ST-LLC Receives $500,000 for Second Phase of Code Development Project

Last month, ASME Standards Technology LLC received $500,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue code development research related to very high temperature reactors (VHTR), which include the U.S. Department of Energy's Next Generation Nuclear Plant and Generation IV reactor programs.

The grant is the second part of a cooperative agreement between the DOE and ASME ST-LLC, the limited liability company established by the Society in 2004 to carry out work related to newly commercialized technology. In 2005, the cooperative venture began with a $1 million grant from the DOE.

Work performed under this cooperative agreement will benefit government, industry, and ASME code committees, said James Ramirez, vice president of business development for ASME ST-LLC and project manager for the VHTR initiative. He added that the code research will expedite the development of code rules, thus facilitating licensing and commercialization of technology while maintaining increased safety.

"The VHTR has great promise in expanding nuclear energy beyond traditional electricity generation, thereby contributing to energy security and addressing environmental concerns with continued burning of fossil fuels," added Regis Matzie, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Westinghouse Electric Co. and a member of the steering committee. "The high temperatures of this design provide an extremely challenging environment for materials and components — in many cases, going well beyond the range typically addressed by ASME Codes and Standards."

The project's Scope of Work (SOW) includes development of technical basis documents necessary to update and expand codes and standards for application in future VHTR systems that operate at elevated temperatures.

Some of the areas to be targeted during this phase of the project include operating condition allowable stress values, ASME code considerations for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX), and updating and improving Subsection NH — simplified elastic and inelastic design analysis methods, and alternative simplified creep-fatigue design methods.

Details of the SOW for the new tasks to be funded during this research phase can be found on the ASME ST-LLC web page at http://stllc.asme.org/Requests_Proposals_RFPs.cfm.

ASME ST-LLC would like to thank all of the project participants and volunteers who have contributed to the success of the project and, in particular, to the project's Steering Committee members provided their leadership and guidance.

ASME ST-LLC invites all organizations that possess the technical qualification to submit proposals. To find out more about ASME ST-LLC and its programs, visit http://stllc.asme.org.

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