This report documents the current status of the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) as of August 2018. Currently, METL has completed Phase I construction, performed an initial heat-up of the METL piping, vessels, and components, baked out the facility under vacuum (minus the test vessels), addressed a variety of punchlist items, transferred sodium from 15 55-gallon drums to the dump tank, in the final commissioning/operations stage. Purpose & BackgroundWhen fully operational, the METL facility will test small to intermediate-scale components and systems in order to develop advanced liquid metal technologies. Testing different components in METL is essential for the future of advanced fast reactors as it should provide invaluable performance data and reduce the risk of failures during plant operation.METL also provides development opportunities for younger scientists, engineers, and designers who will ultimately lead the advancement of U.S. liquid metal technologies. The hands-on experience with METL, both successes and perceived failures; will ultimately lead to better liquid metal technology programs that can support the commercialization of advanced reactors. Some examples of technologies that can be tested in METL include:

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This report documents the preliminary efforts to digitize operation and maintenance (O&M) activities for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). METL became operational in September 2018 with the mission to provide an ecosystem for Advanced Reactor Development (ARD). METLs flagship facility's primary purpose is conducting small to intermediate scale tests for Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) [1]. Its' resemblance to commercial SFR's intermediate heat transport system, prototypic operating conditions, and industrial construction practices/materials provides the overarching benefit of establishing a proving ground for emerging operations and maintenance (O&M) activities such as incorporating Extended Reality (XR) applications throughout the program lifecycle. Purpose & BackgroundConstruction, maintenance, and operations of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are expected to be constrained by skilled labor [2]. Commercializing the fourth generation (GEN-IV) of NPPs may amplify the challenge of acquiring and retaining qualified employees as it will be a new frontier for design/build firms and operators. In a sensitive industry such as Nuclear Energy, exceptional training and performance is imperative, thus a nuclear workforce could be the linchpin for the continued success of the current NPP fleet and realization of GEN-IV NPP deployment goals. This challenge motivated the METL team to acquire commercially available XR hardware and software, create XR content, integrate XR with its' existing arsenal of digital capabilities and demonstrate and deploy the applications for testing at METL with the expectations of ultimately deploying the technology at a commercial reactor.

The Laboratory's main facility is outside Chicago, at 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439. For information about Argonne and its pioneering science and technology programs, see www.anl.gov. DOCUMENT AVAILABILITYOnline Access: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports produced after 1991 and a growing number of pre-1991 documents are available free at OSTI.GOV (http://www.osti.gov/), a service of the US Dept. of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information.

This report documents the preliminary efforts to digitize operation and maintenance (O&M) activities for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). METL became operational in September 2018 with the mission to provide an ecosystem for Advanced Reactor Development (ARD). METLs flagship facility's primary purpose is conducting small to intermediate scale tests for Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) [1]. Its' resemblance to commercial SFR's intermediate heat transport system, prototypic operating conditions, and industrial construction practices/materials provides the overarching benefit of establishing a proving ground for emerging operations and maintenance (O&M) activities such as incorporating Extended Reality (XR) applications throughout the program lifecycle. Purpose & BackgroundConstruction, maintenance, and operations of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are expected to be constrained by skilled labor [2]. Commercializing the fourth generation (GEN-IV) of NPPs may amplify the challenge of acquiring and retaining qualified employees as it will be a new frontier for design/build firms and operators. In a sensitive industry such as Nuclear Energy, exceptional training and performance is imperative, thus a nuclear workforce could be the linchpin for the continued success of the current NPP fleet and realization of GEN-IV NPP deployment goals. This challenge motivated the METL team to acquire commercially available XR hardware and software, create XR content, integrate XR with its' existing arsenal of digital capabilities and demonstrate and deploy the applications for testing at METL with the expectations of ultimately deploying the technology at a commercial reactor.