Design and Construction of a Molten Salt Test Loop for Advanced Reactor Development

The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) collaboration is creating the solutions to solve the world’s energy and water crises through the advancement of molten salt reactors. The Molten Salt Test Loop (MSTL) was constructed for the testing of advanced instrumentation and to collect data about the physical and fluidic properties of molten salt. The MSTL is made to withstand 900°C, hold 7 gallons of liquid in its reservoir, produce both laminar and turbulent flow, and test experimental instrumentation. For safety and efficiency purposes, an insulation system was fitted around the loop and is monitored by thermocouples run on a MIDAS based Data Acquisition System (DAQ). The MSTL has several ancillary systems including trace heating, gas blanket system, insulation, evacuation chamber, and flow control. These ancillary systems allow for precise control over the loop. The DAQ system both operates and stores data related to the ancillary systems. The MSTL initially ran water to characterize the pump and loop and was converted to run Dynalene, a low melting-temperature nitrate salt. Moving on, high melting-temperature fluoride salts like FLiNaK will be run. This presentation will summarize the design, status, and the ancillary systems of the MSTL.