Fuel assembly design study for a reactor with supercritical water

The European concept of the High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) differs from current light water reactors in a higher system pressure beyond the critical point of water, as well as a higher heat-up of the coolant within the core and thus higher core outlet temperatures, leading to a significant increase in turbine power and thermal efficiency of the power plant. The motivation to develop a novel fuel assembly for the HPLWR is caused by the high variation of coolant density in the core by more than a factor of seven. A systematic design study shows that a square fuel assembly with two rows of fuel rods and a central moderator box is best to minimize the structural material, to optimize the moderator to fuel ratio and to reduce differences of fuel rod power. Using neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses, a detailed mechanical design of a fuel assembly of the HPLWR has been worked out. Moreover, concepts for the head piece, the foot piece, the steam plenum and the lower mixing plenum, including the lower core plate, have been developed to account for the individual flow paths of this reactor. These allow a leak-tight counter current flow of moderator water and coolant as well as uniform mixing of different mass flows. The assembly design concept can be used as a general key component for any advanced core design of this reactor.     

物理-热工耦合对超临界水堆系统特性的影响分析

物理-热工耦合是超临界水堆系统分析的关键问题之一。以日本超临界水冷热堆Super LWR的堆芯设计为例,借助Dragon编制中子截面数据库,建立双群中子扩散方程计算模块,联系同时建立的热工计算模块,得到超临界水堆的物理-热工耦合计算模型。通过对比稳态与瞬态工况下耦合前、后的热工工况,分析物理-热工耦合条件下的超临界水堆系统热工特性。结果表明：在稳态工况下,物理-热工耦合将导致内、外组件堆芯功率峰值沿轴向发生明显偏移,使得部分节点的包壳温度升高,但包壳最高温度降低;在瞬态工况下,物理-热工耦合将导致堆芯包壳最高温度的发生位置有所改变。发生给水加热丧失瞬态后,在某一时刻,外部组件的包壳最高温度将转而超过内部组件的包壳最高温度。可见,物理-热工耦合对包壳最高温度的大小和发生位置均可能产生明显影响。计算分析可为超临界水堆瞬态及安全分析提供相应理论参考。     

Studies on supercritical water reactor fuel assemblies using the sub-channel code COBRA-EN

In the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) program, the supercritical water reactor (SCWR) concept is among the six innovative reactor types selected for development in the near future. In principle the higher efficiency and better economics make the SCWR concept competitive with the current reactor design. Due to different technical challenges that, however exist, fuel assembly design represents a crucial aspect for the success of this concept. In particular large density variations, low moderation, heat transfer enhancement and deterioration have a strong effect on the core design parameters. Only a few computational tools are currently able to perform sub-channel thermal-hydraulic analysis under supercritical water conditions. At JRC-IE the existing sub-channel code COBRA-EN has been improved to work above the critical pressure of water. The water properties package of the IAPWS Industrial Formulation 1997 was integrated in COBRA-EN to compute the Thermodynamic Properties of Water and Steam. New heat transfer and pressure drop correlations more indicated for the supercritical region of water have also been incorporated in the code. As part of the efforts to appraise the new code capabilities, a code assessment was carried out on the hexagonal fuel assembly of a fast supercritical water reactor. COBRA-EN was also applied in combination with the neutronic code MCNP to investigate on the use of hydride fuel in the HPLWR supercritical water fuel assembly. The results showed that COBRA-EN was able to reproduce the results of similar studies with acceptable accuracy. Future activities will focus on the validation of the code against experimental data and the implementation of new features (counter-current moderator channel, wall, and wire-wrap models).     

HPLWR equilibrium core design with the KARATE code system

The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) is the European version of the various supercritical water cooled reactor proposals. The paper presents the activity of KFKI-AEKI in the field of neutronic core design within the framework of the "HPLWR Phase 2" FP-6 and the Hungarian “NUKENERG” projects. As the coolant density along the axial direction shows remarkable change, coupled neutronic-thermohydraulic calculations are essential which take into account the heating of moderator in the special water rods of the assemblies. A parametrized diffusion cross section library was prepared for the HPLWR assembly with the MULTICELL neutronic transport code. The parametrized cross sections are used by the KARATE program system, which was verified by comparative Monte Carlo calculations. Preliminary loadings of the HPLWR core were assessed, which contain insulated assemblies with Gd burnable absorbers. The fuel assemblies have radial and axial enrichment zoning to reduce hot spots.     

A pressure-tube Advanced Burner Test Reactor concept

A new steady-state fast neutron test reactor has been conceptually designed. This paper presents a new concept for a CANDU-based fast test reactor that is horizontal in orientation, with individual pressure/Calandria tubes (PT/CT) running the entire length of the scattering-medium tank (Calandria) filled with Lead-Bismuth-Eutectic (LBE). This approach for a test reactor will provide more flexibility in refueling, sample removal, and ability to completely reconfigure the core to meet different users’ requirements. Full core neutronic analysis showed a small hexagonal reactor, LBE-cooled, trans-uranics (TRU)-67Zr fuel with HT-9 cladding and structures, with a core power of 100 MW_th produced a fast flux (>0.1 MeV) of 1.4 × 10¹⁵ n/cm² s averaged over the whole length of six irradiation channels with a total testing volume of more than 77 l. Loading of TRU from legacy UO₂ spent fuel allowed core continuous operation for 180 effective full power days with a net fissile-Pu burning rate of 6.4%. Since high neutron fluence impact on PT/CT might be an issue of concern for this design, oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steel was used as PT/CT material without any impact on core neutronic behavior. An innovative shutdown/control system which consisted of the six outermost fuel channels was proven to be effective in shutting the core down when flooded with boric acid as a neutron absorber. The new shutdown/control system has the advantage of causing the minimum perturbation of the axial flux shape when the control channels are partially flooded with boric acid. A preliminary thermal-hydraulic analysis of LBE produced acceptable pumping power and clad temperature. Voiding the core from its LBE coolant resulted in a positive reactivity insertion which is typical of most fast reactors. Hypothetical accidents of draining the Calandria and/or the external LBE reflector tank of the LBE core resulted in negative reactivity insertion which shut the reactor down.     

European supercritical water cooled reactor

The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR), how the European Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor is called, is a pressure vessel type reactor operated with supercritical water at 25 MPa feedwater pressure and 500 °C average core outlet temperature. It is designed and analyzed by a European consortium of 10 partners and 3 active supporters from 8 Euratom member states in the second phase of the HPLWR project. Most emphasis has been laid on a core with a thermal neutron spectrum, consisting of small fuel assemblies in boxes with 40 fuel pins each and a central water box to improve the neutron moderation despite the low coolant density. Peak cladding temperatures of the fuel rods have been minimized by heating up the coolant in three steps with intermediate coolant mixing. The containment design with its safety and residual heat removal systems is based on the latest boiling water reactor concept, but with different passive high pressure coolant injection systems to cause a forced convection through the core. The design concept of the steam cycle is indicating the envisaged efficiency increase to around 44%. Moreover, it provides the constraints to design the components of the balance of the plant. The project is accompanied by numerical studies of heat transfer of supercritical water in fuel assemblies and by material tests of candidate cladding alloys, performed by the consortium and supported by additional tests of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Besides the scientific and technical progress, the HPLWR project turned out to be most successful in training the young generation of nuclear engineers in the technologies of light water reactors. More than 20 bachelor or master theses and more than 10 doctoral theses on HPLWR technologies have been submitted at partner organizations of this consortium since the start of this project.     

重水冷却钍基长寿命模块化小堆概念设计研究

基于传统压水堆（PWR）技术,提出一种重水冷却的钍基长寿命模块化小堆（RMSMR）的概念设计方案,采用二维模型系统分析并对比了PWR和RMSMR的燃料类型、慢化剂类型等参数,获得反应堆各项中子学参数的变化机理;然后基于二维计算结果提出了最终的三维堆芯设计方案,并开展了初步的中子物理和热工安全分析。研究表明,RMSMR在设计上采用三区燃料布置来展平功率,采用钍-铀燃料维持了负空泡系数,通过布置增殖包层提高了堆芯的转换比（CR）;RMSMR采用了重水冷却剂可以使中子能谱硬化,从而提高CR,减小寿期反应性波动,增加堆芯寿期;RMSMR能够在100 MW电功率下维持6 a的安全运行。本文研究可为新型反应堆的设计发展提供借鉴。      

Core Safety Characteristics of High Flux Safe Reactor (HFSR)

Abstract

Transient analyses are performed for graphite moderated helium-cooled high flux reactor to obtain the high flux safe reactor design. In order to promote the safety of the high flux reactor, the present design adopts the pebble bed reactor and its fuel technology. In the transient analyses, among the postulated off-normal events and accidents, the reactivity accident followed by a loss of helium forced circulation with system depressurization is found to be the severest potential event which may threaten the reactor safety from fission products release point of view. Several neutronic and thermal-hydraulic design parameters are indicated and exploited to promote the reactor safety. Neutronic and core thermal-hydralic models are proposed and used to simulate the reactor responses to the off-normal events and accidents. As the results of the transient analyses and accident simulation, safe and optimal design parameters are obtained which provide high thermal neutron flux with a desirable spectrum and large usable volume constrained by safety limitations.     

Homogeneous zones definition in deterministic codes and effect on computed neutronic parameters

The design or modification and in general the analysis and control of nuclear reactors require complex calculations, which are carried out by numerical codes including neutronic and thermal-hydraulic components. Among the neutronic codes, the deterministic ones which solve the neutron transport/diffusion equation simulate the reactor core by dividing it into homogenized zones, i.e. volumes within which the macroscopic nuclear properties are considered uniform. These codes have been extensively used and tested for several decades and are shown to perform well when they analyze reactor cores containing regions with relatively homogeneous distributions of fuel, moderator and absorbing materials. In this work, the sensitivity of computed key neutronic parameters to the partitioning of the reactor core in homogenized zones is examined. Application is made for a configuration of the Greek Research Reactor (GRR-1) core, which is pool type, fueled by slab-type fuel elements. For the calculations, the neutronic code system consisting of XSDRNPM (cell-calculations) and CITATION (core analysis) is used with two different definitions of homogeneous zones for the special/control fuel assemblies. The effect on computations of neutron flux distribution, void-induced reactivity and total control rod worth is examined based on corresponding measurements. It is shown that with a more appropriate partition in homogeneous zones, the agreement of computed results with measurements can be remarkably improved concerning mainly the neutron flux, while the control rods worth is the less affected quantity.     

Nonlinear analysis of nuclear coupled density wave instability in time domain for a boiling water reactor core undergoing core-wide and regional modes of oscillations

The objective of the paper is to develop a nuclear coupled thermal-hydraulic model in order to simulate core-wide (in-phase) and regional (out-of-phase) stability analysis in time domain within the limitation of desktop research facility for a boiling water reactor subjected to operational transients. The integrated numerical tool, which is a combination of thermal-hydraulic, neutronic and fuel heat conduction models, is used to analyze a complete boiling water reactor core taking into account the strong nonlinear coupling between the core neutron dynamics and primary circuit thermal-hydraulics via the void-temperature reactivity feedback effects. The integrated model is validated against standard benchmark and published results. Finally, the model is used for various parametric studies and a number of numerical simulations are carried out to investigate core-wide and regional instabilities of the boiling water reactor core with and without the neutronic feedback effects. Results show that the inclusion of neutronic feedback effects has an adverse effect on boiling water reactor core by augmenting the instability at lower power for same inlet subcooling during core-wide mode of oscillations, whereas the instability is being suppressed during regional mode of oscillations in presence of the neutronic feedback. Dominance of core-wide instability over regional mode of oscillations is established for the present case of simulations which indicates that the preclusion of the former will automatically prevent the latter at the existing working condition.     

Performance evaluation/analysis of Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1) current core configuration

Neutronic and thermal hydraulic analyses have been carried out for current core of Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1). Comparison was made between calculated and measured key neutronic parameters. Reactor core parameters important for reactor operation and safety have been calculated. Calculated neutronic parameters include: excess reactivity, shut down margin, control rod worth, peak power density location, criticality position, peaking factors, neutron flux in fuel elements and neutron flux at irradiation sites in the core. Calculated thermal hydraulic parameters include: steady-state temperatures and peak temperatures at fuel centerline, clad surface and in water coolant. In order to determine safety margins, heat fluxes at Onset of Nucleate Boiling (ONB), Onset of Flow Instability (OFI) and Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB) were determined using standard correlations. After assembling the core, performance of the core was also evaluated by experimentation. The core was assembled and some of the core parameters namely: excess reactivity, shut down margin, control rod worth and flux profile at in-core irradiation sites have been measured. On comparison with experimental data, reasonable agreement has been found between the calculated and the measured parameters.     

Concept of a pressurized water reactor cooled with supercritical water in the primary loop

A novel concept of a pressurized water reactor with a primary loop cooled with supercritical water is introduced and analyzed in this work. A steam cycle analysis has been performed to illustrate the advantages of such a nuclear power plant with respect to specific power and thermal efficiency. Moreover, a reactor pressure vessel concept including its internals and a suitable core and fuel assembly design are presented overcoming the problems, which arise due to the high heat up of the coolant and the density change involved with it. The core power and coolant density distributions are predicted with coupled neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses. The method features the definition of inlet orifices for coolant mass flow adjustment within the core as well as an additional tool for the interpolation of local pin power data. The latter one has been used for a successive sub-channel analysis of the hottest fuel assembly of the core, which provides a more detailed spatial resolution and thus predicts peak cladding temperatures, the maximum linear pin power of fuel pins, and maximum fuel temperatures. It can be shown that maximum temperatures of claddings and fuel are well below the material limits. Thanks to an average core exit temperature below the pseudo-critical temperature, the core concept leaves enough margin for additional uncertainties and allowances for operation.     

Neutronic analysis for core conversion (HEU–LEU) of Pakistan research reactor-2 (PARR-2)

Neutronic analyses for the core conversion of Pakistan research reactor-2 (PARR-2) from high enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel has been performed. Neutronic model has been verified for 90.2% enriched HEU fuel (UAl₄–Al). For core conversion, UO₂ fuel was chosen as an appropriate fuel option because of higher uranium density. Clad has been changed from aluminum to zircalloy-4. Uranium enrichment of 12.6% has been optimized based on the design basis criterion of excess reactivity 4 mk in miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR). Lattice calculations for cross-section generation have been performed utilizing WIMS while core modeling was carried out employing three dimensions option of CITATION. Calculated neutronic parameters were compared for HEU and LEU fuels. Comparison shows that to get same thermal neutron flux at inner irradiation sites, reactor power has to be increased from 30 to 33 kW for LEU fuel. Reactivity coefficients calculations show that doppler and void coefficient values of LEU fuel are higher while moderator coefficient of HEU fuel is higher. It is concluded that from neutronic point of view LEU fuel UO₂ of 12.6% enrichment with zircalloy-4 clad is suitable to replace the existing HEU fuel provided that dimensions of fuel pin and total number of fuel pins are kept same as for HEU fuel.     

Introducing and validating a new method for coupling neutronic and thermal-hydraulic calculations

In this study, a new and innovative method is introduced for analyzing neutronic and thermal-hydraulic calculation. For this aim, VVR-S research reactor was selected, and the calculation procedure was performed for it. WIMS, CITATION and COBRA-EN codes were used for investigation. Calculation model consists of two sub-models: neutronic and thermo-hydraulic. The neutronic model uses WIMS and CITATION codes for neutronic simulation of the reactor core and calculating flux and power distribution over it. WIMS code simulates the fuel assemblies and CITATION models the core. The thermal-hydraulic model uses COBRA-EN code for performing the relative calculation. In this study, FORTRAN 90 program is used for linking two sub-models and performing the calculation. The proposed procedure is performed for VVR-S analysis and finally, the obtained results are compared with the experimental results that show good agreement with it.     

Design of a supercritical water-cooled reactor with a three-pass core arrangement

The Supercritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) is one of the six concepts of the Generation IV International Forum. In Europe, investigations have been integrated into a joint research project, called High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR). Due to the higher heat up within the core and a higher outlet temperature, a significant increase in turbine power and thermal efficiency of the plant can be expected.Besides the higher pressure and higher steam temperature, the design concept of this type of reactor differs significantly from a conventional LWR by a different core concept. In order to achieve the high outlet temperature of over 500 °C, a core with a three-step heat up and intermediate mixing is proposed to keep local cladding temperatures within today's material limits. A design for the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and the internals has been worked out to incorporate a core arrangement with three passes. All components have been dimensioned following the safety standards of the nuclear safety standards commission in Germany. Additionally, a fuel assembly cluster with head and foot piece has been developed to facilitate the complex flow path for the multi-pass concept. The design of the internals and of the RPV is verified using mechanical or, in the case of large thermal deformations, combined mechanical and thermal stress analyses. Furthermore, the reactor design ensures that the total coolant flow path remains closed against leakage of colder moderator water even in case of large thermal expansions of the components. The design of the RPV and internals is now available for detailed analyses of the core and the reactor.     

Design and analysis of a thermal core for a high performance light water reactor

The High Performance Light Water Reactor is a Generation IV light water reactor concept, operated at a supercritical pressure of 25 MPa with a core outlet temperature of 500 °C. A thermal core design for this reactor has been worked out by a consortium of Euratom member states within the 6th European Framework Program. Aiming at peak cladding temperatures of less than 630 °C, including uncertainties and allowances for operation, the coolant is heated up in three steps with intermediate coolant mixing to eliminate hot streaks. Different from conventional reactors, the radial power profile is intended to be non-uniform, with the highest power in the first heat-up step in the core center and the lowest power in the second superheater step to result in the same peak cladding temperatures in each region. The concept has been studied with neutronic, thermal-hydraulic and structural analyses to assess its feasibility. Coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic analyses are defining the initial distribution of enrichment, control rod positions and the use of burnable poisons. Sub-channel analyses predict the coolant mixing inside assemblies, and a porous media approach simulates the flow of moderator water between assembly boxes. Finally, structural analyses of the assembly boxes are needed to minimize deformations during operation. Even though the core design cannot yet considered to be final, this state of the art review shall summarize the progress achieved so far and outline the remaining challenges.     

Static design of a liquid-salt-cooled pebble bed reactor (LSPBR)

A renewed interest has been raised for liquid-salt-cooled nuclear reactors. The excellent heat transfer properties of liquid-salt coolants provide several benefits, like lower fuel temperatures, higher average coolant temperature, increased core power density and better decay heat removal, and thus higher achievable core power. In order to benefit from the on-line refueling capability of a pebble bed reactor, the liquid salt pebble bed reactor (LSPBR) is proposed. This is a high temperature pebble bed reactor with a fuel design similar to existing HTRs, but using a liquid-salt as coolant. In this paper, the selection criteria for the liquid-salt coolant are described. Based on its neutronic properties, LiF–BeF₂ (flibe) was selected for the LSPBR. Two designs of the LSPBR were considered: a cylindrical core and an annular core with a graphite inner reflector. Coupled neutronic thermal-hydraulic calculations were performed to obtain the steady state power distribution and the corresponding fuel temperature distribution. Calculations were performed to investigate the decay heat removal capability in a protected loss-of-forced cooling accident. The maximum allowable power that can be produced with the LSPBR is hereby determined.     

Neutronic feasibility design of a small long-life HTR

Small high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs) have the advantages of transportability, modular construction and flexible site selection. This paper presents the neutronic feasibility design of a 20 MWth U-Battery, which is a long-life block-type HTR. Key design parameters and possible reactor core configurations of the U-Battery were investigated by SCALE 5.1. The design parameters analyzed include fuel enrichment, the packing fraction of TRISO particles, the radii of fuel compacts and kernels, and the thicknesses of top and bottom reflectors. Possible reactor core configurations investigated include five cylindrical, two annular and four scatter reactor cores for the U-Battery. The neutronic design shows that the 20 MWth U-Battery with a 10-year lifetime is feasible using less than 20% enriched uranium, while the negative values of the temperature coefficients of reactivity partly ensure the inherent safety of the U-Battery. The higher the fuel enrichment and the packing fraction of TRISO particles are, the lower the reactivity swing during 10 years will be. There is an optimum radius of fuel kernels for each value of the fuel compact design parameter (i.e., radius) and a specific fuel lifetime. Moreover, the radius of fuel kernels has a small influence on the infinite multiplication factor of a typical fuel block in the range of 0.2–0.25 mm, when the radius of fuel compacts is 0.6225 cm and the lifetime of the fuel block is 10 years. The comparison of the cylindrical reactor cores with the non-cylindrical ones shows that neutron under-moderation is a basic neutronic characteristic of the reactor core of the U-Battery. Increasing neutron moderation by replacing fuel blocks with graphite blocks and dispersing the graphite blocks in the reactor core are two effective ways to increase the fuel burnup and lifetime of the U-Battery. Water or steam ingress may induce positive reactivity ranging from 0 to 0.16 Δk/k, which further demonstrates that the U-Battery is under-moderated.     

Experimental study of the coupled thermo-hydraulic–neutronic stability of a natural circulation HPLWR

The HPLWR (high performance light water reactor) is the European concept design for a SCWR (supercritical water reactor). This unique reactor design consists of a three pass core with intermediate mixing plena. As the supercritical water passes through the core, it experiences a significant density reduction. This large change in density could be used as the driving force for natural circulation of the coolant, adding an inherent safety feature to this concept design. The idea of natural circulation has been explored in the past for boiling water reactors (BWR). From those studies, it is known that the different feedback mechanisms can trigger flow instabilities. These can be purely thermo-hydraulic (driven by the friction – mass flow rate or gravity – mass flow rate feedback of the system), or they can be coupled thermo-hydraulic–neutronic (driven by the coupling between friction, mass flow rate and power production). The goal of this study is to explore the stability of a natural circulation HPLWR considering the thermo-hydraulic–neutronic feedback. This was done through a unique experimental facility, DeLight, which is a scaled model of the HPLWR using Freon R23 as a scaling fluid. An artificial neutronic feedback was incorporated into the system based on the average measured density. To model the heat transfer dynamics in the rods, a simple first order model was used with a fixed time constant of 6 s. The results include the measurements of the varying decay ratio (DR) and frequency over a wide range of operating conditions. A clear instability zone was found within the stability plane, which seems to be similar to that of a BWR. Experimental data on the stability of a supercritical loop is rare in open literature, and these data could serve as an important benchmark tool for existing codes and models.     

Preliminary neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis of a 2 MW Thorium-based Molten Salt Reactor with Solid Fuel

The Fluoride-salt-cooled High temperature Reactor (FHR) is an advanced concept combining attractive attributes by adopting low pressure liquid salt, high temperature coated particle fuel and air-Brayton combined cycle. 2 MW Thorium-based Molten Salt Reactor with Solid Fuel (TMSR-SF) designed by Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) as a test reactor is planned to be constructed. In this paper, the preliminary neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis of the TMSR-SF is performed. The neutronic investigation is conducted by developing a validated 3-D model for the reactor with MCNP-4C. Core physics parameters of TMSR-SF including the effective multiplication factor, neutron flux distribution, power density distribution, control system worth, reactivity coefficients and kinetics parameters are obtained, which are used as input parameters for the thermal-hydraulic analysis of the TMSR-SF. The FHR Safety Analysis Code (FSAC) is extended to study the safety characteristics of the TMSR-SF by simulating four types of basic transient conditions including the unprotected loss of flow (ULOF), unprotected overcooling (UOC), unprotected transient overpower (UTOP) and the combination of ULOF and UTOP. The results show that the concept design of TMSR-SF is an inherently safe design with no temperature limits exceeded in the analyzed transient conditions.