Idaho National Laboratory uses LED "light reactors" to test microreactor controls

Idaho National Laboratory researchers described a light‑based testing platform that simulates reactor physics with LEDs so developers can test control systems without radiation hazards, officials said. "It replaces the neutronics in a real reactor with light physics," Unidentified Speaker 1 said.

The platform, called Vibrant, is paired with a control testbed known as MAX (the microreactor automated control system) to mimic the behavior of a real reactor, the presenters said. Tony Crawford, identified in the transcript as an INL researcher, is credited with designing and developing the Vibrant systems. The transcript says MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research, Validation and Evaluation Reactor), an 85‑kilowatt microreactor under development at INL, has benefited from improvements informed by Vibrant/MAX testing.

Why this matters: Researchers said the surrogate systems allow direct experimentation on hardware and software where radiation would otherwise constrain hands‑on testing. That can accelerate development of control algorithms, tune software against real actuators, and help validate safety responses before deploying systems on operational reactors.

Unidentified Speaker 2 described MAX’s hardware safeguards, noting the system uses gear heads to slow actuator movement and a mechanical scribe mechanism intended to stop the surrogate if an electromagnet is released. "It's a light reactor," Unidentified Speaker 2 said, and the hybrid setup lets the same actuators and many of the hardware components behave as they would in a live system.

The transcript names Ben Baker and Andrew Heim as developers currently working on software or beta testing and identifies John Gray as leading much of the hardware work; the transcript does not specify their institutional affiliations beyond those named individuals. Researchers also said Vibrant and MAX interface with INL’s Multi Physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOUSE) so teams can fine‑tune software and experiment with autonomous operation strategies.

The presenters emphasized that Vibrant and MAX can be calibrated to reproduce a broad range of reactor behaviors, which researchers said could reduce redundant setup work for companies designing next‑generation reactors. The transcript refers generally to "thousands of LEDs" in the surrogate; the exact LED count and other hardware specifications were described only approximately in the transcript and are not specified.

No formal policy decisions, votes, or procurement actions were recorded in the transcript. The presentation focused on technology demonstration and testing practices; the transcript does not include a date for the event or additional procedural details.