Abstract
The next generation nuclear plant (NGNP) is a combined complex of a very high temperature reactor (VHTR) and hydrogen production facility. The VHTR can have a prismatic or pebble bed design and is powered by TRISO fuel in the form of a fuel compact (prismatic) or pebble (pebble bed). The US is scheduled to build a demonstration VHTR at the Idaho National Laboratory site by 2020. The first step toward building of this facility is development and qualification of the fuel for the reactor. This paper summarizes the research and development efforts performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) toward development of a qualified fuel compact for a VHTR.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 25-38 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 381 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 31 2008 |
Funding
As part of the NGNP program, funded by the Department of Energy – Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, fuel development and qualification for the VHTR was initiated. Helium cooled, graphite moderated reactors have been built in the past, but a high quality fuel and compact fabrication method were needed in order to achieve the outlet gas temperature of ∼950 °C required for hydrogen production. Therefore, a new type of particle fuel and fuel compact were needed for the VHTR. The fuel particle and fuel compact development work was performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under a program titled advanced gas reactor (AGR). Phase one of the AGR program (AGR-1) involved fabrication of AGR-1 fuel compacts (also described as test articles) for irradiation in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) advanced test reactor (ATR). The fuel compact development needed for fabrication of the AGR-1 test articles is described here.
