/protocols, significant results/anomalies and major lessons learned.
Carter, Donald Layne↗
Design of gas-cooled test loop for NASA PLUM Brook Reactor Facility
Recirculating gas cooled test loop facility for Plum Brook reactor
LOOP↗
T-111 Rankine system corrosion test loop, volume 1
Results are given of a program whose objective was to determine the performance of refractory metal alloys in a two loop Rankine test system. The test system consisted of a circulating lithium circuit heated to 1230 C maximum transferring heat to a boiling potassium circuit with a 1170 C superheated vapor temperature. The results demonstrate the suitability of the selected refractory alloys to perform from a chemical compatibility standpoint.
Harrison, R. W.↗
EXTENDED DURATION OPERATION OF A PILOT-SCALE SUPERCRITICAL CO2 TEST LOOP
Operating a 1.5 MWth sCO2 test loop fired on solid fuel
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
Flow Components in a NaK Test Loop Designed to Simulate Conditions in a Nuclear Surface Power Reactor
A test loop using NaK as the working fluid is presently in use to study material compatibility effects on various components that comprise a possible nuclear reactor design for use on the lunar surface. A DC electromagnetic (EM) pump has been designed and implemented as a means of actively controlling the NaK flow rate through the system and an EM flow sensor is employed to monitor the developed flow rate. These components allow for the matching of the flow rate conditions in test loops with those that would be found in a full-scale surface-power reactor. The design and operating characteristics of the EM pump and flow sensor are presented. In the EM pump, current is applied to a set of electrodes to produce a Lorentz body force in the fluid. A measurement of the induced voltage (back-EMF) in the flow sensor provides the means of monitoring flow rate. Both components are compact, employing high magnetic field strength neodymium magnets thermally coupled to a water-cooled housing. A vacuum gap limits the heat transferred from the high temperature NaK tube to the magnets and a magnetically-permeable material completes the magnetic circuit. The pump is designed to produce a pressure rise of 5 psi, and the flow sensor's predicted output is roughly 20 mV at the loop's nominal flow rate of 0.5 GPM.
Polzin, Kurt A.↗
The Cb-1Zr Rankine System Corrosion Test Loop
Cb-1Zr Rankine system corrosion test loop
Hoffman, E. E.↗
CFD Simulation of Helium Flow Loop Test Section
A helium flow loop is being assembled at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to analyze heat transfer enhancement for systems such as blanket and divertor components. To efficiently identify optimum geometries for heat transfer enhancement in these applications, simulation work is performed to optimize test section designs that are built and tested in the helium flow loop that operates at 4 MPa and a mass flow rate of 100 g/s. Different ribbed geometries that examine rib shape, rib height, rib orientation, rib spacing, and three dimensional orientation are modeled and simulated in STAR-CCM+ to compare their ability to remove heat and mitigate pressure drop. Following the simulations, models are selected and manufactured for the helium flow loop tests. Simulations initially focus on a hydrodynamic study to determine the appropriate mesh and physics models and then add a heat flux to analyze the heat transfer abilities of the models. The simulations are run in steady state and use a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes k-ε turbulence model. The helium is modeled as an ideal gas. The simulation explores models of geometries that enhance the heat transfer and decrease pressure drop with an overall goal of increasing fluid collision with the wall. Enhanced geometries are simulated to select appropriate designs for manufacturing, and preliminary experimental results are used to validate the simulations. Furthermore, the factors that are being analyzed in the comparison between the experimental and the simulated results include matching thermocouple temperatures, pressure drop, roughness, and fluid velocity.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Experimenter's Guide
The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) was built to streamline and accelerate the in-sodium testing of systems and components under conditions that simulate a sodium-cooled fast reactor pool environment. The METL team at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) can assist experimenters in achieving their technical goals by providing liquid-metal expertise and access to infrastructure required for most alkali metal related research. This document offers a brief overview of METL and provides a basic design guide for researchers interested in conducting research at the facility. Additional information regarding the history and operations of METL can be found in §6.1. Furthermore, high resolution images found in this document as well as CAD files of aforementioned vessels can be provided upon request.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
An Artificial-Intelligence and Machine-Learning-Based Methodology to Conduct Seemingly Strain-Controlled Fatigue Test in a Pressurized-Water-Reactor-Test-Loop-Autoclave, While Not Controlling the Strain
In general, low cycle fatigue analysis of pressurized water reactor (PWR) components, requires strain-controlled fatigue test data such as using strain versus life (ε–N) curves. Conducting strain-controlled fatigue tests under in-air conditions is not an issue. However, controlling strain in a PWR-test-loop-autoclave is a challenge, since an extensometer cannot be placed in a narrow autoclave (typically used in a high-temperature-pressure PWR-test-loop). This is due to lack of space inside an autoclave that houses the test specimen. In addition, installing a contact-type extensometer in the path of a high-pressure flow can be a challenge. These difficulties of using an extensometer inside an autoclave led us to use an outside-autoclave displacement sensor which measures the displacement of pull-rod-specimen assembly. However, in our study (based on in-air fatigue test data), we found that a pull-rod-controlled based fatigue test can lead to substantial cyclic hardening/softening resulting in substantially different cyclic strain amplitudes and their rates compared to the desired cyclic strain amplitudes and its rates. In this paper, we propose an Artificial-Intelligence and Machine-Learning based technique such as using k-means clustering technique to improve the pull-rod-control based fatigue test method, such that the gage-area strain amplitude and rates can reasonably be achieved. In support of this, we present the fatigue test results for both 316 SS base and 81/182 dissimilar-metal-weld specimens.
42 ENGINEERING↗