Advanced Reactor Technology -- Regulatory Technology Development Plan (RTDP)

Abstract

quality rigor that can be associated with these historic data, and a configuration management system established to ensure data integrity is not compromised going forward. Recommendation 2: Planning to address SFR fuel knowledge gaps identified in Recommendation 1 is identified as a licensing priority and should be coordinated with the SFR design community. Fuel tests involving irradiations are often long-lead, yet essential, activities in reactor development. Testing in a fast neutron environment will be challenging because no suitable irradiation capability exists within the U.S. and foreign capabilities are limited. Recommendation 3: Complete activities described in the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Test Plan (PLN-3636) and the Graphite Technology Development Plan (PLN-2497). These plans focus on developing the fuels and nuclear graphite-related information profiles necessary to license a prismatic-block core modular HTGR plant. Recommendation 4: Complete development of VHTR-compatible safety analysis methods and codes that is already underway. No safety analysis computer codes suited to modern gas-cooled reactor applications have yet been endorsed by NRC for regulatory use. Efforts are now underway within ART to help address this shortcoming and should continue to the planned conclusion. Recommendation 5: Develop a plan whereby liquid metal fast reactor-compatible safety analysis methods and codes are systematically developed and presented to NRC staff for review. There are no NRC-endorsed safety analysis computer codes currently available that are optimized to the unique elements of SFR technology. Research codes do exist that could be updated and submitted for regulatory acceptance. Efforts required to address this issue are not well understood, however. Recommendation 6: Test facilities have been established at Oregon State University (i.e., the High Temperature Test Facility, HTTF) and at Argonne National Laboratory (i.e., the Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility, NSTF) to address HTGR core heat removal. Continuing these (already planned and underway) test programs will produce information essential to support the regulatory safety evaluation process. Recommendation 7: Form an advanced reactor Industry Advisory Group (IAG) with representatives of the non-light water reactor (non-LWR) design community. Membership would be voluntary and based on interest in ART research. The IAG would be convened by ART project leadership as necessary to provide non-proprietary technical exchange and licensing guidance to ART personnel. Recommendation 8: Establish a set of fundamental instrumentation and control (I&C) system requirements for advance reactor designs. Creating these requirements will provide guidance to researcher when establishing equipment design/fabrication specifications and testing requirements. Section 5 identifies additional topics that are expected to emerge as important licensing priorities at a future time. Resolving these issues may require the su...

Research and Development Roadmaps for Liquid Metal Cooled Fast Reactors – Draft for Public Comment

“…Moreover, the very high boiling point of lead (~1740°C) results in a significant margin to coolant boiling, potentially allowing for an increase in plant's thermal efficiency through operation at temperatures (above 550°C and up to 750°C) higher than those at which structural materials have been demonstrated so far (~500°C). This however requires the development and/or demonstration of adequate corrosion-resistant cladding and structural materials, which is being pursued in recent years both domestically and internationally [Short, 2012[Short, , 2013, [Ejenstam 2015], [Garcia Ferre 2013, 2015. In addition, lead alloys behave as a superior neutron reflector, which improves the neutron economy and reduces the coolant void worth.…”

“…As shown in Figure 2.4.1, a technology gap exists when a conventional austenitic stainless steel is used for the fuel cladding as the peak temperature for this component is as high as 560 o C. Coatings, aluminaforming austenitic steels and Functionally Graded Composites have been investigated in recent years to fill such gap, showing promising results [Garcia Ferre 2013, 2015, [Ejenstam 2015], [Short 2012].…”

“…-Support NRC in the establishment of a more flexible, risk-informed and performance-based review process (for instance, Probabilistic Risk Assessment); -Support NRC in the development of licensing requirements; -Support NRC in acquiring/developing computer codes and validation; -Develop security measures and establish material control and accountability safeguard; and -Resolve technology issues that were identified in the previous licensing reviews [NRC 1994], and referred to the Regulatory Technology Development Plan (RTDP) earlier [Moe 2015] (for instance mechanical source term [Grabaskas 2016]).…”

Gas-cooled Fast Reactor Research and Development Roadmap

“…Properly informed planning helps ensure technology research activities adequately address later licensing needs. The ART Program regulatory technology development plan (RTDP) [22] links major research activities in advanced non-LWR technologies to key regulatory requirements and licensing challenges likely to affect deployments in the domestic commercial energy market. The expected outcome is a new framework for the licensing of advanced reactors.…”