Numerical Study on Tritium Behavior by Using Isotope Exchange Reactions in Thermochemical Water-Splitting Iodine—Sulfur Process

One potential problem in the hydrogen production system coupled with the high-temperature gascooled reactor (HTGR) is transmission of tritium from the primary coolant to the product hydrogen by permeation through the heat transfer tubes. Tritium accumulation in the process chemicals in the components of a hydrogen plant, a thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur (IS) process, will also be a critical issue in seeking to license the hydrogen plant as a non-nuclear plant in the future. A numerical analysis model for tritium behavior in the IS process was developed by considering the isotope exchange reactions between tritium and the hydrogen-containing process chemicals, i.e., H₂O, H₂SO₄ and HI. The tritium activity concentration in the IS process coupled with the high-temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR), the HTTR-IS system, was preliminarily evaluated in regard to the effects of some indeterminate parameters, i.e., equilibrium constants of the isotope exchange reactions, permeability of tritium through heat transfer tubes, tritium and hydrogen concentrations in the secondary helium coolant, and the leak rate from the secondary coolant loop. The results describing how the tritium activity concentration changes with variations in these parameters and which component has the maximum tritium activity concentration in the IS process are described in this paper.     

核电厂氚的产生和排放分析

研究核电厂中氚在堆芯和主冷却剂中的产生方式,以及进入环境的途径、形态和排放量,是核电厂辐射环境影响评价非常重要的内容之一。本文通过分析压水堆核电厂中的主冷却剂系统、辅助系统、三废系统和厂房通风系统的运行模式,结合国际上的运行经验参数,研究主冷却剂中的氚排放进入环境大气的途径和形态。研究结果表明:理论计算分析结果与电厂运行经验数据相吻合,氚主要通过燃料棒中的三元裂变,可燃毒物棒中硼的活化以及主冷却剂中硼、锂和氘流经堆芯时的活化产生,主要以液态氚水形式排放,影响气液两相分配份额的主要因素取决于主冷却剂向反应堆厂房和辅助厂房的泄漏率。     

Numerical Study on Effects of Fuel Mixture Fraction and Li-6 Enrichment on Neutronic Parameters of a Fusion–Fission Hybrid Reactor

This study presents the effects of mixture fractions of nuclear fuels (mixture of fissile–fertile fuels and mixture of two different fertile fuels) and ⁶Li enrichment on the neutronic parameters (the tritium breeding ratio, TBR, the fission rate, FR, the energy multiplication ratio, M, the fissile breeding rate, FBR, the neutron leakage out of blanket, L, and the peak-to-average fission power density ratio, Γ) of a deuterium–tritium (D–T) fusion neutron-driven hybrid blanket. Three different fertile fuels (²³²Th, ²³⁸U and ²⁴⁴Cm), and one fissile fuel (²³⁵U) were selected as the nuclear fuel. Two different coolants (pressurized helium and natural lithium) were used for the nuclear heat transfer out of the fuel zone (FZ). The Boltzmann transport equation was solved numerically for obtaining the neutronic parameters with the help of the neutron transport code XSDRNPM/SCALE4.4a. In addition, these calculations were performed by also using the MCNP4B code. The sub-limits of the mixture fractions and ⁶Li enrichment were determined for the tritium self-sufficiency. The considered hybrid reactor can be operated in a self-sufficiency mode in the cases with the fuel mixtures mixed with a fraction of equal to or greater than these sub-limits. Furthermore, the numerical results show that the fissile fuel breeding and fission potentials of the blankets with the helium coolant are higher than with the lithium coolant.     

Experimental study on the adsorption and desorption of tritium in the graphite materials for HTR-PM

Tritium behavior in the reactor such as production, diffusion and release are accompanied by their adsorption and desorption in graphite materials, which are essential to the safety of high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). In order to study this important issue, hydrogen instead of tritium is experimentally used in this work and justified viable by theory. By performing multiple sets of comparative experiments, the features of hydrogen adsorption and desorption behavior changing by adsorption temperature and time in typical graphites used in HTR-PM (High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor – Pebble Bed Module), i.e. reflective layer, fuel element and boron carbon bricks, have been observed and analyzed. Furthermore, the adsorption rates of hydrogen in the three materials as above at different conditions are also given. Based on the experimental results, tritium behavior in the HTR-PM was inferred and estimated, which is significant for the further study on the mechanism of tritium transport.     

Assessment of the loads on a solid centre reflector of a Pebble Bed Reactor using DEM techniques

Distinct Element Method (DEM) techniques are commonly used in the simulation of geotechnical problems. These techniques simulate a system of particles by explicitly modelling the particles and the interaction between these particles.A new application of these techniques is the simulation of the motion of fuel elements and the interaction of the fuel elements and the reflector structures in a Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR).The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor that is being designed (and soon to be constructed) in South Africa. This reactor makes use of a solid centre reflector. It is important to illustrate the effect of the pebble bed on the loading of this reflector to show that the reflector will be able to perform its required functions with sufficient reliability.This paper concerns the application of a DEM technique to the assessment of the loads that are experienced by the centre reflector of the 400 MWth (thermal) PBMR core as well as the assessment of the reliability of the centre reflector when subject to this loading.     

压水堆主冷却剂中氚源项计算分析

压水堆主回路冷却剂流经堆芯时,水中固有及特加核素受中子辐照后会产生氚,氚几乎全部以气体和液体的形式排入环境,造成氚污染。因此,氚是压水堆辐射环境影响评价的主要关注内容之一。本文以AP1000为例,根据压水堆主回路冷却剂中氚的产生途径及其随时间的变化情况建立详细的计算模型,计算压水堆主回路冷却剂中的氚活度并分析各产氚途径对氚产生量的贡献。计算结果表明：主回路冷却剂中的氚主要来源于可溶性硼的中子活化和铀裂变,对氚产生量的贡献达80%以上;在⁷Li纯度为99.9%时,AP1000主回路中的年产氚量为5.23×10¹³ Bq,锂产氚量占总量的14.01%,随⁷Li纯度的增加,锂产氚量的贡献呈线性减小,在⁷Li纯度为99.99%时,锂产氚量占总量的3.18%。其他途径对氚的产生量贡献很小,可忽略。根据以上结果,可通过控制主回路冷却剂中添加的初始硼浓度、提高燃料包壳质量、增加LiOH中⁷Li的纯度等多种途径来降低主冷却剂中氚的产生量,从而减少氚对环境的放射性污染。     

高温气冷堆闭式布雷顿间接循环中氚的来源及其影响

氚是氢的放射性同位素,影响环境和人体健康.目前,全球自然界中的氚主要来自人类的核活动.因此,需研究核反应堆中氚的来源及其影响.在高温气冷堆中,氚是一回路放射性的主要来源之一.由于高温气冷堆堆芯温度较高,不能忽视一回路中氚向外界和二回路渗透造成的污染问题.文章阐述了氚的物理和化学特性,高温气冷堆闭式布雷顿间接循环中氚的生成来源和释放途径,分析了氚对设备材料力学性能的影响,介绍了氚向环境释放的限值、控制措施及防止氚渗透的方法.     

氦气、水和熔盐冷却的混合堆中子学性能研究

氦气、水、熔盐(Flibe)在强磁场中流动不存在严重的MHD问题,因此适合在基于磁约束的聚变-裂变混合堆中作为冷却剂.针对氦气、水、Flibe这3种冷却剂对混合堆包层中子学性能的影响进行研究,分析包层中能谱特点及燃料增殖特性.通过燃耗计算,研究氚增殖率(TBR)、能量倍增因子(M)、keff等随运行时间的变化.中子学输运采用三维蒙特卡罗程序MCNP.计算结果表明,不同的冷却剂对混合堆系统中子能谱影响很大:氦冷系统的能谱最硬,主要发生快中子裂变,氚增殖效果最好;水冷系统的能谱最软,产能最多,但需提高TBR;Flibe冷系统的能谱较硬,产能最少.     

球床包层聚变—裂变混合堆热工安全分析

球床包层混合堆与板状元件包层混合堆相比较，前者在核燃料生产和安全方面可能具有更多的优越性。本应用ＴＨＥＲＭＩＸ程序和辅助程序对我国开发的托卡马克堆芯氮气冷却球床包层聚变－裂变合堆的包层进行了热工计算。计算中考虑了不同的燃料球材料及稳态，卸压和断流事故工况。计算结果表明，只要选用合适的燃料球材料和设置适当的控制保护系统，具有快速卸料罐的托卡马克堆芯氦气包层聚变－裂变混合堆的概念设计在安全上的可行的。     

Neutronic analysis of Indian helium-cooled solid breeder tritium breeding module for testing in ITER

India has proposed the helium-cooled solid breeder blanket concept as a tritium breeding module to be tested in ITER. The module has lithium titanate for tritium breeding and beryllium for neutron multiplication. Beryllium also enhances tritium breeding. A design for the module is prepared for detailed analysis. Neutronic analysis is performed to assess the tritium breeding rate, neutron distribution, and heat distribution in the module. The tritium production distribution in submodules is evaluated to support the tritium transport analysis. The tritium breeding density in the radial direction of the module is also assessed for further optimization of the design. The heat deposition profile of the entire module is generated to support the heat removal circuit design. The estimated neutron spectrum in the radial direction also provides a more in-depth picture of the nuclear interactions inside the material zones. The total tritium produced in the HCSB module is around 13.87 mg per full day of operation of ITER, considering the 400 s ON time and 1400 s dwell time. The estimated nuclear heat load on the entire module is around 474 kW, which will be removed by the high-pressure helium cooling circuit. The heat deposition in the test blanket model (TBM) is huge (around 9 GJ) for an entire day of operation of ITER, which demonstrates the scale of power that can be produced through a fusion reactor blanket. As per the Brayton cycle, it is equivalent to 3.6 GJ of electrical energy. In terms of power production, this would be around 1655 MWh annually. The evaluation is carried out using the MCNP5 Monte Carlo radiation transport code and FEDNL 2.1 nuclear cross section data. The HCSB TBM neutronic performance demonstrates the tritium production capability and high heat deposition.     

Analysis of Tritium Behavior in Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Coupled with Thermochemical Iodine-Sulfur Process for Hydrogen Production

The tritium concentration in the hydrogen product in Japan's future very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR) system coupled with a thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur (IS) process (VHTRIS system), named GTHTR300C, was estimated by numerical analysis. The tritium concentration in the hydrogen product significantly depended on undetermined parameters, i.e., the permeabilities of a SO₃ decomposer and a H₂SO₄vaporizer made of SiC. Thus, the estimated tritium concentration in the hydrogen product for the conservative analytical condition ranged from 3.4 × 10^?3 Bq/cm³ at STP (38 Bq/g-H₂) to 0.18 Bq/cm³ at STP (2,000 Bq/g-H₂). By considering the tritium retained by core graphite and the reduction in permeation rate by an oxide film on the heat transfer tube of the IHX and the HI decomposer, the tritium concentration in the hydrogen product decreased to the range from 3.3 × 10^?5 Bq/cm³ at STP (0.36 Bq/g-H₂) to 5.6 × 10^?3 Bq/cm³ at STP (63 Bq/g-H₂), which were smaller than those for the conservative analytical condition by factors of about 3.2 × 10^?2 and 9.6 × 10^?3, respectively. The effectof the helium flow rate in the helium purification system on the tritium concentration in the hydrogen product was also evaluated.     

Neutronic analysis of PROMETHEUS reactor fueled with various compounds of thorium and uranium

In this study, neutronic performance of the DT driven blanket in the PROMETHEUS-H (heavy ion) fueled with different fuels, namely, ThO₂, ThC, UO₂, UC, U₃Si₂ and UN is investigated. Helium is used as coolant, and SiC is used as cladding material to prevent fission products from contaminating coolant and direct contact fuel with coolant in the blanket. Calculations of neutronic data per DT fusion neutron are performed by using SCALE 4.3 Code. M (energy multiplication factor) changes from 1.480 to 2.097 depending on the fuel types in the blanket under resonance-effect. M reaches the highest value in the blanket fueled with UN. Therefore, the investigated reactor can produce substantial electricity in situ. UN has the highest value of ²³⁹Pu breeding capability among the uranium fuels whereas UO₂ has the lowest one. ²³⁹Pu production ratio changes from 0.119 to 0.169 according to the uranium fuel types, and ²³³U production values are 0.125 and 0.140 in the blanket fueled with ThO₂ and ThC under resonance-effect, respectively. Heat production per MW (D,T) fusion neutron load varies from 1.30 to 7.89 W/cm³ in the first row of fissile fuel breeding zone depending on the fuel types. Heat production attains the maximum value in the blanket fueled with UN. Values of TBR (tritium breeding ratio) being one of the most important parameters in a fusion reactor are greater than 1.05 for all type of fuels so that tritium self-sufficiency is maintained for DT fusion driver. Values of peak-to-average fission power density ratio, Γ, are in the range of 1.390 and ∼1.476 depending on the fuel types in the blanket. Values of neutron leakage out of the blanket for all fuels are quite low due to SiC reflector. The maximum neutron leakage is only ∼0.025. Consequently, for all cases, the investigated reactor has high neutronic performance and can produce substantial electricity in situ, fissile fuel and tritium required for (D,T) fusion reaction.     

聚变-裂变混合能源堆一维计算模型燃耗分析

聚变-裂变混合能源堆包括聚变中子源和以天然铀为燃料、水为冷却剂的次临界包层,主要目标是生产电力。利用输运燃耗耦合程序系统MCORGS计算了混合能源堆一维模型的燃耗,给出了中子有效增殖因数k_eff、能量放大倍数M、氚增殖比TBR等物理量随时间的变化。通过分析能谱和重要核素随燃耗时间的变化,说明混合能源堆与核燃料增殖、核废料嬗变混合堆的不同特点。本文给出的结果可作为混合堆中子输运、燃耗分析程序校验的参考数据,为混合堆概念研究提供了基础数据。     

Conceptual design of Tritium Extraction System for the European HCPB Test Blanket Module

The HCPB (Helium Cooled Pebble Bed) Test Blanket Module (TBM), developed in EU to be tested in ITER, adopts a ceramic containing lithium as breeder material, beryllium as neutron multiplier and helium at 80 bar as primary coolant.In HCPB-TBM the main function of Tritium Extraction System (TES) is to extract tritium from the breeder by gas purging, to remove it from the purge gas and to route it to the ITER Tritium Plant for the final tritium processing.In this paper, starting from a revision of the so far reference process considered for HCPB-TES and considering a new modeling activity aimed to evaluate tritium concentration in purge gas, an updated conceptual design of TES is reported.     

Innovations in the ENHS reactor design and fuel cycle

A number of approaches were explored for improving characteristics of the encapsulated nuclear heat source (ENHS) reactor and its fuel cycle, including: increasing the ENHS module power, power density and the specific power, making the core design insensitive to the actinides composition variation with number of fuel recycling and reducing the positive void coefficient of reactivity. Design innovations examined for power increase include intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) design optimization, riser diameter optimization, introducing a flow partition inside the riser, increasing the cooling time of the LWR discharged TRU, increasing the minor actinides' concentration in the loaded fuel and split-enrichment for power flattening. Another design innovation described utilizes a unique synergism between the use of MA and the design of reduced power ENHS cores.

Also described is a radically different ENHS reactor concept that has a solid core from which heat pipes transport the fission power to a coolant circulating around the reflector. Promising features of this design concept include enhanced decay heat removal capability; no positive void reactivity coefficient; no direct contact between the fuel clad and the coolant; a core that is more robust for transportation; higher coolant temperature potentially offering higher energy conversion efficiency and hydrogen production capability.     

Calculation of Breakthrough Curve of Multicomponent Hydrogen Isotopes Using Cryosorption Column

The effective tritium system should be designed to recover tritium from DT reactor blanket sweep gas in a form that is easy to transfer to the main fuel cycle. The cryosorption method using a porous adsorbent at the temperature of liquid nitrogen is one of the candidate processes for extracting tritium from the sweep gas. For designing of a cryosorption column for recovery of tritium from hydrogen-swamped helium sweep gas, it is necessary to predict the breakthrough curve for mixture of multicomponent hydrogen isotopes in helium. In this report, a method to calculate the breakthrough curve at cryosorption of multicomponent hydrogen isotopes on molecular sieve 5A, molecular sieve 4A or activated carbon at 77.4 K is presented.     

CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统动态氚输运分析

实现氚自持、建立完整的氚循环系统并保证氚安全是中国聚变工程实验堆(CFETR)的主要目标之一。在CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统设计过程中,需对系统级氚输运行为进行详细分析,包括氚滞留量、释放量、浓度的动态变化等。基于已建立的动态氚分析程序TriSim-Dynamic,在此基础上进行修改完善,利用该程序对CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统氚动态输运进行分析模拟,得到了冷却剂及提氚吹扫气中氚浓度、氚分压,管壁及结构材料中氚盘存量,氚通过包层结构材料和辅助系统管壁向真空室、水冷系统及建筑的渗透通量动态变化,并将其稳态值与已进行基准校核的稳态氚分析程序TriSim-SA及理论解析解进行比较,以初步验证分析结果的准确性,数据结果也对CFETR氚安全分析提供了一定的参考。     

Temperature distribution in mixed ThO2–UO2 fuel rods located in blanket of an inertial fusion energy breeder

Investigations of neutronic analysis and temperature distribution in fuel rods located in a blanket driven ICF (Inertial Confinement Fusion) have been performed for various mixed fuels and coolants under a first wall load of 5 MW/m². The fuel rods containing ThO₂ and UO₂ mixed by various mixing methods for achieving a flat fission power density are replaced in the blanket and cooled with different coolants; natural lithium, flibe, eutectic lithium and helium for the nuclear heat transfer. It is assumed that surface temperature of the fuel rod increases linearly from 500 °C (at top) to 700 °C (at bottom) during cooling fuel zone. Neutronic and temperature distribution calculations have been performed by MCNP4B Code and HEATING7, respectively. In the blanket fueled with pure UO₂ and cooled with helium, M (fusion energy multiplication ratio) increases to 3.9 due to uranium having higher fission cross-section than thorium. The high fission energy released in this blanket, therefore, causes proportionally increasing of temperature in the fuel rods to 823 °C. However, the M is 2.00 in the blanket fueled with pure ThO₂ and cooled with eutectic lithium because of more capture reaction than fission reaction. Maximum and minumum values of TBR (tritium breeding ratio) being one of main neutronic paremeters for a fusion reactor are 1.07 and 1.45 in the helium and the natural lithium coolant blanket, respectively. These consequences bring out that the investigated reactor can produce substantial electricity in situ during breeding fissile fuel and can be self-sufficient in the tritium required for the DT fusion driver in all cases of mixed fuels and coolant types. Quasi-constant fission power density profiles in FFB (fissile fuel breeding) zone are obtained by parabolically increasing mixture fraction of UO₂ in radial and axial directions for all coolant types. Such as, in the helium coolant blanket and the case of PMF (parabolically mixed fuel), Γ (peek-to-average fission power density ratio) of the blanket is reduced to 1.1, and the maximum temperatures of the fuel rods in radial direction of the FFB zone are also quasi-constant. At the same time, in the case of PMF, for all coolant types, the temperature profiles in the radial direction of the fuel rods rise proportionally with surface temperature from the top to the bottom of fuel rods in the axial direction. In other words, for each radial temperature profile in the axial direction, temperature differences between centerline and surface of the fuel rods are quasi-constant. According to the coolant types, these temperature diffences vary between 30 and 45 °C.     

Contributions to the neutronic analysis of a gas-cooled fast reactor

In this work the Monte Carlo codes MCNPX and TRIPOLI-4 were used to perform the criticality calculations of the fuel assembly and the core configuration of a gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR) concept, currently in development. The objective is to make contributions to the neutronic analysis of a gas-cooled fast reactor. In this study the fuel assembly is based on a hexagonal lattice of fuel-pins. The materials used are uranium and plutonium carbide as fuel, silicon carbide as cladding, and helium gas as coolant. Criticality calculations were done for a fuel assembly where the axial reflector thickness was varied in order to find the optimal thickness. In order to determine the best material to be used as a reflector, in the reactor core with neutrons of high energy spectrum, criticality calculations were done for three reflector materials: zirconium carbide, silicon carbide and natural uranium. It was found that the zirconium carbide provides the best neutron reflection. Criticality calculations using different active heights were done to determine the optimal height, and the reflector thickness was adjusted. Core criticality calculations were performed with different radius sizes to determine the active radial dimension of the core. A negative temperature coefficient of reactivity was verified for the fuel. The effect on reactivity produced by changes in the coolant density was also evaluated. We present the main neutronic characteristics of a preliminary fuel and core designs for the GFR concept. ENDF-VI cross-sections libraries were used in both the MCNPX and TRIPOLI-4 codes, and we verified that the obtained results are very similar.     

Fort St. Vrain nuclear generating station construction and testing experience

The 330 MW(e) Fort St. Vrain Nuclear Generating Station uses a uranium-thorium fuel cycle; graphite for the moderator, fuel cladding, core structure, and reflector; and helium for the primary coolant. Significant design features are the prestressed concrete reactor pressure vessel, once-through modular steam generators with integral superheaters and reheaters, steam-driven axial flow helium circulators, and hexagonal graphite fuel elements incorporating improved carbon-coated fuel particles.This paper describes: plant features, construction procedures, preliminary operating tests, fuel loading and startup procedures, and oprator training programs.