Thermalhydraulic Experimentation in Support of AMPS Development

Abstract

An experimental program has been initiated to investigate thermalhydraulic behaviour of the reactor heat source of the Autonomous Marine Power Source (AMPS). The program has been designed in phases to support a progression which culminates with full-scale integrated systems tests of an electrically heated AMPS reactor core at thermal powers of up to 3 MW. Significant progress has been made to date and preliminary results of the separate effects tests are very encouraging: the core has demonstrated thermalhydraulic stability and a high resistance to dryout.This paper outlines the phases of the program as currently envisaged and presents preliminary results from the initial testing.