b'Remote Handling and Assembly of the THOR Capsule for Transient Testing Irradiated Fast Reactor FuelsPrincipal Investigators: Philip Petersen Team Members/ Collaborators: Philip Petersen, Jordan Argyle, Justin Yarrington, Clayton Turner, James Chandler, John Stinger, Chase Christen, Klint Anderson, JD Kelly, Jason SchulthessT he Temperature Heat Sinkof equipment could be designed, Overpower Response-Metallicdrafted, fabricated, and qualified (THOR-M) Capsule is loadedfor in-cell use. Adding to the design with pre-irradiated Experimentalchallenge each piece of equipment Breeder Reactor (EBR-II) pins andincorporated flexibility to function due to the pre-irradiated nature ofwith, or with only slight modifica-the fuel this loading process must betion, function with future THOR accomplished within the Hot Fuelcapsules variations. This equipment Examination Facility (HFEF) hot-celldevelopment under girds the environment. Remote handlingcritical testing done at the TREAT tools, fixturing and processes havefacility. No pre-irradiated capsules been developed to accomplish thecan be loaded outside of HFEF and complicated handling, loading,downstream; no PIE of these experi-bonding, and sealing process inments can be performed outside HFEF prior to being irradiated inHFEF making it a critical link in Transient Reactor Test Facilitythe completion of the TREAT tests. (TREAT). The effort has involvedWe are focusing on THOR-M but a team of remote engineers, Post- also are using it as a springboard to irradiation examination (PIE)equip HFEF, programmatically and researchers, experiment engineers,physically, to handle TREAT experi-project support staff and operators.ment capsule on a regular basis. More than 10 separate pieces ofThe data produced by the THOR equipment had to be developed,campaign from TREAT and HFEF analyzed, and fabricated to accomplishis highly valuable to developing the loading process to have theadvanced fuels for the next genera-capsule prepared for irradiation. tion of reactors that are accident-tolerant, reliable, and economical Project Description:for future use.Our objectives were to understand the experiment hardware andAccomplishments: desired test outcomes and use thoseThe development of this equipment to develop a process to load andrequired a coordinated effort from unload the fuel in HFEF. Once athree primary groupsMaterial process flow chart was developed,Fuels Complex (MFCs) Nuclear the tooling, fixtures or modifica- Remote Systems Group, MFCs tions needed to accomplish eachAdvanced Characterization and PIE, step of the process were identified.and the Experiment Design Group. Figure 1. THOR capsule mock-upFrom there each individual pieceThe development of the assembly hanging from electro-mechanical manipulator (EM) showing strain relief fixture and new EM grapple156 2022|AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS'