NSUF 20-4118: Tritium Permeation from High Temperature Flibe under Neutron Irradiation
The proposed experiments will allow for further testing of a molten Flibe beamline permeation experiment that has been designed and fabricated at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL). Experiment fabrication has been supported by Kairos Power LLC in order to test the performance of tritium permeation barrier coatings in the presence of molten Flibe with tritium produced by neutron irradiation. The beamline permeation assembly provides a flexible testing environment which can produce a range of parameters of interest to the Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (FHR) design. In this proposal, a series of tests with uncoated stainless steel permeation samples is discussed which can be used to further understand tritium transport mechanisms at baseline FHR conditions. The beamline permeation experiment will be used with various irradiation temperatures, neutron flux intensities, and salt redox potentials, which are some of the fundamental drivers of tritium transport properties in molten Flibe. Irradiation testing with the molten salt target will be used to produce new measurements for tritium transport properties like tritium solubility in Flibe. Tritium evolution and permeation measurements from the test series will ultimately be used to validate a tritium transport model. Experiments in this proposal are uniquely valuable as a data source and benchmark for tritium transport modeling efforts. Previous Flibe irradiations at MIT NRL have taken place in irradiation facilities where experimental space is highly constrained and the amount of instrumentation per experiment is inherently limited. In contrast, the beamline permeation experiment is carried out in a shielded room in the MIT Reactor Thermal Neutron Beam facility where larger test capsules with more sensors are possible. The experiment is also a valuable source of data since the experimental design and test matrix has been selected with input from Kairos Power in order to represent the FHR design and tritium transport conditions as closely as possible. Kairos Power will provide purified Flibe salt for the experiment which meets their chemical quality standards for reactor applications. In summary, the experimental conditions are chosen to be representative of the full-scale FHR application and therefore the tritium distribution measurements from the irradiation are useful for refining tritium transport models. Improving the understanding of tritium interactions at prototypical conditions and accurately modeling tritium transport phenomena is important for the design and operation of FHRs.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Abstract | The proposed experiments will allow for further testing of a molten Flibe beamline permeation experiment that has been designed and fabricated at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL). Experiment fabrication has been supported by Kairos Power LLC in order to test the performance of tritium permeation barrier coatings in the presence of molten Flibe with tritium produced by neutron irradiation. The beamline permeation assembly provides a flexible testing environment which can produce a range of parameters of interest to the Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (FHR) design. In this proposal, a series of tests with uncoated stainless steel permeation samples is discussed which can be used to further understand tritium transport mechanisms at baseline FHR conditions. The beamline permeation experiment will be used with various irradiation temperatures, neutron flux intensities, and salt redox potentials, which are some of the fundamental drivers of tritium transport properties in molten Flibe. Irradiation testing with the molten salt target will be used to produce new measurements for tritium transport properties like tritium solubility in Flibe. Tritium evolution and permeation measurements from the test series will ultimately be used to validate a tritium transport model. Experiments in this proposal are uniquely valuable as a data source and benchmark for tritium transport modeling efforts. Previous Flibe irradiations at MIT NRL have taken place in irradiation facilities where experimental space is highly constrained and the amount of instrumentation per experiment is inherently limited. In contrast, the beamline permeation experiment is carried out in a shielded room in the MIT Reactor Thermal Neutron Beam facility where larger test capsules with more sensors are possible. The experiment is also a valuable source of data since the experimental design and test matrix has been selected with input from Kairos Power in order to represent the FHR design and tritium transport conditions as closely as possible. Kairos Power will provide purified Flibe salt for the experiment which meets their chemical quality standards for reactor applications. In summary, the experimental conditions are chosen to be representative of the full-scale FHR application and therefore the tritium distribution measurements from the irradiation are useful for refining tritium transport models. Improving the understanding of tritium interactions at prototypical conditions and accurately modeling tritium transport phenomena is important for the design and operation of FHRs. |
| Award Announced Date | 2020-07-14T14:07:50.783 |
| Awarded Institution | Idaho National Laboratory |
| Facility | Advanced Test Reactor |
| Facility Tech Lead | Alina Zackrone, Gordon Kohse |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Lin-wen Hu |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 4118 |