SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Versatile Test Reactor Experiment Vehicles
- Notice Date
- 4/25/2018
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory (DOE Contractor), Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83415-3920
- ZIP Code
- 83415-3920
- Solicitation Number
- INL-18-007
- Archive Date
- 5/18/2018
- Point of Contact
- Steve Gihring, Phone: 208-526-7706
- E-Mail Address
-
steven.gihring@inl.gov
(steven.gihring@inl.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- INTRODUCTION Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), the managing and operating contractor for the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry stakeholders to work with national laboratories and universities to develop experiment device concepts and associated enabling technologies that will enable fuels and materials irradiation testing in a new fast spectrum neutron irradiation capability. The focus of this effort is to sufficiently mature the reactor and experiment concepts and associated cost estimate to inform a DOE decision on whether to build this capability. The concept irradiation test devices are envisioned for use in a nominal 300 MWth sodium-cooled fast reactor with a fast neutron flux of > 4 x 1015 n/cm2¬-sec. The concepts would be used to test advanced reactor fuels and materials as required for advanced reactor technologies that may use alternate coolants including molten salt, lead/lead-bismuth, gas, and sodium. BACKGROUND New nuclear fuels and materials technologies require irradiation testing before they can be used in energy-producing reactors. The testing provides a fundamental understanding of materials performance, validation of models for more rapid future development, and engineering scale validation of materials performance in support of licensing efforts. The integral combination of a fast neutron irradiation capability, experiment environment flexibility, radioactive material handling, and the post-irradiation examination (PIE) suite of capabilities is not available domestically or internationally. The lack of this capability restrains civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies by private and public institutions, and expansion of theoretical and practical knowledge of nuclear physics, chemistry, and materials science. In February 2017, the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's (DOE-NE) Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC) released a final report evaluating the needs and requirements for a new U.S. test reactor. This report received unanimous approval by the NEAC members with the key recommendation of the report being "DOE-NE proceed immediately with pre-conceptual design planning activities to support a new fast neutron test reactor (including cost and schedule estimates)." Subsequently, DOE-NE initiated a 3-year research and development (R&D) effort to inform a DOE decision on the further development of a Versatile Test Reactor (VTR). The purpose of the 3-year R&D effort is to mature a concept and cost estimate for a versatile experimental capability that enables an understanding of nuclear fuels and structural materials performance under extreme irradiation environments, that is operational by 2026. Development, fabrication, and testing of advanced reactor concepts in the VTR will, through experimental, theoretical, and computational advances, provide the basic and applied physics, materials science, nuclear fuels, and advanced sensor communities with a unique research capability to enable a comprehensive understanding of the multi scale and multi physics performance of nuclear fuels and structural materials to support the development and deployment of advanced nuclear energy systems. PLANT DESCRIPTION The VTR concept primary attributes are outlined below: • A sodium cooled pool type reactor, with modern safety features such as decay heat removal systems that do not require power. The pool configuration will contain the reactor, primary coolant pumps, intermediate heat exchangers, fuel handling machines, and fuel transfer and storage capability. Primary tank and guard vessels will provide assurance there is no credible loss of primary coolant scenario. • The reactor shall have the capability to insert experiments in high flux areas of the core including open test assemblies and test vehicles with static or circulating experiment coolant. • The reactor power level and test location neutron flux are projected to be 300 MWth and > 4 x 1015 n/cm2 -sec, respectively. This power level provides desired performance and maintains significant safety and experimental margins to maintain versatility for future operations. • The fuel is a metal alloy containing Uranium- 20%Plutonium-10% Zirconium (uranium enrichment ~ 5%235U). • The reactor heat is rejected to the atmosphere. Electrical generation is not planned. EXPERIMENT VEHICLE DESCRIPTION The main work product generated by the industry, national laboratory, and university team will be advanced experiment vehicle concepts that support irradiation testing of nuclear fuels in a sodium-cooled fast reactor. The experiment vehicle concepts are envisioned to have the primary attributes as outlined below: • Support testing to advance the technical readiness level (TRL) of nuclear fuels and materials to be used in advanced reactor technologies including those based on molten salt, lead/lead-bismuth, gas or sodium cooled reactor type fuels. • Provisions for instrumentation to characterize experiment environment and experiment performance. • Ability to reject heat to the reactor primary sodium coolant at a temperature of 350 to 500˚C. With this constraint, experimental devices may include thermal management features as required to deliver the desired environmental conditions. • Constructed of material that is compatible with sodium coolant at a temperature of 350 to 500˚C such as 316 stainless steel or HT-9. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS BEA seeks interested industry stakeholders to participate in teaming arrangements with universities and national laboratories to develop experiment vehicles that could be used to test advanced reactor concepts in a sodium-cooled fast reactor. These experiment vehicles will be developed to address specific testing required to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of advanced nuclear fuels. Interested offerors are encouraged to submit a response stating interest in developing suitable experiment vehicle concepts. Execution of this research and development (R&D) is anticipated to be through industry, university, and national laboratory teams. Interested parties who have existing concepts and qualified R&D resources to support development of these experiment vehicle concepts will be added to a potential bidders list for a future request for proposal. In particular, additional consideration will be given to stakeholders who have a defined need to develop a specific fuel or fuel type. All responses to this EOI must be provided as an attachment in an e-mail message addressed to Steven.Gihring@inl.gov with the subject line "Response to EOI" no later than May 14th, 2018. Responses must be provided as Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) no more than 10 pages in length, no less than 12 point font, 1-in margins, and no more than 2 MB in size. Only electronic responses will be accepted. Responses submitted by any other means will not be considered by INL. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION: Because information received in response to this EOI may be used to structure future programs and Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) and/or otherwise be made available to the public, respondents must NOT include any information in their responses that might be considered business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential. Responses must be submitted with the understanding that their contents may be publicly disclosed and, in the event of a public disclosure, VTR Program Office will NOT notify respondents or provide any opportunity to revise or redact submitted information. To avoid a future conflict of interest, information from responses may be shared with other VTR program contributors. Release of information shall be managed by the INL VTR Program Office.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/INEEL/ID/INL-18-007/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83415, United States
- Zip Code: 83415
- Zip Code: 83415
- Record
- SN04900520-W 20180427/180425230755-22c2f5e25aab9a000497aa95d09235a9 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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