Cranberry Township-based Westinghouse Electric Co. completed a successful zero-power high-temperature criticality test of its eVinci microreactor on Sept. 3.
“For nearly a century, Westinghouse pioneers have not waited for the future of nuclear energy – they have engineered it,” Dan Sumner, Westinghouse president and CEO, said. “This milestone brings that same spirit to the eVinci program. Our teams are rapidly building, testing, learning and improving advanced nuclear technologies, turning uncertainty into validated evidence and strengthening the design for a highly-deployable advanced microreactor solution for our customers.”
The microreactor combines advanced heat pipe technology, TRISO fuel and a graphite core and is designed to provide resilient electricity around the clock for eight years in remote and challenging environments without refueling.
During the test, eVinci reached criticality at 663°C. Researchers also successfully made a subcritical reactivity measurement at a peak core temperature of 1,011°C.
The high-quality, temperature-dependent data from the test will be used to further strengthen analytical models and accelerate prototype design. It also advances the understanding of how the eVinci design behaves as materials are heated to operating conditions.
The work was completed at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center, a National Nuclear Security Administration facility in Nevada, in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Nevada National Security Site.