{"id":283341,"date":"2025-07-30T16:02:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/noticias\/marvel-microreactor-reaches-final-tests-on-cooling-system\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T21:53:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T01:53:51","slug":"marvel-microreactor-reaches-final-tests-on-cooling-system","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/news\/marvel-microreactor-reaches-final-tests-on-cooling-system\/","title":{"rendered":"MARVEL microreactor reaches final tests on cooling system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The MARVEL microreactor<\/strong>, developed at Idaho National Laboratory<\/strong>(INL<\/em>), has completed an essential phase of cooling system testing, using a non-nuclear facility known as PCAT.<\/p>\n\n

PCAT technology in the MARVEL microreactor<\/h2>\n\n

The PCAT device<\/strong> simulates the primary cooling circuit of the MARVEL reactor using electricity, allowing validation of its thermal-hydraulic behavior<\/strong> without the need for nuclear fuel. Tests confirmed that the natural circulation design, based on convection without mechanical components, is effective in maintaining heat flow and ensuring system stability. <\/p>\n\n

On the other hand, the main objectives were to evaluate the accuracy of the RELAP5-3D software<\/strong> used in the MARVEL safety analysis. The data collected during the test campaign showed a strong correlation with the numerical predictions, which reinforces the reliability of the digital model for predicting reactor behavior in real scenarios. <\/p>\n\n

During development, the team faced problems with the Stirling engines. Stirling engines<\/a><\/strong> initially contemplated for tertiary cooling. Vibrations and noise led to a redesign of the system to a more stable radiator-type solution. In addition, the use of liquid metals as coolant involved collaboration with Creative Engineers<\/strong>, specialists in the handling of these reactive materials. <\/p>\n\n

Through these tests, it was confirmed that MARVEL can operate generating up to 100 kilowatts of thermal energy efficiently and safely. Although some higher-than-estimated heat losses were detected, this information will allow the final design to be adjusted. The success of the PCAT <\/strong>boosts confidence in the next stages of the project, which include submitting documentation to the Department of Energy<\/a><\/strong> and the future commissioning of the reactor. <\/p>\n\n

With these results, the INL MARVEL team is in a position to move forward toward fabrication <\/strong>and assembly of the microreactor<\/strong> at the transient reactor test facility. Also, the findings will be shared with the scientific community to foster the development of compact nuclear systems<\/a><\/strong> in remote, industrial and homeland security applications. <\/p>\n\n

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Source and photo: DOE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During development, the team faced problems with the Stirling engines initially contemplated for tertiary cooling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8404,"featured_media":283314,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categoria_noticias":[13026,13044],"etiqueta_noticias":[],"class_list":["post-283341","noticias","type-noticias","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categoria_noticias-energy","categoria_noticias-new-energies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias\/283341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/noticias"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias\/283341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categoria_noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria_noticias?post=283341"},{"taxonomy":"etiqueta_noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/etiqueta_noticias?post=283341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}