Advanced instrumentation for extreme environments: Nuclear reactor environments

Abstract

Extreme environments such as helium circulators (Next Generation Nuclear Plant) and sodium and liquid salt pumps (Advanced Reactor Concepts and Small Modular Reactor programs) include high temperatures (700+ degrees Celsius), material compatibility challenges, requirements to reduce maintenance associated with lubricated and moving parts, pump seals, and material degradation. These environments require high reliability, control, diagnostics, and prognostic capabilities. The environmental conditions and system requirements create the need for new instrumentation and sensing methods for control and system diagnostics. The Sensors and Controls Team in the Measurement Science and Systems Engineering Division at ORNL is pursuing measurement methods for a canned rotor cooling pump design for fluoride-salt-cooled high temperature reactor applications. These measurement methods require consideration of the various pump materials, environmental conditions, application requirements, mechanical design, electrical design, and motoring and bearing electromagnetics to facilitate successful measurements.