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eBlock37 Microreactor Electrical Demonstration Unit

L. M. Gaspar, D. A. Giordano, N. A. Greenfield, S. J. Kim, F. A. Kubic, M. R. Middlemas, A. J. Pizarro, W. J. Saeger, K. M. Sweetland, R. S. Reid

Nuclear Technology / Volume 209 / Number 1S / January 2023 / Pages S73-S91

Technical Paper / dx.doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1997540

Received:August 26, 2021
Accepted:October 9, 2021
Published:January 9, 2023

The eBlock37 is a subscale electrically heated and heat-pipe-cooled prototype of a fast spectrum microreactor that is under development at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The prototype consists of an electrically heated core and gas-cooled heat exchanger. These subassemblies, both built from 316 L stainless steel, are thermally linked by an array of 37 sodium heat pipes that transfer a nominal 100 kW from the core at 700°C. An overarching objective of this effort is to overcome challenges associated with core block and heat exchanger manufacture and integration of high-temperature heat pipes into the assembly. Components that would be safety critical in an actual reactor, such as the heat pipe wicks, are being built under a Nuclear Quality Assurance 1 quality program. The completed assembly is intended for non-nuclear electrically heated testing, which will be conducted at a demonstration facility at Idaho National Laboratory. This paper provides a top-level summary of the efforts to date.