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VERSATILE TEST REACTOR Experimental Capabilities: Driving Nuclear Innovation

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VERSATILE TEST REACTOR Experimental Capabilities: Driving Nuclear Innovation VERSATILE TEST REACTOR Experimental Capabilities: Driving Nuclear Innovation WHAT ARE THE VTR TEST HOW DOES THE VTR WORK VTR SYNERGY VEHICLES? WITH PARTNERS TO ADVANCE There will be four test vehicle EXPERIMENT CAPABILITIES? he VTR is already helping to types, or methods, of inserting Twenty universities, ten private address challenges faced by experiments into the VTR: entities/industry partners and T six national laboratories are reactor innovators today through • Un-instrumented test assemblies: include fuels and/or materials collaborating within the eight development of innovative tests embedded in VTR fuel key areas. Each area is led by a national laboratory technical expert sensors and monitoring systems, assemblies. Also ideal for “drop-in” type tests and can and is supported by other national digital engineering approaches, accommodate materials, fuels, laboratory personnel, university partners and industry partners. enhanced modeling, and new etc. Open to the reactor/primary sodium coolant. measurement techniques. The objective is to cover the wide • Fully instrumented test range of potential experiment assemblies: contain various designs that meet the needs of sensors and instruments and relevant stakeholders and potential capable of manipulating the test users. WHAT EXPERIMENTAL environment (temperature, flow, CAPABILITIES WILL THE VTR etc.) during the test. Open to the PROVIDE? reactor/primary sodium coolant. Thermocouple The VTR provides a platform to • Fully instrumented cartridge accelerate nuclear technology loops: contains a coolant system development for today’s light water segregated from the reactor/ Gas Line reactors and tomorrow’s advanced primary sodium coolant. The reactors by conducting research in loop coolants and/or fuel can eight key areas: be molten salt, gas, lead/lead bismuth, sodium, or others. • Molten Salt Reactors • Gas-cooled Fast Reactors • Rabbit, or rapid shuttle system for short term irradiations: ideal • Lead-cooled Fast Reactors Graphite Screw for irradiating samples for short Fuel Body Lid • Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors periods of time and extracting • Structural Materials Testing them quickly. • Rabbit Systems (for rapid VTR test vehicles will have large Fuel Stack specimen/test insertion and irradiation test volumes—up to retrieval) 10 liters per vehicle—that will be Matrix Material • Digital Engineering & Virtual available to all users. The VTR Design and Construction will be able to accommodate up to ten test vehicles described • Instrumentation & Controls above that can be operated at high temperatures (>800°C) if Insulators needed. Many more test positions will be available for experiments embedded in VTR fuel assemblies, 19-GA50603 e.g., inserts, lead-test pins, etc. A typical example of a test vehicle he United States has long been HOW WILL RESEARCHERS University Partners a leader in the development of BE ABLE TO ACCESS VTR T Abilene Christian University nuclear technologies. However, as CAPABILITIES? Colorado School of Mines there is currently no fast neutron In general, the VTR will operate Fort Lewis College Georgia Tech testing capability in the U.S. to as a national user facility. Users Idaho State University support advanced reactor research will be provided access to the Illinois Institute of Technology VTR, technical expertise from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and development, U.S. industry has experienced scientists and North Carolina State University gone overseas for this capability. engineers, and assistance with Oregon State University Purdue University The Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) experiment design, assembly, Texas A&M University is intended to fill this long-standing safety analysis and examination. University of California, Berkeley gap, leveraging previous and Access to user facilities is typically University of Idaho provided through open and University of Michigan existing U.S. government and University of New Mexico competitive review processes. industry investments in nuclear University of Pittsburgh The Nuclear Science User Facility University of Utah reactors to accelerate the design (NSUF) will be used as the model University of Wisconsin-Madison and construction process, using for scientific experiments. However, Virginia Commonwealth University Yale University proven nuclear reactor technology to not all proposed experiments will be subject to a peer reviewed create a world-class test facility. National Laboratory Partners competitive process. Argonne National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory Experiments important to national Los Alamos National Laboratory programs and important to Oak Ridge National Laboratory addressing emerging needs in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory the nuclear industry will receive Savannah River National Laboratory a higher priority. International Industry Partners experiments covered under international collaboration The Cameron Group Columbia Basin Consulting Group agreements will also be a priority. EPRI Framatome Other users will be accommodated GE-Hitachi/Bechtel with full cost-recovery based General Atomics on availability of experimental HDF Group MEDIA CONTACT Orano positions. Laura Scheele TerraPower Westinghouse National Nuclear Science & Technology Engagement U.S. Department of Energy [email protected] TECHNICAL CONTACT Kevan Weaver VTR Experiments Technical Integration Principal [email protected] VTR Core Map Driver fuel rods (66) Control rod (6) Safety rod (3) Instrumented/cartridge loop/ rabbit test location Un-instrumented test location VTR Reflector VERSATILE Shield TEST REACTOR 19-50625_R7.
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