ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
MARVEL team shares lessons learned through microreactor development
On June 1 at the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., a team from Idaho National Laboratory presented a session titled “Lessons Learned from MARVEL Reactor Fabrication.” The presentation highlighted challenges that arose as they moved from design to manufacturing and assembly, with a focus on reactor part fabrication, Stirling engine implementation, and reactivity control system development.
Douglas R. Smith, Robert W. Albrecht
Nuclear Technology | Volume 79 | Number 1 | October 1987 | Pages 35-50
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT87-A16003
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A recent development in passive safety devices for advanced liquid-metal reactors is the installation of manometerlike core assemblies called gas enhancement modules (GEMs). Knowledge of the liquid sodium level within the GEMs is required to monitor GEM operation. A microwave, resonant cavity level measurement technique has been laboratory tested on a scale model of a GEM assembly in a nonsodium environment. The theory behind this method is discussed, and the experimental results are shown to compare well with those predicted by theoretical calculation. The resonant cavity level detector tracked extremely well over the desired 0.1524- to 1.1176-m range of operation and provided accurate, reproducible results well within the desired ±25.4-mm actual level. When tested for vibrational stability, level errors of only 0.254 mm were observed. The effects of material differences between the experimental GEM (copper) and the actual GEM (Type 304 stainless steel) are calculated. The actual GEM will have poorer resolution but still be within ±25.4-mm actual level. Temperature effects are also calculated and produce a 10.5 kHz/°C shift in resonant frequency, which could cause the indicated level to exceed the ±25.4 mm allowed if large (∼149°C) temperature changes occur.