Integrated, Digital Experiment Transient Control and Safety Protection of an in-Pile Test

摘要

The Sodium Loop Safety Facility experimental program has demonstrated that in-pile loop fuel failure transient tests can be digitally controlled and protected with reliability and precision. This was done in four nuclear experiments conducted in the Engineering Test Reactor operated by EG and G Idaho, Inc., at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Loop sodium flow and reactor power transients can be programmed to sponsor requirements and verified prior to the test. Each controller has redundancy, which reduces the effect of single failures occurring during test transients. Feedback and reject criteria are included in the reactor power control. Timed sequencing integrates the initiation of the controllers, programmed safety set-points, and other experiment actions (e.g., planned scram). Off-line and on-line testing is included. Loss-of-flow, loss-of-piping-integrity, boiling-window, transient-overpower, and local fault tests have been successfully run using this system. (ERA citation 07:046858)