TREAT reactor conducts first fueled experiment
The Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) initiated its first fueled experiment at approximately 5:05 p.m. Tuesday.
The facility subjected a small capsule of light water reactor fuel to radiation and heat. It marked the return of TREAT as an important part of testing the development of nuclear fuels. In particular, the facility will play an important role in a new generation of advanced reactors that are currently under design.
“Restoring this capability in the U.S. keeps our nation in a leading role to develop advanced nuclear fuels and reactor technologies,” said INL Laboratory Director Mark Peters. “Because of that, INL’s TREAT facility will once again enable systems that serve the U.S. economy, environment and national security.”
TREAT is used to expose fuels to extreme conditions in order to help the nuclear industry develop more resilient and longer-lasting fuels that could make crucial advancements in safety technologies.
Data from Tuesday’s experiment will be compared to previous tests to verify and demonstrate the performance of instrumentation. Over the next few weeks, fuel samples will be exposed to increasing energy levels, eventually ramping up to a melting point.
In 2019, the data will be used to help lay the foundation for a new round of safety tests focused on water-environment testing.
The facility came back on line last November and workers have been making final preparations for its first experiment since then.
“We weren’t going to claim TREAT restart success until we ran the first experiment,” said INL’s Dan Wachs, who serves as DOE’s national technical lead for fuel safety research.
