Startup and burnup strategy for Th–U/U–Pu fuel cycles in an EM2 reactor

General Atomics (GA) is developing the Energy Multiplier Module (EM²) which is a compact gas-cooled fast reactor as one of candidates of the Generation-IV nuclear energy systems. In the EM² core, low enriched uranium is used as igniting fuel and depleted uranium is used for converting and burning. It indicates that EM² can maintain critical operation for more than 30 years without refueling. To further study the Th–U fuel cycle performance in the EM², two kinds of start-up strategies with Th–U (Th + ²³³U) and semi Th–U (Th + enriched ²³⁵U) are evaluated. Neutronics characteristics, such as the effective multiplicity factor (k_eff) and conversion ratio (CR) are analyzed from neutron usage point of view. The simulated results for the two kinds of fuels are compared with the U–Pu fuel from the design of GA. The analysis gives an insight into the pros and cons of U–Pu and Th–U fuel cycles in terms of the breeding capability and the discharged radio-toxicity. The breeding performance of the second generation EM² is also presented and compared with that of the first generation EM². It indicates that the multi-generation EM² can deepen the burnup and reduce the waste management pressure for each kind of fuel loading strategy.     

Receding horizon time-optimal control for a class of differentially flat systems

A closed-loop, time-optimal path-following control scheme is proposed for a class of constrained differentially flat systems. Within a receding horizon framework, a finite horizon optimisation problem is solved at each sample, using available state feedback and feedforward path information. Irrespective of horizon length, the proposed formulation guarantees exact path-following. Moreover, the requirements under which the proposed algorithm achieves minimum-time path-following are established. Simulations conducted with a rigid X–Y table model confirm the theoretical results.     

Microstructural characterization and high cycle fatigue behavior of investment cast A357 aluminum alloy

In order to observe the influence of strontium (Sr) modification and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on an aluminum–silicon cast alloy A357 (AlSi7Mg0.6), the microstructure and the high cycle fatigue behavior of three batches of materials produced by investment casting (IC) were studied. The parts were produced by an advanced IC proprietary process. The main process innovation is to increase the solidification and cooling rate by immersing the mold in cool liquid. Its advantage is to produce finer microstructures. Microstructural characterization showed a dendrite arm spacing (DAS) refinement of 40% when compared with the same part produced by conventional investment casting. Fatigue tests were conducted on hourglass specimens heat treated to T6, under a stress ratio of R = 0.1 and a frequency of 25 Hz. One batch of material was unmodified but two batches were modified with 0.007% and 0.013% Sr addition, from which one batch was submitted to HIP after casting. Results reported in S–N diagrams show that the addition of Sr and the HIP process improve the 10⁶ cycles fatigue strength by 9% and 34% respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation of the fracture surfaces showed a variety of crack initiation mechanisms. In the unmodified alloy, decohesion between the coarse Si particles and the aluminum matrix was mostly observed. On the other hand, in the modified but non HIP-ed alloy, cracks initiated from pores. When the same alloy was subjected to HIP, a competition between crystallographic crack initiations (at persistent slip bands) and decohesion/failure of intermetallic phases was observed. When compared to fatigue strength reported for components produced by permanent mold casting, the studied material are more resistant to fatigue even in the unmodified and non HIP-ed states.     

核燃料循环设施安全关键岗位识别方法初探

研究建立了基于岗位的工作责任、安全风险和专业技能等特性指标的核燃料循环设施安全关键岗位识别方法,给出了核燃料循环设施安全关键岗位的定义、识别指标体系、识别原则、识别评价流程和后处理设施应用案例。     

Life Cycle Assessment of Substitute Natural Gas production from biomass and electrolytic hydrogen

The synthesis of a Substitute Natural Gas (SNG) that is compatible with the gas grid composition requirements by using surplus electricity from renewable energy sources looks a favourable solution to store large quantities of electricity and to decarbonise the gas grid network while maintaining the same infrastructure. The most promising layouts for SNG production and the conditions under which SNG synthesis reduces the environmental impacts if compared to its fossil alternative is still largely untapped. In this work, six different layouts for the production of SNG and electricity from biomass and fluctuating electricity are compared from the environmental point of view by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Global Warming Potential (GWP), Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and Acidification Potential (AP) are selected as impact indicators for this analysis. The influence of key LCA methodological aspects on the conclusions is also explored. In particular, two different functional units are chosen: 1 kg of SNG produced and 1 MJ of output energy (SNG and electricity). Furthermore, different approaches dealing with co-production of electricity are also applied. The results show that the layout based on hydrogasification has the lowest impacts on all the considered cases apart from the GWP and the CED with SNG mass as the functional unit and the avoided burden approach. Finally, the selection of the multifunctionality approach is found to have a significant influence on technology ranking.     

Multi-period wind integrated optimal dispatch using series PSO-DE with time-varying Gaussian membership function based fuzzy selection

Wind power has emerged as the most promising option for providing sustainable eco-friendly power supply to the modern world. Due to its unpredictable nature, integration of wind power into the conventional power grid is a very challenging task having dynamic characteristics. Due to the inherent uncertainty associated with wind availability, additional spinning reserve needs to be scheduled in order to maintain security and supply reliability. Multi-period multi-objective optimal dispatch (MPMOOD) is presented for wind integrated power system with reserve constraints. The complex relationship between wind power availability, spinning reserve allocation and their impact on economic/environmental cost are analysed using an elaborate model.A new multi-objective Series PSO-DE (SPSO-DE) hybrid algorithm is proposed where the two paradigms, differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) share domain information and maintain a synergistic cooperation to overcome their individual weaknesses. For multi-objective (MO) problems, the selection operation in SPSO-DE is replaced by a 5-class time-varying fuzzy selection mechanism (TVFSM) to avoid saturation and to increase Pareto diversity. To promote convergence towards the central part of the Pareto front and to quickly isolate the boundary solutions, Guassian membership function is employed. Elitism is applied to preserve good solutions and momentum operation is used to stop premature convergence. The proposed method expedites the search for the best solution, i.e. the solution which satisfies all the objectives of the MO problems. To test the performance and computational efficiency, the proposed method is applied on two standard test power systems.     

Reduction of Ripple Current Loss by Electromagnetic Coupling of Air‐Core Reactors

To reduce the loss due to ripple current in a multiphase current‐reversible chopper, we investigated electromagnetic coupling of an air‐core reactor. We derived the relationship between the amplitude of the ripple current, the duty factor, and the electromagnetic coupling coefficient, and used the results to estimate the effects of electromagnetic coupling in the design of a train energy storage system. We built reactors with electromagnetic coupling coefficients of 0.93 and 0.60. These reactors employed a new winding structure that provides an optimal electromagnetic coupling coefficient. The mass of the former type of reactor was increased by 4.4% over the conventional design, and that of the latter type of reactor was decreased by 17%. Finally, we tested the new reactors. When the chopper employs the former type of reactor and operates with equal‐phase switching and cumulative coupling, the loss due to ripple current is decreased by 11%. When the chopper employs the latter type of reactor and operates with shift‐phase switching and differential coupling, the loss is decreased to 31%. The test showed that the calculated relationships agreed with the measured values.     

Degradation analysis of the core components of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack under dynamic load cycles

The durability of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is still an important factor that hinders its large-scale commercial application. In this paper, we have conducted a 1000 h durability test on a 1 kW metal plate PEMFC stack, and explored the degradation of the core components. After 1000 h of dynamic load cycles, the voltage decay percentage of the stack under the current densities of 1000 mA cm^?2 is 5.67%. By analyzing the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, the surfaces of the metal plates are contaminated locally by organic matter precipitated from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The SEM images of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM) cross section indicate that the MEA has undergone severe degradation, including the agglomeration of the catalyst layer, and the thinning and perforation of the PEM. These are the main factors that cause the rapid increase in hydrogen crossover flow rate and performance decay of the PEMFC stack.     

Thermo-economic investigation on the hydrogen production through the stored solar energy in a salinity gradient solar pond: A comparative study by employing APC and ORC with zeotropic mixture

In this paper, a salinity gradient solar pond (SGSP) is used to harness the solar energy for hydrogen production through two cycles. The first cycle includes an absorption power cycle (APC), a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) unit; in the second one, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with the zeotropic mixture is used instead of APC. The cycles are analyzed through the thermoeconomic vantage point to discover the effect of key decision variables on the cycles’ performance. Finally, NSGA-II is used to optimize both cycles. The results indicate that employing ORC with zeotropic mixture leads to a better performance in comparison to utilizing APC. For the base mode, unit cost product (UCP), exergy, and energy efficiency when APC is employed are 59.9 $/GJ, 23.73%, and 3.84%, respectively. These amounts are 47.27 $/GJ, 29.48%, and 5.86% if ORC with the zeotropic mixture is utilized. The APC and ORC generators have the highest exergy destruction rate which is equal to 6.18 and 10.91 kW. In both cycles, the highest investment cost is related to the turbine and is 0.8275 $/h and 0.976 $/h for the first and second cycles, respectively. In the optimum state the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, UCP, and H₂ production rate of the system enhances 42.44%, 27.54%,15.95%, and 38.24% when ORC with the zeotropic mixture is used. The maximum H₂ production is 0.47 kg/h, and is obtained when the mass fraction of R142b, LCZ temperature, pumps pressure ratio, generator bubble point temperature are 0.603, 364.35 K, 2.12, 337.67 K, respectively.