Education and Training Series #72: The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Facility at Argonne National Laboratory
Part of a webinar series hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group since 2016.
Who should attend?
Policymakers, industry professionals, regulators, researchers, students, the general public.
About the "GIF Education and Training" Webinars
These webinars, organised by the GIF Education and Training Working Group are streamed live monthly. The recordings and slide decks are accessible after the webinar on this website. These webinars cover a very broad range of technical and policy related topics. At the end of 2023 they have been viewed by more than 15000 people (approximately half of the views during the live streams and the other half views being of the archives on the public GIF website). In total, the GIF webinars have reached Generation IV enthusiasts, scientists, and engineers in more than 80 countries.
These webinars are organised and hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group (ETWG).
About this Webinar
The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility, established in 2010, is an intermediate-scale liquid metal experimental facility that provides purified R-grade sodium to various experimental test vessels to evaluate components required to operate in a prototypical Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) environment. The METL facility has the capability to test small to intermediate-scale components and systems in order to develop advanced liquid metal technologies. METL is a flexible facility as multiple configurations are available, enabling the hosting of experimental investigations from a range of disciplines with cross-cutting results. The presentation will provide an overview of METLs entire ecosystem; beginning with the flagship facility’s design methodology, construction and virtual tour. Supporting equipment such as the qualifying stations, test article removal/insertion flexible-cask and alkali metal passivation techniques/hardware will be covered as well. METLs demonstrated capabilities and infrastructure available to facilitate various research initiatives are summarized and the webinar will conclude with a highlight reel of current experimental programs as well as, what future technologies/demonstrations to expect from the METL team.
Presentation made during the webinar
Meet the presenter
Derek Kultgen serves as the Group Leader for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) at Argonne National Laboratory. METL is an experimental facility dedicated to developing small-to-intermediate scale components for Sodium Fast Reactors. The METL team conceptualizes, fabricates, and demonstrates equipment and instrumentation and assists scientists/engineers who conduct experiments in the METL. Previously, Derek was the Lead Test Development Engineer for a leading lubricant and additive manufacturer. In this role he created a mechanical testing laboratory for compressor lubricant evaluation, managed capital expenditure projects and served as a technical expert. Derek received his B.S and M.S. degrees from Purdue University, is a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified LabVIEW Architect.