eVinci sets temperature record during zero-power criticality tests

[Marlin]

eVinci sets temperature record during zero-power criticality tests

https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/evinci-sets-temperature-record-during-zero-power-criticality-tests

[Core Content]

(Image: Westinghouse)

Westinghouse completed testing at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Nevada National Security Site. The work generated temperature-dependent data to validate analytical models for the TRISO-fuelled microreactor design. These results support the ongoing development of the transportable, heat pipe-cooled energy system.

Westinghouse says the completion of zero-power high-temperature criticality testing for the microreactor, which saw it reach criticality at 663 degrees Celsius, is a defining milestone in the programme's build-test-learn development journey. ;

The work was completed in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) at the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) in Nevada.

As well as reaching zero-power high-temperature criticality at 663 degrees Celsius, Westinghouse researchers also made a subcritical reactivity measurement at a peak core temperature of 1,011 degrees C, a record high temperature for a reactivity measurement at NCERC. These achievements generated high-quality, temperature-dependent data to further strengthen analytical models and accelerate prototype design, the company said, continuing experimental work which started with eVinci zero-power...

Read the full article at World Nuclear News:
https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/evinci-sets-temperature-record-during-zero-power-criticality-tests