11/17/2008 Colloquium - David A. Petti

David A. Petti Idaho National Laboratory

Event Info

Title:  The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP): Project Overview and Current Research Directions

Date: Nov 17, 2008
Location: 3105 Etcheverry Hall
Time: 4-5pm

Abstract

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) will demonstrate emissions-free nuclear-assisted electricity and hydrogen production by 2021. The NGNP reactor will be a helium-cooled, graphite moderated, thermal neutron spectrum reactor with a design goal outlet temperature of 750-800C. The reactor thermal power (which will be about 500-600 MWt) and core configuration will be designed to assure passive decay heat removal without fuel damage during hypothetical accidents The presentation will provide a description of the project to build the NGNP at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The NGNP Project includes reactor design, construction, and licensing activities and major R&D activities in fuel development and qualification, graphite and high temperature materials selection and qualification, and core design and safety analysis methods development and validation. An overview of the project and current R&D directions will be presented.

Speaker Biography

Dr. David Petti is a graduate of the MIT Nuclear Engineering Department and a Laboratory Fellow at the Idaho National Laboratory. With over 20 years of experience in nuclear technology, he currently serves as the Technical Director of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office. In that role, he oversees all research and development for the project including fuels, graphite, high-temperature materials, and design and safety evaluation methods. Dr. Petti is an expert in coated particle fuel technology and represents the U.S. as the Chief Scientific Investigator for the IAEA Coordinated Research Program on Coated Particle Fuel Technology. He is also the U.S. representative to the Generation IV International Forum VHTR Fuel and Fuel Cycle Project Management Board.