Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The United States Department of Energy's Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Program will be irradiating six nuclear graphite creep experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The graphite experiments will be irradiated over the next six to eight years 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 Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Very High Temperature Gas Reactor, as well as other future gas reactors. The experiments will each consist of a single capsule that will contain six peripheral stacks of graphite specimens, with half of the graphite specimens in each stack under a compressive load, while the other half of the specimens will not be subjected to a compressive load during irradiation. The six peripheral stacks will have different compressive loads applied to the top half of each pair of specimen stacks, while a seventh stack will not have a compressive load. The specimens will be irradiated in an inert sweep gas atmosphere with on-line temperature and compressive load monitoring and control. There will also be sampling the sweep gas effluent to determine if any oxidation or off-gassing of the specimens occurs during irradiation 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. This paper will briefly discuss the design of the experiment and control systems, and then present the irradiation results for each experiment to date.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Graphite R & D program is currently measuring irradiated material property changes in several grades of nuclear graphite for predicting their behavior and operating performance within the core of new Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) designs. The Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment consisting of six irradiation capsules will generate this irradiated graphite performance data for NGNP reactor operating conditions. All six AGC capsules in the experiment will be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), disassembled in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), and examined at the INL Research Center (IRC) or Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This is the first in a series of status reports on the progress of the AGC experiment. As the first capsule, AGC1 was irradiated from September 2009 to January 2011 to a maximum dose level of 6-7 dpa. The capsule was removed from ATR and transferred to the HFEF in April 2011 where the capsule was disassembled and test specimens extracted from the capsules. The first irradiated samples from AGC1 were shipped to the IRC in July 2011and initial post irradiation examination (PIE) activities were begun on the first 37 samples received. PIE activities continue for the remainder of the AGC1 specimen as they are received at the IRC.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Graphite R & D program is currently measuring irradiated material property changes in several grades of nuclear graphite for predicting their behavior and operating performance within the core of new Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) designs. The Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment consisting of six irradiation capsules will generate this irradiated graphite performance data for NGNP reactor operating conditions. All samples in the experiment will be fully characterized before irradiation, irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), and then re-examined to determine the irradiation induced changes to key materials properties in the different graphite grades. The information generated during the AGC experiment will be utilized for NRC licensing of NGNP reactor designs, shared with international collaborators in the Generation IV Information Forum (GIF), and eventually utilized in ASME design code for graphite nuclear applications. This status report will describe the process the NGNP Graphite R & D program has developed to record the AGC1 pre-irradiation examination data.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Graphite Research and Development (R & D) Program is currently measuring irradiated material properties for predicting the behavior and operating performance of new nuclear graphite grades available for use within the cores of new very high temperature reactor designs. The Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment, consisting of six irradiation capsules, will generate irradiated graphite performance data for NGNP reactor operating conditions. The AGC experiment is designed to determine the changes to specific material properties such as thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, elastic modulus, mechanical strength, irradiation induced dimensional change rate, and irradiation creep for a wide variety of nuclear grade graphite types over a range of high temperature, and moderate doses. A series of six capsules containing graphite test specimens will be used to expose graphite test samples to a dose range from 1 to 7 dpa at three different temperatures (600, 900, and 1200°C) as described in the Graphite Technology Development Plan. Since irradiation induced creep within graphite components is considered critical to determining the operational life of the graphite core, some of the samples will also be exposed to an applied load to determine the creep rate for each graphite type under both temperature and neutron flux. All six AGC capsules in the experiment will be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). AGC-1 and AGC-2 will be irradiated in the south flux trap and AGC-3-AGC-6 will be irradiated in the east flux trap. The change in flux traps is due to NGNP irradiation priorities requiring the AGC experiment to be moved to accommodate Fuel irradiation experiments. After irradiation, all six AGC capsules will be cooled in the ATR Canal, sized for shipment, and shipped to the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) where the capsule will be disassembled in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF). During disassembly, the metallic capsule will be machined open and the individual samples removed from the interior graphite body containing the samples. Samples removed from the capsule will be loaded in a shipping drum and shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Research Center (IRC) for initial post-irradiation examination (PIE) and storage for any future testing at the newly completed Carbon Characterization Laboratory (CCL). All work was performed under an ASME NQA-1-2008;1a-2009 compliant quality assurance program.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The NGNP Graphite R & D program is currently establishing the safe operating envelope of graphite core components for a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) design. The program is generating quantitative data necessary for predicting the behavior and operating performance of the new nuclear graphite grades. To determine the in-service behavior of the graphite for pebble bed and prismatic designs, the Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment is underway. This experiment is examining the properties and behavior of nuclear grade graphite over a large spectrum of temperatures, neutron fluences and compressive loads. Each experiment consists of over 400 graphite specimens that are characterized prior to irradiation and following irradiation. Six experiments are planned with the first, AGC-1, currently being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and pre-irradiation characterization of the second, AGC-2, completed. This data package establishes the readiness of 512 specimens for assembly into the AGC-2 capsule.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The NGNP Graphite R & D program is currently establishing the safe operating envelope of graphite core components for a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) design. The program is generating quantitative data necessary for predicting the behavior and operating performance of the new nuclear graphite grades. To determine the in-service behavior of the graphite for pebble bed and prismatic designs, the Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment is underway. This experiment is examining the properties and behavior of nuclear grade graphite over a large spectrum of temperatures, neutron fluences and compressive loads. Each experiment consists of over 400 graphite specimens that are characterized prior to irradiation and following irradiation. Six experiments are planned with the first, AGC-1, currently being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and pre-irradiation characterization of the second, AGC-2, completed. This data package establishes the readiness of 512 specimens for assembly into the AGC-2 capsule.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Graphite Technology Development Program will run a series of six experiments to quantify the effects of irradiation on nuclear grade graphite. The second Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment (AGC-2) began with Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Cycle 149A on April 12, 2011, and ended with ATR Cycle 151B on May 5, 2012. The purpose of this report is to qualify AGC-2 irradiation monitoring data following INL Management and Control Procedure 2691, Data Qualification. Data that are Qualified meet the requirements for data collection and use as described in the experiment planning and quality assurance documents. Data that do not meet the requirements are Failed. Some data may not quite meet the requirements, but may still provide some useable information. These data are labeled as Trend. No Trend data were identified for the AGC-2 experiment. All thermocouples functioned throughout the AGC-2 experiment. There was one instance where spurious signals or instrument power interruption resulted in a recorded temperature value being well outside physical reality. This value was identified and labeled as Failed data. All other temperature data are Qualified. All helium and argon gas flow data are within expected ranges. Total gas flow was approximately 50 sccm through the capsule. Helium gas flow was briefly increased to 100 sccm during reactor shutdown. All gas flow data are Qualified. At the start of the experiment, moisture in the outflow gas line increased to 200 ppmv then declined to less than 10 ppmv over a period of 5 days. This increase in moisture coincides with the initial heating of the experiment and drying of the system. Moisture slightly exceeded 10 ppmv three other times during the experiment. While these moisture values exceed the 10 ppmv threshold value, the reported measurements are considered accurate and to reflect moisture conditions in the capsule. All moisture data are Qualified. Graphite creep specimens are subjected to one of three loads, 393 lbf, 491 lbf, or 589 lbf. Loads were consistently within 5% of the specified values throughout the experiment. Stack displacement increased consistently throughout the experiment with total displacement ranging from 1 to 1.5 inches. No anomalous values were identified. During reactor outages, a set of pneumatic rams are used to raise the stacks of graphite creep specimens to ensure the specimens have not become stuck within the test train. This stack raising was performed after all cycles when the capsule was in the reactor. All stacks were raised successfully after each cycle. The load and displacement data are Qualified.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
This report documents the measurement and data analysis of the radio isotopic content for a series of graphite specimens irradiated in the first Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment, AGC-1. This is the first of a series of six capsules planned as part of the AGC experiment to fully characterize the neutron irradiation effects and radiation creep behavior of current nuclear graphites. The AGC-1 capsule was irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at INL at approximately 700 degrees C and to a peak dose of 7 dpa (displacements per atom). Details of the irradiation conditions and other characterization measurements performed on specimens in the AGC-1 capsule can be found in "AGC-1 Specimen Post Irradiation Data Report" ORNL/TM 2013/242. Two specimens from six different graphite types are analyzed here. Each specimen is 12.7 mm in diameter by 25.4 mm long. The isotope with the highest activity was 60Co. Graphite type NBG-18 had the highest content of 60Co with an activity of 142.89 μCi at a measurement distance of 47 cm.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal aid to energy development
Languages : en
Pages : 1092
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: R. L. Bratton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Advanced Graphite Capsule (AGC) irradiation test program supports the acquisition of irradiated graphite performance data to assist in the selection of the technology to be used for the VHTR. Six irradiations are planned to investigate compressive creep in graphite subjected to a neutron field and obtain irradiated mechanical properties of vibrationally molded, extruded, and iso-molded graphites for comparison. The experiments will be conducted at three temperatures: 600, 900, and 1200°C. At each temperature, two different capsules will be irradiated to different fluence levels, the first from 0.5 to 4 dpa and the second from 4 to 7 dpa. AGC-1 is the first of the six capsules designed for ATR and will focus on the prismatic fluence range.
