The next generation of nuclear reactors will run hotter than ever before. That means the sensors responsible for delivering vital data need to handle the heat without breaking a sweat.
A recent testing campaign led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has shown that a prototype high temperature fission chamber - a sensor that detects neutrons - can keep its cool.
Fission chambers are essential to starting a reactor and measuring its power level in both existing reactors and advanced reactor designs. When nuclear equipment manufacturer Curtiss-Wright designed a prototype fission chamber for a high temperature reactor concept currently in development, they looked to ORNL's expertise in high-temperature testing to put its prototype fission chamber through rigorous evaluation.
"Designing experiments that push these crucial sensors to their limits is something ORNL is uniquely equipped to do," said Brandon Wilson, an R&D staff member in the Nuclear and Extreme Environment Measurement Group. "Our expertise in recreating extreme environments is exactly why partners come to us when they need confidence in how a new component will perform."
Wilson's team, including Craig Gray, experiment engineer, and former ORNL staff member Padhraic Mulligan, designed and built a high temperature testing rig to test the prototype under high temperatures and reactor irradiation at The Ohio State University Research Reactor. The testing rig enabled Wilson, along with Curtiss-Wright engineers Heather Shave and Chris Laidler, to assess the prototype's performance across a full range of reactor conditions.
During the weeklong irradiation, the prototype maintained expected performance across all power levels while operating steadily at temperatures consistent with the maximum range of high-temperature reactors, up to 800 degrees Celsius.
This successful test marks yet another milestone in the progress of advanced nuclear systems and reinforces ORNL's role as a core collaborator and trusted partner of the nuclear industry.
This work was supported by DOE's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear voucher program and aligns with the Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation program mission for the deployment of advanced reactors.
ORNL is committed to supporting U.S. energy needs by pursuing strategic research that advances a wide variety of affordable, abundant and competitive nuclear technologies, and strengthens national security. The lab's scientific expertise and world-class facilities are often the first step in advancing nuclear energy innovations.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science . - Liz McCrory
