Past Voucher Award Recipient

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Independent Verification and Benchmark of Deep Fission’s Deep Borehole Microreactor Thermal Hydraulic System Behavior

Deep Fission will partner with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to enhance its thermal hydraulics infrastructure using RELAP5-3D modeling. INL has unique expertise in developing thermomechanical and thermos-hydro-mechanical models in deep geological repositories for used nuclear fuel and geothermal applications involving deep hole drilling and heat extraction.

Independent Verification and Benchmark of Deep Fission’s Deep Borehole Microreactor Thermal Hydraulic System Behavior Read More »

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Development of Analytical Techniques for Trace Impurities in 2LiF-BeF2

Kairos will partner with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to extend measurements of dissolved oxygen and corrosion products in FLiBe to the full range of relevant/significant impurities, as well as incorporating the measurement methods into their quality assurance program/practices. Refinement of analytical methods for species in salt that impact system operation will enable Kairos to continue along the aggressive timeline for near term nuclear demonstration and commercial deployment.

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Analysis of NuCycle® Flowsheet for Waste Stream Characterization

Curio will partner with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to conduct an analysis of the NuCycle® flowsheet that will allow the generation of quantities and classification of anticipated waste streams and recommendations on waste forms most suitable to sequestering the generated waste streams. Results of the project would be used to determine the approach to managing waste from a pilot demonstration of NuCycle® to be performed in 2027.

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Heat Exchanger Evaluation

NuCube will partner with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to receive assistance in computational analysis of the heat exchanger design. INL has developed a code to optimize high temperature heat exchangers for both installation and operating costs and has validated that code for conventional shell and tube heat exchangers. This analysis will allow NuCube to assess the performance of the heat exchanger and support an optimized design prior to finalization of the detailed design and fabrication to support a demonstration project.

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Development of Casting Techniques for ẟ-phase Uranium-Zirconium Alloys, Lightbridge Corp

The casting, processing, and shipping of HALEU alloys, like those being developed by Lightbridge, require the ability to experiment with higher temperatures in a facility that can perform these functions. The goal of this project was to identify an appropriate casting method (i.e., crucible and coating combination) that results in an acceptable impurity concentration in the as-cast ingot.

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Three Mile Island

Three Mile Island, Notorious in Nuclear Power’s Past, May Herald Its Future

The concrete cooling towers that rise from a sliver of land south of Pennsylvania’s capital became symbols nearly a half-century ago of the risks of nuclear energy.

Now, a plan to restart one of the two reactors at Three Mile Island is at the leading edge of efforts to greatly expand the country’s reliance on atomic fission to meet the growing power demands of homes, businesses and data centers.

Three Mile Island, Notorious in Nuclear Power’s Past, May Herald Its Future Read More »

Pebble Bed Large Eddy Simulations for Lower Order Methods Benchmarking and Uncertainty Quantification Development

Kairos Power is a nuclear energy technology, engineering, and manufacturing company singularly focused on the commercialization of the fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (FHR). To simulate the core thermal hydraulic behavior, researchers employ simplified empirical correlation-based porous media and heat transfer models. For different operation and accident scenario conditions, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) can produce numerical benchmark data that capture local velocity and temperature effects. This can be used to further understand the different modes of heat transfer in an FHR core. Under this GAIN voucher, Argonne National Laboratory provided Kairos Power its expertise in LES and turbulence modeling and made available its advanced computational resources.

Pebble Bed Large Eddy Simulations for Lower Order Methods Benchmarking and Uncertainty Quantification Development Read More »

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Development of Oxygen IR Calibration Standards for High-Purity Chloride Salts

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is only one of two labs that can test the oxygen content in chloride salts. MS will partner with INL to verify alignment of test results between MS and INL regarding oxygen content of very high-purity chloride salts utilizing oxygen analyzers, identify, capture, and document best practices into a preliminary framework for a standardized test method and down-select appropriate materials and certification specifications for chloride salt reference standard(s).

Development of Oxygen IR Calibration Standards for High-Purity Chloride Salts Read More »

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Independent Analysis of Antares R1 Core Design

Antares will partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to perform an independent, technical audit of Antares R1. ORNL’s Reactor Analysis Group will verify design calculations, including core neutronics and thermal hydraulics. This project will yield high confidence that hardware test campaigns predicated on neutronics data are valid, allowing Antares to move through test stages to a fueled demonstration of the system.

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