excalibur
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- Mar 19, 2015
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The new tool(s) developed to test designs ramps up the likelihood we will see these microreactors being put into use by 2030-2032
This is a major milestone in testing designs.
Scientists in the US have developed a new glowing surrogate nuclear reactor that replaces dangerous neutron-driven reactions with thousands of LEDs in order to simulate the complex physics of a working reactor core.
The reactor, referred to as ViBRANT (Visual Benign Reactor as Analog for Nuclear Testing) is controlled by a Microreactor Automated Control System (MACS). Both were developed by researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
ViBRANT is a surrogate nuclear reactor the size of a telephone booth. Instead of using uranium fuel and radiation shielding, it runs on photons, particles of light emitted from thousands of LEDs to safely mimic the heat and neutron feedback seen in real reactor cores.
Meanwhile, the LEDs increase in intensity as ViBRANT powers up and can change color as the core’s temperature and neutronics evolve. The innovative approach allows researchers to study core behavior in complete safety.
Tony Crawford, PhD, an INL researcher, and MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation) reactivity control lead, reportedly designed MACS/ViBRANT to pair precise motion control with advanced reactor physics models, to speed up safe microreactor development.
“The fuel, the hazardous reflector and absorber materials driving reactor physics are actually replaced by benign materials amenable to light physics,” Crawford said. “It reduces all the hazards from a real reactor to safe and accessible levels with the promise of accelerating development.”
...
interestingengineering.com
This is a major milestone in testing designs.
Scientists in the US have developed a new glowing surrogate nuclear reactor that replaces dangerous neutron-driven reactions with thousands of LEDs in order to simulate the complex physics of a working reactor core.
The reactor, referred to as ViBRANT (Visual Benign Reactor as Analog for Nuclear Testing) is controlled by a Microreactor Automated Control System (MACS). Both were developed by researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
ViBRANT is a surrogate nuclear reactor the size of a telephone booth. Instead of using uranium fuel and radiation shielding, it runs on photons, particles of light emitted from thousands of LEDs to safely mimic the heat and neutron feedback seen in real reactor cores.
Meanwhile, the LEDs increase in intensity as ViBRANT powers up and can change color as the core’s temperature and neutronics evolve. The innovative approach allows researchers to study core behavior in complete safety.
Tony Crawford, PhD, an INL researcher, and MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation) reactivity control lead, reportedly designed MACS/ViBRANT to pair precise motion control with advanced reactor physics models, to speed up safe microreactor development.
“The fuel, the hazardous reflector and absorber materials driving reactor physics are actually replaced by benign materials amenable to light physics,” Crawford said. “It reduces all the hazards from a real reactor to safe and accessible levels with the promise of accelerating development.”
...
US scientists swap neutrons for LEDs to build glowing nuclear reactor
ViBRANT, a surrogate nuclear reactor, simulates neutron behavior with light to support safe development of advanced microreactors.
interestingengineering.com
