反应性计校核试验

反应性计是秦山核电厂物理启动和运行过程中进行物理试验的主要仪器,其测量准确性直接关系到各项堆物理参数的测量误差。为保证各项物理试验结果的准确可靠,按照物理启动程序,在反应堆达到首次临界的热态零功率水平时,先进行本试验。本文简要介绍了由上海核工程研究设计院和北京核仪器厂设计、研制的模拟-数字混合式反应性计的基本原理。用本系统在堆上测量反应性和同时用周期法测量的值进行对比校核试验,结果表明二者之间偏差在±4％以内。符合本试验验收准则。     

Activity release from damaged fuel during the Paks-2 cleaning tank incident in the spent fuel storage pool

During crud removal operations the integrity of 30 fuel assemblies was lost at high temperature at the unit No. 2 of the Paks NPP. Part of the fission products was released from the damaged fuel into the coolant of the spent fuel storage pool. The gaseous fission products escaped through the chimney from the reactor hall. The volatile and non-volatile materials remained mainly in the coolant and were collected on the filters of water purification system. The activity release from damaged fuel rods during the Paks-2 cleaning tank incident was estimated on the basis of coolant activity concentration measurements and chimney activity data. The typical release rate of noble gases, iodine and caesium was 1-3%. The release of non-volatile fission products and actinides was also detected.     

RELAP5/MOD3.2 sensitivity calculations of loss-of-feed water (LOFW) transient at Unit 6 of Kozloduy NPP

This paper provides a comparison between the real plant data obtained by Unit 6 of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) during the loss-of-feed water (LOFW) transient and the calculation results received by RELAP5/MOD3.2 computer model of the same NPP unit.RELAP5/MOD3.2 computer model of the VVER-1000 has been developed at the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (INRNE-BAS) based on Unit 6 of Kozloduy NPP. This model has been used for simulation the behavior of the real VVER-1000 NPP during the LOFW transient. Several calculations have been provided to describe how the different boundary conditions reflect on the prediction of real plant parameters.This paper discusses the results of the thermal–hydraulic sensitivity calculations of loss-of-feed water transient for VVER-1000 reactor design. The report also contains a brief summary of the main NPP systems included in the RELAP5 VVER model and the LOFW transient sequences.This report was possible through the participation of leading specialists from Kozloduy NPP and with the assistance of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for the United States Department of Energy (US DOE), International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP).     

APA-H程序应用于田湾核电站1号机组堆芯物理参数计算验证

为验证APA-H(ALPHA-H/PHOENIX-H/ANC-H)程序系统应用于田湾核电站1号机组(VVER1000)堆芯物理参数计算的可行性,针对田湾核电站1号机组第6~9燃料循环的燃料管理开展计算研究。对临界硼酸浓度、组件相对功率分布以及启动物理试验进行模拟计算,并与试验测量数据进行比对。结果表明,计算值与试验测量数据符合良好,满足验收准则。APA-H程序系统可用于田湾核电站1号机组的堆芯物理参数计算。     

破损燃料组件修复后的物理特性分析

破损燃料组件修复后再次入堆使用是必须进行安全评估,以确保核安全。本文以采用AFA3G燃料组件的CPR1000机组为研究对象,对装入反应堆后的正常燃料组件和修复燃料组件的核物理和功率分布进行分析评估。结果表明:燃料组件内更换一根燃料棒对燃料组件反应性的影响很小,该影响可以忽略。更换不锈钢棒的数量越大,燃料组件反应性变化幅度越大。随着燃耗的加深,燃料组件反应性变化幅度也增大。修复的燃料组件虽然在换棒位置局部区域发生功率畸变,相对功率略微的升高,但离换棒位置较远的燃料棒的相对功率没有变化,换棒不会导致组件内功率峰发生象限的偏移。     

熔盐堆物理热工耦合程序开发及验证分析

熔盐堆(Molten Salt Reactor,MSR)是第四代反应堆6种堆型中唯一的液态燃料反应堆,与固态燃料-液体冷却剂反应堆相比,原理上有较大不同。在熔盐堆中,流动的熔盐既是燃料又是冷却剂与慢化剂,中子物理学与热工水力学相互耦合;由于熔盐的流动性,缓发中子先驱核会随燃料流至堆芯外衰变,造成缓发中子的丢失,导致堆芯反应性降低。正是由于熔盐堆的这些新特性,造成熔盐堆内缓发中子先驱核、温度等参数变化与固态燃料反应堆有所不同,需要研究熔盐堆在各种工况下的相关物理参数变化。本文主要工作是考虑缓发中子先驱核的流动性对熔盐堆的影响,研究适用于熔盐堆的二维圆柱几何时空中子动力学程序及与之耦合的热工水力学程序;利用该程序对熔盐堆中子物理学和热工水力学进行耦合计算,验证熔盐堆相关实验数据;并且计算了熔盐堆无保护启停泵及堆芯入口温度过冷过热工况,用于分析熔盐堆的安全特性。计算结果表明,程序能够对熔盐反应堆实验(Molten Salt Reactor Experiment,MSRE)的相关实验数据进行较好的模拟计算,并且验证了熔盐堆的固有安全性。     

Consolidation of scientific and technological expertise to assess the reliability of reactor pressure vessel embrittlement prediction in particular for the arctic area plant (COBRA)

The evaluation and prognosis of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material embrittlement in WWERs and the allowable period of their safe operation are performed on the basis of impact test results of irradiated surveillance specimens. The main problem concerns the irradiation conditions (irradiation temperature, neutron flux and neutron spectrum) of the surveillance specimens that have not been determined yet with the necessary accuracy. These conditions could differ from the actual RPV wall condition. In particular, the key issue is the possible difference between the irradiation temperature of the surveillance specimens and the actual RPV wall temperature. It is recognized that the direct measurement of the irradiation temperature by thermocouples during reactor operation is the only way to obtain reliable information. In addition, the neutron field's parameters in the surveillance specimens location have not been determined yet with the necessary accuracy. The use of state of the art dosimeters can provide high accuracy in the determination of the neutron exposure level.The COBRA project, which started in August 2000 and had a duration of 3 years, was designed to solve the above-mentioned problems. Surveillance capsules were manufactured which contained state of art dosimeters and temperature monitors (melting alloys). In addition, thermocouples were installed throughout the instrumentation channels of the vessel head to measure directly the irradiation temperature in the surveillance position during reactor operation. The selected reactor for the experiment was the Unit 3 of Kola NPP situated in the arctic area of Russia. Irradiation of capsules and online temperature measurements were performed during one fuel cycle. On the base of statistical processing of thermocouples readings, the temperature of irradiated surveillance specimens in WWER-440/213 reactor can be accepted as 269.5 ± 4 °C. Uncertainties were evaluated also with experimental work carried out in the WWRSZ research reactor and by finite element modelling of surveillance capsules. The results obtained show that there is not need to perform temperature correction when surveillance data of irradiated specimens are used for embrittlement assessment of WWER-440(213) reactor pressure vessels. Maximum neutron flux evaluated using detectors, which were placed in the Charpy specimen simulators, equals 2.7 × 10¹² cm⁻² s⁻¹ with E > 0.5 MeV. It is established that depending on the orientation of the capsules with respect to the core, the detectors of the standard surveillance capsules can give both overestimated and underestimated neutron flux values, as compared to the actual flux received by the surveillance specimens. The overestimation or underestimation can reach 10%.     

核反馈实时模拟程序

为了在堆外实验中实现核反馈实时模拟,用C 语言开发了核反馈模拟程序.该程序由3个主要模块组成:反应性反馈模拟、功率控制系统模拟及反应堆模拟.采用的主要物理模型有:点堆模型、一维均匀流体模型、瞬态导热模型等;堆功率控制系统模拟方案为平均温度控制方案;其他辅助计算包括物性参数、几何参数的计算.用Retran-02计算分析数据对模拟程序进行了测试,结果表明,模拟程序的数学模拟正确,运算速度快,计算准确.     

Comparison of hydrogen generation for TVSM and TVSA fuel assemblies for water water energy reactor (VVER)-1000

This paper presents the results received during investigation of hydrogen generation for both types fuel assemblies—the old modernistic type of fuel assemblies (TVSM) and recently installed new one alternative type of fuel assemblies (TVSA) in case of severe accident. There are some differences between both types FAs. They have different geometry as well as different burnable poisons. To investigate behavior of new fuel assemblies during the severe conditions it have been performed comparison of fuel behavior of old type TVSM fuel assembly to new one TVSA.To perform this investigation it has been used MELCOR “input model” for Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) VVER 1000. The model was developed by Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (INRNE-BAS) for investigation of severe accident scenarios and Probabilistic Safety Analyses (PSA) level 2. The model provides a significant analytical capability for the Bulgarian technical specialists, working in the field of the NPP safety, for analysis of core and containment damaged states and the estimation of radionuclides release outside fuel cladding.It was accepted criteria for vessel integrity about hydrogen concentration to be 8%. This criterion was based on the decision of RSK (Germany commission for reactor safety).Generally based on the received results it was made conclusion that using both types of fuel assemblies it was not disturbance safety conditions of NPP.     

Sensitivity analyses of the use of different reflector materials on the neutronics parameters of Tehran research reactor

In this paper, the effect of changes in neutron reflector type on neutronics parameters of Tehran research reactor is analyzed. In this study, at first, calculations for the HEU and LEU fuel configurations of the reactor core in which the light water is used as a neutron reflector in the core is done. Then, by using the reflectors such as graphite, beryllium and heavy water, changes on the neutronic parameters are examined. The results show that by altering the reflector, at HEU core configuration (compared with LEU), more changes appear in parameters such as neutron multiplication factor, average fast and thermal neutron flux, excess reactivity and shut down margin. Moreover, at LEU core configuration, changes are tangible specifically on parameters of cycle length and power peaking factor. In addition, the evaluated fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity is greater at HEU than LEU, while the temperature alteration of fuels represented greater influence on reactivity at LEU configuration.     

Determination of neutron generation time in miniature neutron source reactor by measurement of neutronics transfer function

The prompt neutron generation time Λ and the total effective fraction of delayed neutrons (including the effect of photoneutrons) β have been experimentally determined for the miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) of Syria. The neutron generation time was found by taking measurements of the reactor open-loop transfer function using newly devised reactivity-step- ejection method by the reactor pneumatic rabbit system. Small reactivity perturbations i.e. step changes of reactivity starting from steady state, were introduced into the reactor during operation at low power level i.e. zero-power. Relative neutron flux and reactivity versus time were obtained. Using transfer function analysis as well as least square fitting techniques and measuring the delayed neutrons fraction, the neutron generation time was determined to be 74.6±1.57 μs. Using the prompt jump approximation of neutron flux, the total effective fraction of delayed neutrons was measured and found to be 0.00783±0.00017. Measured values of Λ and β were found to be very consistent with calculated ones reported in the Safety Analysis Report.     

Analysis on reactivity initiated transient from control rod failure events of a molten salt reactor

In a molten salt reactor （MSR）, the fuel is dissolved in fluoride salt. In this paper, the reactivity worth and reactivity initiated transient of Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment （MSRE） in the control rod failure events are analyzed, The point kinetic coupling heat-transfer model with decay character of six-group delayed neutron precursors due to the fuel motion is applied. The relative power and temperature transient under reactivity step and ramp initiated at different power levels are studied. The results show that the reactor power and temperature increase to a maximum, where they begin to decrease to stable values. Comparing with full power level, the transient result at low power level is more serious. The results are of help in our study on safety characteristics of an MSR system.     

The experimental definition of the acoustic standing waves series shapes, formed in the coolant of the primary circuit of VVER-440 type reactor

On the basis of pressure fluctuation measurements in some primary circuit loops at 2^nd Unit of Kola NPP with VVER-440 type reactors, the shapes of acoustic standing waves (ASW) were determined at frequencies corresponding to four minimal oscillation eigenfrequencies in the primary circuit coolant. On identification of the ASW modes and properties, experimental results based on six circulating loops in symmetric arrangement allowed determination of the three-dimensional space structure of the wave nodes and antinodes inside and outside of the reactor vessel (RV). As part of this analysis, the geometric features of the primary circuit that caused the formation of these standing waves were identified. Differences in each ASW shape were shown to cause different individual effects on the neutron field in the reactor core and on fuel assembly vibration. This has been partially confirmed by ex-core neutron ionization chamber noise analysis. One type of ASW, possessing an antinode inside the RV, can be used for measurement of the pressure coefficient of reactivity. However, this must be done with care to avoid the potential for incorrect results in some cases. The results presented in this paper can be readily extended to other VVER type reactors with both odd and even number of loops.     

Causes, course and consequences of fuel damage incident in the Paks NPP, 2003 and connecting thermal-hydraulic analyses

On April 10-11, 2003, an INES-3 classified serious incident caused heavy damage of 30 fuel assemblies in a chemical cleaning instrument installed into a service shaft of Unit 2 in the Paks NPP, Hungary.The preliminaries, the operation of the cleaning tank and the course of the incident are summarized in this paper. Also the post incidental investigations, the preparation for and the process of the recovery work are reviewed. This is the first comprehensive summary of this rather interesting and edificatory event in an international journal paper.The other part of the paper is a summary of the connecting thermal-hydraulic calculations performed at The Institute of Nuclear Techniques, Budapest University of Technology and Economics. An important aim of these sections is demonstrating that CFD was a useful tool for understanding the processes and backing certain decisions from the beginning till the recovery work.     

Parametric tests and measurements after shimming of a beryllium reflector in a miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR)

After 10 years operation of Pakistan research reactor-2 (PARR-2), a miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR), a beryllium reflector was added to compensate the loss of reactivity due to burn up of fuel. Beryllium shim plates have been placed at the top of the core in a tray provided for this purpose. The control rod was dismantled and withdrawn from the core and the reactor was made subcritical with cadmium shimming. To monitor the neutron population during this experiment, two additional neutron monitoring channels based on BF₃ were installed around the core. Measurement of important Parameters such as effective delayed neutron fraction, decay constant, excess reactivity, control rod worth, temperature coefficient of reactivity, thermal neutron flux, cadmium ratio was done after the addition of Be reflector. Increase in reactivity worth due to addition of Be shim was 1.0 mk.     

Design & construction of a digital real time reactivity meter for Tehran research reactor

Reactivity measurement is one of the challenges of monitoring, control and investigation of nuclear reactors. In this paper design and construction of a reactivity meter for continuous monitoring of reactivity in research reactors are described. The device receives amplified output of the fission chamber, which is in mA range, as the input. Using amplifier circuits, this current is converted to voltage and then digitalized with a microcontroller to be sent to serial port of computer. The device itself consists of software, which is a MATLAB real time programming for the computation of reactivity by the solution of neutron kinetic equations. After data processing the reactivity is calculated and presented using LCD. Tehran research reactor is selected to test the reactivity meter device. The results of applying this reactivity meter in Tehran research reactor (TRR) are compared with the experimental data of control rod worth, void coefficient of reactivity and reactivity changes during approach to full power. The maximum relative error in several experiments is calculated to be 13%.     

Control of Repetitive-Accelerator Fast-Pulsed Reactor

Control algorithms are proposed for on-line computer control of the repetitive-accelerator fast-pulsed reactor.

Firstly, simplification of the reactor core dynamics is obtained by regression analysis technique in order to obtain a compact model of the pulsed reactor.

Secondly, a start-up control algorithm to avoid severe thermal shock in the fuel rod is proposed. This is essentially a programmed control, whereby the external neutron source from the accelerator and the external reactivity are controlled in such manner that the fuel temperature would follow a predetermined time trajectory. Applicability of the method to the reactor start-up is proved by a computer simulation experiment.

Thirdly, a control concept for constant power operation is proposed. This is composed of two control loops: (1) a fine control loop, which responds quickly to small variations of reactor power, and (2) a diagnosis and adaptation loop, which judges whether a large deviation from set-up value observed on the reactor power output is due to an abnormality in the external neutron source, or to a change of the set-up value itself, and then adaptively returns the reactor power to the set-up value. A computer simulation experiment demonstrated the validity of the control system characteristics.

A discussion is also presented on the problems foreseen in applying the proposed methods to the actual design of a digital computer control system.     

Modelling of the spatial distribution of the induced activities in the RBMK-1500 reactor graphite blocks and rings/sleeves

There is one nuclear power plant (NPP) in Lithuania – the Ignalina NPP – which is under decommissioning now. The Ignalina NPP has two units with RBMK-1500 reactors, which are the most powerful and the most advanced versions of RBMK-type reactor design. Unit 1 of the Ignalina NPP was shut down at the end of 2004 and Unit 2 was shut down at the end of 2009. RBMK is a water-cooled graphite-moderated channel-type power reactor and the decommissioning of these reactors faces specific challenges for proper characterisation and disposal of irradiated reactor graphite.Apart from radiological inventory, the spatial distribution of radionuclides in the reactor graphite is also very important because it could indicate the possibilities for decontamination/treatment of the irradiated graphite. This is important for consideration of the near surface disposal option for irradiated graphite, as without treatment it usually does not meet the waste acceptance criteria.Based on that, the work presented in this paper is focused on the modelling of the induced activity spatial distribution in the Ignalina NPP RBMK-1500 reactor graphite components: blocks and rings/sleeves. The modelling was performed with MCNP and SCALE computer codes and consisted of two mains stages: modelling of the neutron flux in the reactor graphite components, and then modelling of the neutron activation in them using the already modelled neutron flux. In such a way, the spatial induced activity distribution in the analysed reactor components was obtained. Modelling results show that the thermal neutron flux is more intensive in the outer radial regions of the graphite components and this, in general, results in higher induced activities there.