NSUF 15-CINR-8389: Ultrasound-Based Sensors for Enhanced Monitoring of Irradiation Testing
This project focuses on development and fabrication of advanced sensors for improved performance measurement “with revolutionary gains in sensing key parameters” in multiple reactor and fuel cycle systems and in irradiation testing of candidate materials and fuels for such systems. Within the United States, INL-led collaborations have successfully developed sensors for in-pile use in Materials Testing Reactors (MTRs), such as Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)-based diameter gauges for online measurement of fuel cladding diameter changes due to phenomena such as CRUDa, corrosion, and pellet/clad mechanical interactions; creep test rigs for monitoring elongation; crack growth test rigs for monitoring crack elongation; transient hot wire method needle probes for measuring thermal conductivity; high–temperature, irradiation-resistant thermocouples that resist decalibration due to transmutation and the effects of temperatures up to 1800°C; and miniature fission chambers for measuring fast and thermal flux. However, experts concur that ultrasound-based sensors are uniquely suited for making measurements with the required accuracy and resolution in high-flux (~1015 nthermal/cm2-s), high-temperature (>1800°C), and high-fluence (>1021 nthermal/cm2) U.S. MTR irradiation tests [Refs.1,2]. Using recent results from ultrasonic transducer irradiations completed in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) in 2014 [Ref. 3], the proposed new project will optimize and demonstrate the performance of two new ultrasound-based sensors that are uniquely able to address the three remaining critical data needs identified in Appendix E of DE-FOA-0001129b: fission gas release pressure, fission gas release composition, and axial distribution of fuel temperature. Performance demonstrations will include high-temperature laboratory evaluations at INL’s High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL) and high-fluence irradiation testing in MITR through an ATR-NSUF irradiation. Results will not only demonstrate the performance of these sensors, but will further enable the use of ultrasound-based sensors for other applications, such as detection of fuel microstructural changes.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Abstract | This project focuses on development and fabrication of advanced sensors for improved performance measurement “with revolutionary gains in sensing key parameters” in multiple reactor and fuel cycle systems and in irradiation testing of candidate materials and fuels for such systems. Within the United States, INL-led collaborations have successfully developed sensors for in-pile use in Materials Testing Reactors (MTRs), such as Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)-based diameter gauges for online measurement of fuel cladding diameter changes due to phenomena such as CRUDa, corrosion, and pellet/clad mechanical interactions; creep test rigs for monitoring elongation; crack growth test rigs for monitoring crack elongation; transient hot wire method needle probes for measuring thermal conductivity; high–temperature, irradiation-resistant thermocouples that resist decalibration due to transmutation and the effects of temperatures up to 1800°C; and miniature fission chambers for measuring fast and thermal flux. However, experts concur that ultrasound-based sensors are uniquely suited for making measurements with the required accuracy and resolution in high-flux (~1015 nthermal/cm2-s), high-temperature (>1800°C), and high-fluence (>1021 nthermal/cm2) U.S. MTR irradiation tests [Refs.1,2]. Using recent results from ultrasonic transducer irradiations completed in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) in 2014 [Ref. 3], the proposed new project will optimize and demonstrate the performance of two new ultrasound-based sensors that are uniquely able to address the three remaining critical data needs identified in Appendix E of DE-FOA-0001129b: fission gas release pressure, fission gas release composition, and axial distribution of fuel temperature. Performance demonstrations will include high-temperature laboratory evaluations at INL’s High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL) and high-fluence irradiation testing in MITR through an ATR-NSUF irradiation. Results will not only demonstrate the performance of these sensors, but will further enable the use of ultrasound-based sensors for other applications, such as detection of fuel microstructural changes. |
| Award Announced Date | 2020-01-08T00:00:00 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Joshua Daw |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | CINR |
| RTE Number | 1713 |