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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.
Brett J. Menaker, Russell E. Allen, Harry E. Painter
Nuclear Technology | Volume 91 | Number 1 | July 1990 | Pages 75-80
Technical Paper | Safety of Next Generation Power Reactor / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34442
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Containment cooling using natural convection and radiation is a key passive safety feature studied for a 600-MW(electric) advanced small pressurized water reactor. A free-standing cylindrical steel containment vessel is surrounded by a reinforced concrete shield building configured as a chimney. Various methods to enhance natural-convection cooling were evaluated. The evaluation and selection process considered effectiveness, constructibility and effect on schedule, cost, degree of passivity, inspection and maintenance requirements, operational problems, and simplicity. As a result of these evaluations, a combination of fins and convection from the dome in addition to the cylinder is selected.