Abstract
Reactor developers continue to recognize opportunities for further enhancing fast spectrum reactor designs with advanced core materials, but all the material test reactors currently available to the United States are thermal spectrum designs. Fortunately, the Advanced Test Reactor and High Flux Isotope Reactor are versatile high flux facilities where spectral modification strategies can be used to reduce undesirable thermal neutron capture transmutation damage and augment fast flux delivered to specimens. New opportunities to leverage high flux regions and specially designed fast flux boosting experiment configurations can be used to achieve meaningful fast fluences on large specimens in ATR. New optimization potentials can be employed to achieve even higher fluences, albeit for smaller specimens, using thermal neutron filters in HFIR test positions. These capabilities, while not true fast reactors, can provide highly relevant environments for researchers needing to study the effects of fast neutron damage in bulk material specimens.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Jensen CB, Woolstenhulme NE (2021) Irradiation performance: fast reactor fuels, vol 2, sec 5. Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy, 2021 Elsevier Inc, pp 392–406
Final Versatile Test Reactor Environmental Impact Statement Summary, DOE/EIS-0542, May 2022
Advanced Test Reactor User Guide, September 2021, INL Report INL/EXT-21–64328. https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sites/sti/sti/Sort_53406.pdf
High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) User Guide, Revision 2, November 2015. https://neutrons.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/High%20Flux%20Isotope%20Reactor%20User%20Guide%202.0.pdf
Harp JM, Hayes SL, Medvedev PG, Porter DL, Capriotti L (2017) Testing fast reactor fuels in a thermal reactor: a comparison report. INL/EXT-17–41677, Revision 0, Sep 2017
Ingram FW, Ambrosek RG, Chang GS, Utterbeck DJ (2001) JAPEIC irradiation report for the SFT-1, SFT-2, SFT-3 and FELI-2/3 Specimens. INEEL/EXT-01–01174, Sep 2001
LaBrier DP, Lilley B, Higgins AM, Palmer TS, Marcum WR (2019) Comparison of fuel meat materials for boosted fast flux concepts at the advanced test reactor. Proceedings of Top Fuel 2019 Conference
Boosted Fast Flux Loop Final Report. INL/EXT-09–16413, Sep 2009
Curnutt B, Woolstenhulme N, Nielsen J, Oldham N, Weaver K, Jensen C, Fradeneck A (2022) A neutronics investigation simulating fast reactor environments in the thermal-spectrum advanced test reactor. Nucl Eng Des 387
Daily CR, McDuffee JL (2019) Design studies for the optimization of 238Pu production in NpO2 targets irradiated at the high flux isotope reactor. Nucl Technol. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594
In-Vessel Irradiation Experiment Facilities at HFIR. Oak ridge national laboratory, neutron sciences directorate. https://neutrons.ornl.gov/hfir/in-vessel-irradiation#ptp
Woolstenhulme N, Brookman J, Jesse C, Downey C, Murdock C (2023) Sco** study for fast flux testing in the advanced test reactor. INL/RPT-23–72212, April 2023
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Woolstenhulme, N., Worrall, M., Downey, C. (2024). Challenges and Solutions for Fast Neutron Irradiation of Bulk Material Specimens. In: TMS 2024 153rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition Supplemental Proceedings. TMS 2024. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50349-8_130
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50349-8_130
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-50348-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-50349-8
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)