The Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility Opportunities

Transcription

1 The Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility Opportunities Frances M. Marshall Manager, ATR NSUF October 2012 Todd R. Allen Jeff B. Benson James. Cole Mary Catherine Thelen

2 Presentation Overview Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Capabilities Overview Post rradiation Examination Capabilities ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) Program Partner Facilities Sample Library Proposal Options Educational Program Capability Development 2

3 ATR Summary Pressurized, Light-water Moderated and Cooled; Be reflector 250 MWth Maximum Flux 1 x n/cm 2 -sec thermal 5 x n/cm 2 -sec fast Symmetrical Axial Power Profile Power Tilt Capability Between all Four Corners of Core ndividual Experiment Parameter Control for Multiple Tests in a Single rradiation Position Accelerated Testing for Fuels No Design Limited Lifetime: CC outages Large stainless steel reactor vessel

4 Test size 48 length, 0.5 to 5.0 diameter 75 rradiation Positions Rotating Hafnium Control Cylinders symmetrical axial flux Power/Flux Adjustments ( Tilt ) across the Core - < 3:1 ratio Operation, ~240 days/year, 6 cycles ATR Test Positions Large Loop rradiation Facility H Position (1.59 cm) Large B Position (3.81 cm) Large Position (12.7 cm) Outboar d A Position (1.59 cm) Safety Rod Outer Shim Control Cylinder B12 Standard Loop rradiation Facility Medium Position (8.89 cm) B7 B6 19 NW W SW B8 B5 Small B Position (2.22 cm) 1 B9 N S B11 11 B1 B NE SE 9 B2 B3 Fuel Element B Neck Shim Rod Small Position (3.81 Northeast cm) Flux Trap rradiation Facility (12.7 cm or 5 diameter) East Flux Trap rradiation Facilities (7.6 cm or 3 diameter; 7 positions each,1.58 cm) Berylliu m Reflecto r Neck Shim Rod Housing nboard A Position (1.59 cm) Core Reflector Tank

5 Experiment Configurations Simple Static Capsules Reflector positions or flux traps sotopes, structural materials, fuel coupons or pellets nstrumented Lead Experiments On-line experiment measurements With or without temperature control Structural materials, cladding, fuel pins Pressurized Water Loops Five presently installed in flux traps Control pressure, temperature, chemistry Structural materials, cladding, tubing, fuel assemblies Hydraulic Shuttle rradiation System 14 capsules in a set nserted and removed during reactor operations

6 nternational Collaborations nstrumentation Research Collaboration ATR NSUF Scientific Review Board Sabbatical Researcher Sample nvestigations User Week Participation Colloquium Speakers Experiment Awardees Summer nternship 6

7 Experiment Measurement Capabilities Flux Wires Co-Al Fe-Ni Others Thermocouples Tritium Monitors Moisture Monitors Fission Product Monitors Specimen Creep Tension (in development) Compression Oxidation Measurements on Graphite Experiment

8 Enhanced Fission Chambers and Other Sensors Under nvestigation in NL/CEA Collaboration Back-to-Back Fission Chamber Provide absolute calibration for co-located flux detectors Micro Pocket Fission Detector 3 detectors in one small package: fast & thermal fission chamber with thermocouple Transient Hot Wire Method Needle Probe Single probe for thermal conductivity measurement upper electrode Back-to-Back fission chambers active region lower electrode KSU flat side-by-side design Enhanced round stacked design Micro Pocket Fission Detector Transient Hot Wire Method needle probe

9 Several nstrumentation Enhancements Available for Various ATR Test Locations Parameter Temperature Static Capsule /HSS Parameter nstr. Lead PWR Loop Thermal Conductivity Fluence (neutron) Gamma Heating ATR Technology Melt wires (single) Paint spots (single) SiC Temperature Monitors (range) Thermocouples (Type N, Proposed Advanced Technology Available at Other Reactors Developmental Wireless (range) Ultrasonic thermometers a Fiber Optics Out-of-pile examinations Degradation using Hot wire techniques signal changes in thermocouples Flux wires (Fe, Ni, Nb) Dimensional Out-of-pile examinations Fission Gas (Amount, Composition) Loop Pressure Loop Flowrate Loop Water Chemistry Crud Deposition Crack Growth Rate Gas Chromatography Pressure sensors Gamma detectors Sampling Differential pressure transmitters Pressure gauges with impulse lines Flow venturis Orifice plates Off-line sampling /analysis Out-of-pile examinations Activating foil dosimeters Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPNDs) Miniature fission chambers Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors Degradation using signal changes in thermocouples LVDTs (stressed and unstressed) Diameter gauge LVDT-based pressure gauge Diameter gauge with neutron detectors and thermocouples Direct Current Potential Drop Technique a Type C thermocouple use requires a correction factor to correct for decalibration during irradiation. Moveable SPNDs Ultrasonic Transducers Fiber Optics Acoustic measurements with high-frequency echography

10 Post rradiation Examination Capability Neutron Radiography Element/capsule NDE Visual examinations Physical measurements Eddy Current Oxide Layer Test Laser Puncturing and Gas Sampling Sample Cutting and Preparation Mechanical Testing Capability Fuel Characterization sotopic Analyses Dissolution, separation Pu, U isotopes assay Hydrogen Analysis Burnup - Lanthanum /Technetium Pellet Density - Archimedes Method Thermal Analysis (expansion, conductivity) Metallography (microhardness measurements) Plenum Gas Pressure and Chemical Analysis 10

11 Designation of ATR as NSUF in 2007, Meeting Nuclear Research Needs To perform the research required to support nuclear energy development requires specialized (expensive) and increasingly rare capabilities High flux reactors Hot cells and examination equipment Support infrastructure (shipping casks, test fabrication, etc.) But also intellectual capital Universities Nuclear industry nnovative small businesses National laboratories The ATR National Scientific User Facility merges the national nuclear research infrastructure with intellectual capital to pair the best ideas with needed capability 11

12 Expansion of ATR NSUF Concept PE Sample Library/Rapid Turnaround Projects Upgraded Examination Equipment Network of University and Laboratory Partners Additional Educational Opportunities Microscopy and Characterization Suite LWR ndustry Research Support Connections to Other User Facilities LANSCE (Lujan Neutron Scattering Center ) APS SHaRE NST ATLAS Samples sent to Oxford University Joint Proposal Opportunities with APS and NEUP 12

13 Partnerships a Foundation for Growth Partnerships bring additional capabilities to the ATR NSUF, offer collaborative opportunities beyond the NL and form a foundation for nuclear research that reaches across the U.S. Foster higher utilization of partner facilities and educational initiatives at the university (faculty research, student participation) Rapid Turnaround Experiments are an ideal venue for these kinds of collaborative endeavors 13

14 ATR NSUF Partnerships Reactor/rradiation Facilities Massachusetts nstitute of Technology Reactor North Carolina State University, PULSTAR Reactor Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), High Flux sotope Reactor Post rradiation Examination North Carolina State University University of Wisconsin University of Michigan UC Berkeley University of Nevada, Las Vegas ORNL Purdue Material and Characterization Suite Pacific Northwest Nuclear Laboratory Beamline Facilities llinois nstitute of Technology North Carolina State University, PULSTAR Reactor University of Wisconsin University of Michigan 14

15 Sample Library Expanding Research Opportunities rradiation Experiments Performed by ATR NSUF Researchers nvestigate Novel Fuels and Materials More Samples are rradiated than are nvestigated due to Budget and Time Constraints. Extra Specimens are Made Available in the Sample Library to the Research Community Additional Samples are From Other rradiation Projects (i.e., not ATR NSUF) - Decommissioned reactors - Previous NL programs - Other laboratories 15

16 Experiment Offerings rradiation Experiments, at ATR or Partner Facilities PE-only, at NL or Partner Facilities Joint Proposals with Nuclear Energy University Programs Connections to Other DOE User Facilities LANSCE APS, specific proposal call for MRCAT, or joint with APS SHaRE NST Use of Previously rradiated Samples in Library ATR Critical Facility, for Model Validation or nstrument Testing Rapid Turnaround Experiment Typically at partner facilities Can be completed in < 2 months, and funding limited New User Experiment - Expand knowledge base of university Ps and proposers Collaboration between multiple universities and NL for experiment Several research topics identified by ATR NSUF Director Simple static capsule configuration 16

17 Sponsorship of Non-Proprietary Experiments Led by US Universities Partnerships Encouraged Other universities National laboratories ndustrial entities Peer Reviewed for Technical Merit Can nclude rradiation, PE, nstrumentation, or Combinations Reviewed for Relevance to DOE- NE Programs Awarded for mplementation in both NL and Partner Facilities 51 Projects Awarded 43 to 20 universities 8 to 4 laboratories 17

18 ATR NSUF Education Programs - Build a Cadre of Experimenters Educating New Experimenters is Critical - Annual Users Week nternships Sabbaticals Faculty-student Research Teams ANS Student Conference Workshop, Speaker Awards Colloquium Series University Seminar Visits Faculty Exchange Reactor Testing Textbook 18

19 Capability Enhancement Annual Assessment of User Needs with ATR NSUF User Group, Scientific Review Board and ndustry Advisory Committee New Capabilities Developed 2013 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Hydraulic shuttle irradiation system operational by beginning of 2009 Test Train Assembly Facility commissioned in 2009 Pressurized water loop for industry experiments in 2012 rradiated Material Characterization Lab (MCL), 2012 rradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (ASCC) test rigs at NL PE upgrades by GNEP (AFC), BEA, RERTR, and the ATR NSUF nstrumentation Development, with MT, CEA, Halden ncrease number and capability of technical staff to support experiment development and PE mproved analytical tools The goal is continuous improvement of research capabilities available to researchers Dual-Beam Focused on Beam (FB) Microscale X-Ray Diffractometer (MXRD) Thermal onization Mass Spectrometer (TMS) Scanning Thermal Diffusivity Microscope (STDM) Electron Probe Micro- Analyzer (EPMA) ASCC test rigs n-cell tensile tester n-cell EDM 19

20 ATR National Scientific User Facility Now Provides the nuclear energy research community access to the capability required to conduct cutting edge research and development Test reactors and critical facilities (ATR, ATRC, HFR, MTR, PULSTAR) Examination facilities (NL MFC, NCSU, ORNL, UC Berkeley, Michigan, UNLV, Wisconsin, Purdue, PNNL) Other National User Facilities (APS, SHaRE, NST) An active and engaged user community 20

21 ATR National Scientific User Facility: Prototyping the Lab of the Future Portal to national capability, pairing ideas to assets 21

22 Contact Us Todd R. Allen, ATR NSUF Scientific Director (608) Frances M. Marshall, ATR NSUF Manager (208) James. Cole, ATR NSUF Chief Scientist (208) Jeff B. Benson, ATR NSUF Education Programs Manager (208) Mary Catherine Thelen, ATR NSUF Program Administrator (208) Julie Ulrich, Communications Liaison (208) ATR NSUF Website: 22