Framatome said on 5 May that it had been selected by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to provide a critical test system for the Jules Horowitz Research Reactor (JHR) in Cadarache, France. To support qualification of the JHR, Framatome will build a customised test loop to investigate and characterise the flow-induced vibration behaviour of internal reactor components. Framatome experts will design, build, deliver and commission the test loop at the company’s Le Creusot site in Burgundy and perform the qualification tests required for the licensing file of the JHR.
“This opportunity marks another milestone in our long collaboration with CEA in support of the development of the Jules Horowitz Research Reactor,” said Alexis Marincic, senior executive vice president of the Engineering and Design Authority at Framatome. “The research and testing conducted at the JHR will support both the continued production of clean energy and important medical research and diagnostics.”
The JHR is designed to test and qualify fuels and materials under irradiation for nuclear utilities, nuclear steam system suppliers, nuclear fuel manufacturers, research organizations and safety authorities. It will also support nuclear medicine research and provide hospitals with radioelements used in medical imaging units for diagnostic purposes. Framatome’s test loop is expected to start component testing in the fourth quarter of 2021.
