ASME Standards Technology
LLC, DOE in cooperative agreement

ASME has joined with the U.S. Department of Energy on an endeavor to develop safe, sustainable and environmentally responsible next-generation — Generation IV — nuclear energy systems.

The Society's recently established not-for-profit standards commercialization company, ASME Standards Technology LLC, was awarded a $1 million cooperative agreement from the DOE. Through the agreement, ASME ST-LLC will develop technical basis documents that are necessary to update and expand appropriate materials, construction, and design codes and standards for application in future Generation IV nuclear reactor systems.

From left: Jim Ramirez, manager, Technology Development/Gen IV Materials project manager; Bryan Erler, vice chairman, ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards/Chair Task Group on New Reactors; Richard Barnes, chair, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Subcommittee III; and Bob Jetter, chair, ASME Subgroup on Elevated Temperature Design.

ASME ST-LLC currently is assembling a steering committee from key Codes and Standards volunteers, government agencies and other stakeholders to help direct the technical work. That technical work then will be subcontracted to technical advisors and investigators, with ASME staff performing the project management and administration.

The Generation IV project refers to a new type of nuclear reactor that offers significant improvements in safety, construction costs, fuel utilization and maintenance requirements. Begun in 2000, the project involves an international consortium of vendors, energy companies, universities and other organizations from the United States and nine other countries, including Japan, France, South Africa, Canada and South Korea.

In order to meet the technology goals for the new nuclear systems, consortium members have selected six concepts to develop. The ASME-DOE project will focus on one of these concepts, the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). The VHTR design is a graphite-moderated, helium-cooled, prismatic or pebble-bed, thermal neutron spectrum reactor that will produce electricity and hydrogen in a state-of-the-art thermodynamically efficient manner.

ASME ST-LLC intends to apply any findings from the project in ASME's Codes and Standards volunteer standards committees developing new code rules for Generation IV nuclear reactors, said Jim Ramirez, ASME project manager.

"We expect that what we learn from the Gen IV project will become vital references for the committees and important technical bases for new rules," Ramirez said. "Through the course of the project, we will involve key stakeholders from industry and government to help make sure that the technical direction of the research supports the anticipated codes and standards needs. This directed approach and early stakeholder involvement should result in consensus building, which will ultimately speed the standards development process."

In 2002, the ASME Board on Nuclear Codes and Standards formed a Task Group on New Reactors, which reached out to reactor suppliers in an effort to better define and understand the codes and standards needs related to the next generation of nuclear power plants.

In addition to meeting with nuclear experts in the United States, the task group, which includes members Chuck Pieper, Wes Rowley, Ken Balkey and Bryan Erler, traveled to Canada, China, Finland, France, Sweden and Korea to speak with suppliers, utilities and regulators. Based on these discussions, the group assembled a list of technology development needs, which was presented to the DOE last February.

Serving as coordinators for standards actions related to Generation IV reactors, members of the Task Group on New Reactors will meet with ASME standards committees, subcommittees, subgroups, task groups and project teams as needed to advance standards actions, Ramirez said. Another group expected to play an important role is the Subgroup on Elevated Temperature Design, chaired by Bob Jetter, which meets quarterly during ASME's Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Committee meetings.

ASME has been involved in nuclear codes and standards since 1956. The Society created Section III of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which addresses nuclear reactor technology, in 1963. ASME Standards promote safety, reliability and component interchangeability in mechanical systems.

ASME Standards Technology LLC is a not-for-profit limited liability company that ASME formed last year to carry out work related to newly commercialized technology. The company's mission includes meeting the needs of industry and government by providing new standards-related products and services, which advance the application of emerging and newly commercialized science and technology.

Visit www.stllc.asme.org for more information.

 

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