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A closer look at the initial NLIC selections—Part 2
In January, the Department of Energy announced its new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus (NLIC) program, inviting states via a request for information to express their interest in hosting a facility supporting work from the front to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
By April, 26 states had expressed interest in hosting such a facility. At the end of July, the DOE signed memorandums of understanding with five states—Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah—to more closely explore the possibilities of state-federal partnerships. These MOUs are not firm commitments from either the federal or state governments. Time will tell which—if any—of the five states develop projects through the program. In the meantime, today, we are taking a close look at what Utah, Idaho, Tennessee can offer in terms of a preexisting nuclear sector that could support new fuel cycle developments.
Tingzhou Fei, Zhaopeng Zhong, Samuel E. Bays, Florent Heidet
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 1 | October 2022 | Pages S98-S109
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.1991760
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) is currently under development by the U.S. Department of Energy. It will provide very high fast neutron flux irradiation capabilities that are currently unavailable in the United States. Given the increasingly large number of advanced reactor concepts being pursued in recent years, this irradiation testing capability will be essential to support maturation of these designs. Radiation protection is an important part of the VTR design. High neutron fluxes can pose a challenge for radiation protection of the structures and equipment near the reactor core. This paper provides a summary on the status of the radiation protection considerations and shielding analysis performed for VTR under a nominal operating condition. The main radiation sources identified and examined in the study are applicable only under this operating condition. The paper focuses on three areas of radiation protection and shielding: secondary sodium activation in the intermediate heat exchanger, air activation in the reactor vessel auxiliary cooling system, and dose rate above the head access area due to primary sodium activation. VTR design and development are continuously progressing, and as such, the shielding considerations discussed in this paper will evolve alongside the overall VTR design.