Vibration of nuclear power plant components can cause fretting wear and fatigue that can eventually lead to component failure. Flexible, high-aspect ratio components under flow, such as the wire-wrapped cylindrical fuel elements in a liquid metal-cooled fast reactor (LMFR) core, are particularly susceptible to vibration due to their low natural...
Most operating power reactors use oxide fuel in the form of uranium oxide (UO2) which is robust against high temperatures but suffers from poor mechanical performance at high levels of burnup. Currently, the maximum average burnup in light water reactors in the US is 62.5 GWd/t, which is partially imposed...
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Wade R. Marcum
Most operating power reactors use oxide fuel in the form of uranium oxide
Oregon State University has recently conducted a complete core conversion analysis as part of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors Pprogram. The goals of the thermal hydraulic analyses were to calculate natural circulation flow rates, coolant temperatures and fuel temperatures as a function of core power for both...
Five U.S. high performance research reactors (HPRRs) are currently part of an international nonproliferation program with the objective of ultimately converting their highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to a new high density, low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel while still maintaining their reactor kinetic and thermal hydraulic performance. A uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo)...
Uneven-aged management has been suggested as a method for balancing biodiversity conservation and wood production goals from managed forests in a variety of regions. In coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of the Pacific Northwest, implementation of uneven-aged management is hindered by a lack of experience with uneven-aged silvicultural systems, including...
The Oregon State University (OSU), Hydro Mechanical Fuel test Facility (HMFTF) is designed
to hydro-mechanically test prototypic plate type fuel. OSU’s fuel test program is a part of the
Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), formerly known as the Reduced Enrichment for
Research and Test Reactor program. One of the GTRI’s...
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the leading organization for monitoring nuclear facilities worldwide, and the Agency’s methods are constantly developing and improving in an effort to more effectively safeguard nuclear material. As such, the IAEA addresses near and long term risks in order to advance the capabilities of...
The Oregon State University (OSU), Hydro Mechanical Fuel test Facility (HMFTF) is designed to hydro-mechanically test prototypical plate type fuel. OSU's fuel test program is a part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), formerly known as the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor program. One of the GTRI's...
The understanding of critical heat flux is crucial for the safety of nuclear reactors. To this end, many studies have been carried out to understand various aspects of the boiling crisis phenomenon. Power transient critical heat flux trigger mechanisms is a small category that is relatively under-studied and not well...
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Wade R. Marcum
The understanding of critical heat flux is crucial for the safety of nuclear
The United States currently has no infrastructure to provide a fast neutron flux for research purposes. With the increased interest in Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) technology, this type of infrastructure is necessary for further development of key components such as Versatile Test Reactor. The purpose of this research is to...