scholarly journals Preliminary computational and experimental design studies of the ISHTAR thermostatic rig for the high-temperature reactors materials irradiation

Nukleonika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
Anna Talarowska ◽  
Maciej Lipka ◽  
Grzegorz Wojtania

Abstract The Irradiation System for High-Temperature Reactors (ISHTAR) thermostatic rig will be used to irradiate advanced core material samples in conditions corresponding to those prevailing in the high-temperature reactors (HTRs): these conditions include a stable temperature extending up to 1000°C in the helium atmosphere. Computational and experimental studies concerning the design have been conducted, proving the possibility of these conditions’ fulfillment inside the rig while maintaining the safety limits for MARIA research reactor. The outcome is the thermostatic rig design that will be implemented in the MARIA reactor. Appropriate irradiation temperature will be achieved by a combination of electric heating with the control system, gamma heating, and a helium insulation gap with precisely designed thickness. The ISHTAR rig will be placed inside the vertical irradiation channel, which is located in the reactor pool. The device is being developed from scratch at the Nuclear Facilities Operation Department of the National Centre for Nuclear Research as a part of the GOSPOSTRATEG programme.

Author(s):  
S. G. Skublov ◽  
A. O. Krasotkina ◽  
A. B. Makeyev ◽  
O. L. Galankina ◽  
A. E. Melnik

Findings of the growth relationships between baddeleyite and zircon are rare, due to significant differences in the formation conditions of the minerals. A reaction replacement (partial to complete) of baddeleyite by zircon is possible during metamorphism accompanied by the interaction with high-Si fluids. The opposite situation, when zircon is replaced by baddeleyite, is extremely rare in the nature. Transformation of zircon from polymineral (compound) ore occurrence Ichetju (the Middle Timan) with the formation of microaggregates of baddeleyite, ratile and florencite has been found out. The size of the largest segregations of baddeleyite does not exceed 10 microns in diameter. Microaggregates are unevenly related to the rim of zircon with a thickness of 10 to 50 rfn, voids and cracks across the grain. Altered zircon rim (a mixture of newly formed minerals) is characterized by sharply increased composition of REE (especially LREE), Y, Nb, Ca, Ti. The composition of Th and U also increases. An overview of the experimental studies on the reaction between zircon and baddeleyite and single natural analogues allows to make a conclusion that the most likely mechanism of the transformation of zircon from ore occurrence Ichetju to baddeleyite (intergrowth with ratile and florencite) is due to the effect of interaction of primary zircon with high-temperature (higher than 500—600°C) alkaline fluids transporting HFSE (REE, Y, Nb, Ti). This is indirectly confirmed by the findings of zircon with anomalous high composition of Y and REE up to 100000 and 70000 ppm respectively.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1954 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  

Abstract KANTHAL-A is a resistance alloy employed advantageously for heavily-stressed electric heating apparatus, and is particularly suitable for heating elements in industrial furnaces and ceramic kilns. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on high temperature performance and corrosion resistance as well as joining. Filing Code: SS-16. Producer or source: Aktiebolaget Kanthal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Demmel ◽  
Louis Hennet ◽  
Noel Jakse

AbstractThe characteristic property of a liquid, discriminating it from a solid, is its fluidity, which can be expressed by a velocity field. The reaction of the velocity field on forces is enshrined in the transport parameter viscosity. In contrast, a solid reacts to forces elastically through a displacement field, the particles are trapped in their potential minimum. The flow in a liquid needs enough thermal energy to overcome the changing potential barriers, which is supported through a continuous rearrangement of surrounding particles. Cooling a liquid will decrease the fluidity of a particle and the mobility of the neighbouring particles, resulting in an increase of the viscosity until the system comes to an arrest. This process with a concomitant slowing down of collective particle rearrangements might already start deep inside the liquid state. The idea of the potential energy landscape provides an attractive picture for these dramatic changes. However, despite the appealing idea there is a scarcity of quantitative assessments, in particular, when it comes to experimental studies. Here we present results on a monatomic liquid metal through a combination of ab initio molecular dynamics, neutron spectroscopy and inelastic x-ray scattering. We investigated the collective dynamics of liquid aluminium to reveal the changes in dynamics when the high temperature liquid is cooled towards solidification. The results demonstrate the main signatures of the energy landscape picture, a reduction in the internal atomic structural energy, a transition to a stretched relaxation process and a deviation from the high-temperature Arrhenius behavior of the relaxation time. All changes occur in the same temperature range at about $$1.4 \cdot T_{melting}$$ 1.4 · T melting , which can be regarded as the temperature when the liquid aluminium enters the landscape influenced phase and enters a more viscous liquid state towards solidification. The similarity in dynamics with other monatomic liquid metals suggests a universal dynamic crossover above the melting point.


2004 ◽  
Vol 824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant W. Koroll

AbstractAECL Whiteshell Laboratories (WL), near Winnipeg, Canada has been in operation since the early 1960s. R&D programs carried out at WL include a 60 MW organic-cooled research reactor, which operated from 1965 to 1985, reactor safety research, small reactor development, materials science, post irradiation examinations, chemistry, biophysics and radiation applications. The Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program was conducted and continues to operate at WL and also at the nearby Underground Research Laboratory.In the late-1990s, AECL began to consolidate research and development activities at its Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) and began preparations for decommissioning WL. Preparations for decommissioning included a staged shutdown of operations, planning documentation and licensing for decommissioning. As a prerequisite to AECL's application for a decommissioning licence, an environmental assessment (EA) was carried out according to Canadian environmental assessment legislation. The EA concluded in 2002 April when the Federal Environment Minister published his decision that WL decommissioning was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and that no further assessment by a review panel or mediation would be requiredIn 2002 December, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued a decommissioning licence for WL, valid until December 31, 2008. The licence authorized the first planned phase of site decommissioning as well as the continuation of selected research programs. The six-year licence for Whiteshell Laboratories was the first overall decommissioning license issued for a Canadian Nuclear Research and Test Establishment and was the longest licence term ever granted for a nuclear installation of this complexity in Canada.The first phase of decommissioning is now underway and focuses on decontamination and modifications to nuclear facilities, such as the shielded facilities, the main R&D laboratories and the associated service systems, to achieve a safe state of storage-with-surveillance. Later phases have planned waste management improvements for selected wastes already in storage, eventually followed by final decommissioning of facilities and infrastructure and removal of most wastes from the site.This paper provides an overview of the planning, environmental assessment, licensing, and organizational processes for decommissioning and selected descriptions of decommissioning activities currently underway at AECL Whiteshell Laboratories.


Author(s):  
Lun Feng ◽  
William G. Fahrenholtz ◽  
Donald W. Brenner

Herein, we critically evaluate computational and experimental studies in the emerging field of high-entropy ultra-high-temperature ceramics. High-entropy ultra-high-temperature ceramics are candidates for use in extreme environments that include temperatures over 2,000°C, heat fluxes of hundreds of watts per square centimeter, or irradiation from neutrons with energies of several megaelectron volts. Computational studies have been used to predict the ability to synthesize stable high-entropy materials as well as the resulting properties but face challenges such asthe number and complexity of unique bonding environments that are possible for these compositionally complex compounds. Experimental studies have synthesized and densified a large number of different high-entropy borides and carbides, but no systematic studies of composition-structure-property relationships have been completed. Overall, this emerging field presents a number of exciting research challenges and numerous opportunities for future studies. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Materials Science, Volume 51 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Baloch ◽  
J.M. Leon ◽  
S.K. Masalmeh ◽  
D. Chappell ◽  
J. Brodie ◽  
...  

Abstract Over the last few years, ADNOC has systematically investigated a new polymer-based EOR scheme to improve sweep efficiency in high temperature and high salinity (HTHS) carbonate reservoirs in Abu Dhabi (Masalmeh et al., 2014). Consequently, ADNOC has developed a thorough de-risking program for the new EOR concept in these carbonate reservoirs. The de-risking program includes extensive laboratory experimental studies and field injectivity tests to ensure that the selected polymer can be propagated in the target reservoirs. A new polymer with high 2-acrylamido-tertiary-butyl sulfonic acid (ATBS) content was identified, based on extensive laboratory studies (Masalmeh, et al., 2019, Dupuis, et al., 2017, Jouenne 2020), and an initial polymer injectivity test (PIT) was conducted in 2019 at 250°F and salinity >200,000 ppm, with low H2S content (Rachapudi, et al., 2020, Leon and Masalmeh, 2021). The next step for ADNOC was to extend polymer application to harsher field conditions, including higher H2S content. Accordingly, a PIT was designed in preparation for a multi-well pilot This paper presents ADNOC's follow-up PIT, which expands the envelope of polymer flooding to dissolve H2S concentrations of 20 - 40 ppm to confirm injectivity at representative field conditions and in situ polymer performance. The PIT was executed over five months, from February 2021 to July 2021, followed by a chase water flood that will run until December 2021. A total of 108,392 barrels of polymer solution were successfully injected during the PIT. The extensive dataset acquired was used to assess injectivity and in-depth mobility reduction associated with the new polymer. Preliminary results from the PIT suggest that all key performance indicators have been achieved, with a predictable viscosity yield and good injectivity at target rates, consistent with the laboratory data. The use of a down-hole shut-in tool (DHSIT) to acquire pressure fall-off (PFO) data clarified the near-wellbore behaviour of the polymer and allowed optimisation of the PIT programme. This paper assesses the importance of water quality on polymer solution preparation and injection performance and reviews operational data acquired during the testing period. Polymer properties determined during the PIT will be used to optimise field and sector models and will facilitate the evaluation of polymer EOR in other giant, heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs, leading to improved recovery in ADNOC and Middle East reservoirs.


Author(s):  
William J. O’Donnell ◽  
Amy B. Hull ◽  
Shah Malik

Since the 1980s, the ASME Code has made numerous improvements in elevated-temperature structural integrity technology. These advances have been incorporated into Section II, Section VIII, Code Cases, and particularly Subsection NH of Section III of the Code, “Components in Elevated Temperature Service.” The current need for designs for very high temperature and for Gen IV systems requires the extension of operating temperatures from about 1400°F (760°C) to about 1742°F (950°C) where creep effects limit structural integrity, safe allowable operating conditions, and design life. Materials that are more creep and corrosive resistant are needed for these higher operating temperatures. Material models are required for cyclic design analyses. Allowable strains, creep fatigue and creep rupture interaction evaluation methods are needed to provide assurance of structural integrity for such very high temperature applications. Current ASME Section III design criteria for lower operating temperature reactors are intended to prevent through-wall cracking and leaking and corresponding criteria are needed for high temperature reactors. Subsection NH of Section III was originally developed to provide structural design criteria and limits for elevated-temperature design of Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) systems and some gas-cooled systems. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and its Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) reviewed the design limits and procedures in the process of reviewing the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) for a construction permit in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and identified issues that needed resolution. In the years since then, the NRC, DOE and various contractors have evaluated the applicability of the ASME Code and Code Cases to high-temperature reactor designs such as the VHTGRs, and identified issues that need to be resolved to provide a regulatory basis for licensing. The design lifetime of Gen IV Reactors is expected to be 60 years. Additional materials including Alloy 617 and Hastelloy X need to be fully characterized. Environmental degradation effects, especially impure helium and those noted herein, need to be adequately considered. Since cyclic finite element creep analyses will be used to quantify creep rupture, creep fatigue, creep ratcheting and strain accumulations, creep behavior models and constitutive relations are needed for cyclic creep loading. Such strain- and time-hardening models must account for the interaction between the time-independent and time-dependent material response. This paper describes the evolving structural integrity evaluation approach for high temperature reactors. Evaluation methods are discussed, including simplified analysis methods, detailed analyses of localized areas, and validation needs. Regulatory issues including weldment cracking, notch weakening, creep fatigue/creep rupture damage interactions, and materials property representations for cyclic creep behavior are also covered.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document