Distributed Nuclear Reactor Core Monitoring with Single-crystal Harsh-environment Optical Fibers

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Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$2,027,488
Location:
Morgantown, West Virginia
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
10/15/2019 - 05/31/2022

Critical Need:

This topic would leverage innovations supporting nuclear energy for the development of technologies that will reduce the cost of nuclear energy. These projects seek to develop advancements in nuclear facility sensors, tools, analytics and controls. The next generation of nuclear reactor plants needs innovative, safe, and secure technologies to supplement advanced reactor designs. A variety of advanced nuclear reactor designs are being developed in the U.S., and they require a variety of design options to meet future market needs.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

NETL seeks to produce a novel fiber-optic sensor system for monitoring advanced nuclear reactors that will permit operators to view conditions inside molten-salt cooling loops and inside reactor cores simultaneously and in real-time. This high level of data visibility will enable advanced automation in new reactor systems, and enable design engineers to accelerate the deployment of new reactor designs for commercial use.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Jenifer Shafer
Project Contact:
Dr. Michael Buric
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
michael.buric@netl.doe.gov

Partners

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Idaho National Laboratory

Related Projects


Release Date:
05/30/2019