Stratified flow-induced air-ingress accident assessment of the GAMMA code in HTGRs

An air-ingress accident is a major safety issue pertaining to high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. To see the effect of a stratified flow, which is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that occurs in large broken pipes, we perform 1-D and 2-D air-ingress simulations in the guillotine break of the main coaxial pipe of a 600 MWth GT-MHR with the GAs multicomponent mixture transient analysis (GAMMA) code. We used a 2-D fluid volume to build the coaxial inlet pipe, the lower plenum of the reactor core, and the cavity and simplified the other components as 1-D fluid blocks. After the guillotine break of the main coaxial pipe, the air in the reactor cavity flows into the reactor core in four phases: the blow-down phase, the stratified flow phase, the molecular diffusion phase, and the natural convection phase. In the early stage of a broken pipe, the lower plenum region of the reactor is filled with air within 30 s by a density-driven airflow. In a 1-D simulation, the process of filling the lower plenum with air ingressed from a cavity caused by the diffusion process takes 30 min. However, after 30 s, the flow velocity of air ingressed into the broken pipe decreases and the diffusion phase eventually begins. The natural circulation in this scenario starts after more than 360 h for the 1-D simulation but fails to commence after more than 500 h for the 2-D simulation. The belated natural circulation in the 2-D simulation is mainly attributed to the slower diffusion process in the core region. In turn, the slower diffusion occurs because the temperature of the air in the lower plenum is lower in the 2-D simulation than in the 1-D simulation. The maximum core temperature in the 2-D simulation was by 60 °C lower than that in the 1-D simulation.     

Ultrasonic signal characteristics by pulse-echo technique and mechanical strength of graphite materials with porous structure

Ultrasonic testing (UT) is an important non-destructive method to detect internal flaws and is widely applied to product control in industrial fields. In an investigation on ultrasonic signal characteristics in porous ceramics, the present authors developed an ultrasonic wave propagation model for the pulse-echo technique by improving an existing one for the transmission technique. A wave-pore reflection process was taken into account in the improvement. In the developed model, both diffusion and scattering losses can be treated as important factors of ultrasonic wave attenuation. The model was demonstrated by experimental data on ultrasonic signal characteristics of nuclear grade graphite. As an application of the model, the authors proposed a new approach combined UT signal with fracture mechanics to evaluate the mechanical strength of porous ceramics from UT signal. The combined approach was tried to apply to the acceptance test and the in-service inspection conditions of graphite components in the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) as an example. This paper presents the developed propagation model for the pulse-echo technique as well as the combined approach. Moreover, both acceptance test and in-service inspection techniques of graphite components in high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) using the combined approach was also proposed in this paper.     

The retardation of the released fission products deriving from graphite structures during a hypothetical HTR-500 accident

A comprehensive computer model is presented describing the transport paths of the released fission products in the coolant gas. The transport mechanisms within the graphite are discussed in detail.An experimental assembly for the verification of the computer model is described and the measurements carried out on the retardation (retention capability) of cesium in reflector graphite are presented and compared with the calculations from the “PATRAS-CORE” program.First reliable statements under realistic conditions can be made with the example of a core heat-up accident in the HTR-500.     

Fission product behaviour and graphite corrosion under accident conditions in the HTR

This paper primarily gives an overview of methods and data in source term estimations for the HTR with pebble bed core. For medium size HTRs the risk dominating accidents are tied to core heat-up events, where a significant portion of the fission product inventory may be released from the coated fuel particles. Here the research mainly is focused on temperature-induced coated particle failure and the interaction of metallic fission products with the core graphite. For small HTRs, with their limitation of maximum temperatures below coated particle failure limits, core heat-up accidents virtually play no role with respect to source terms. Here the risk is dominated by accidents like water ingress or rapid depressurization which may lead to a partial release of fission products accumulated on primary circuit surfaces like the steam reformer. Deposition of fission products and remobilization under the conditions mentioned above are predominant research areas. It can be expected that the ongoing and planned improvements of models and data base, in particular for the medium size HTR, will result in a further reduction of the already low source terms.A principal possibility for core degradation and hence destruction of fission product barriers is graphite corrosion caused by massive air ingress. The research effort in this field as well as for graphite corrosion during water ingress accidents is described in Part B of this paper. From the viewpoint of risk for this type of accident no significant contribution to that of present reactor concepts was found.     

The issue of stress state during mechanical tests to assess cladding performance during a reactivity-initiated accident (RIA)

The mechanical test procedures that address fuel cladding failure during a RIA are reviewed with an emphasis on the development of test procedures that determine the deformation and fracture behavior of cladding under conditions similar to those reached in a RIA. An analysis of cladding strain data from experimental research reactor test programs that have simulated the RIA is presented. These data show that the cladding undergoes deformation characterized by hoop extension subject to a range of multiaxial stress states and strain paths comprised between plane-strain (no axial extension of the cladding tube) and equal-biaxial tension (equal strain in both the hoop and the axial orientations). Current mechanical test procedures of cladding material are then reviewed with a focus on their ability to generate the appropriate deformation response and to induce the prototypical multiaxial stress states and failure modes activated during a RIA. Two main groups of tests currently exist. In the first group, the deformation behavior of the cladding is examined by several variations of hoop tensile tests in which an axial contraction of the specimen gage section occurs such that a near-uniaxial tension stress state results; finite element analyses are then usually employed to deduce the deformation response, often under conditions of an assumed coefficient of friction between the specimen and test fixtures. The second group includes test procedures which attempt to reproduce the deformation and failure conditions close to those seen during a RIA such that any stress-state corrections of the failure conditions are comparatively small. The advantages and disadvantages of all of these deformation/fracture tests are discussed with special reference to testing high burnup fuel cladding.     

高温和超高温气冷堆动力转换方案研究

动力转换单元是高温和超高温气冷堆的重要组成部分。本文对高温和超高温气冷堆的动力转换单元进行研究。从4个关键参数（反应堆出口温度、反应堆入口温度、压缩比和主蒸汽参数）入手,对5个循环方案进行比较分析。综合考虑各种工程因素,上位循环为简单氦气透平循环、下位循环为有再热的蒸汽轮机循环的联合循环方案是具有竞争力的,其中下位循环在高温气冷堆范围是亚临界参数循环,在超高温气冷堆范围是超临界参数循环。联合循环可实现高温和超高温气冷堆热量的高效率转化,且反应堆入口温度在反应堆压力壳材料允许的范围内,具有足够的安全性。     

Study on the tritium behaviors in the VHTR system. Part 1. Development of tritium analysis code for VHTR and verification

A tritium permeation analyses code (TPAC) has been developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) by using MATLAB SIMULINK package for analysis of tritium behaviors in the VHTR integrated with hydrogen production and process heat application systems. The modeling is based on the mass balance of tritium-containing species and hydrogen (i.e., HT, H₂, HTO, HTSO₄, and TI) coupled with a variety of tritium source, sink, and permeation models. The code includes: (1) tritium sources from ternary fission and neutron reactions with ⁶Li, ⁷Li ¹⁰B, and ³He; (2) tritium purification system; (3) leakage of tritium with coolant; (4) permeation through pipes, vessels, and heat exchangers; (5) electrolyzer for high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE); and (6) isotope exchange for SI process. Verification of the code has been performed by comparisons with the analytical solutions, the experimental data, and the benchmark code results based on the Peach Bottom reactor design. The results showed that all the governing equations are well implemented into the code and correctly solved. This paper summarizes all the background, the theory, the code structures, and some verification results related to the TPAC code development at INL.     

Edge density profile variation during a magnetic axis shift in the CHS heliotron/torsatron

Edge density profiles were measured during natural and forced magnetic axis shifts in the lowaspect-ratio heliotron/torsatron CHS, using an 8 keV fast neutral lithium beam probe. The Shafranov shift of the magnetic axis (and hence the dislocation of the LCFS) that was negligible for a low density ECH discharge became substantial (4.5 cm) for a high density NBI discharge (n _e2.5× 10¹³cm^–3) and the corresponding radius of the LCFS increased about 1.2 cm in major radius compared to the vacuum case. For NBI discharges with different settings of the vacuum magnetic axisR _ax (fixed during the discharge), the measured edge density profiles indicated reasonable agreement between the theoretically and experimentally obtained LCFS radii for 90 cm <R _ax<101.6cm, while forR _ax<90 cm the measured radius was 10% larger than expected. When a change ofR _ax from 94.7 cm to 89.9 cm during a discharge was imposed externally, a well behaved plasma boundary moved inward smoothly by about 7.5 cm, while the steepness of the edge density profile changed for different values ofR _ax. The steepest profile was attained forR _ax=92.1 cm when the highest energy content and average density were achieved.     

Observations in the statistical analysis of NBG-18 nuclear graphite strength tests

The purpose of this paper is to report on the selection of a statistical distribution chosen to represent the experimental material strength of NBG-18 nuclear graphite. Three large sets of samples were tested during the material characterisation of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and Core Structure Ceramics materials. These sets of samples are tensile strength, flexural strength and compressive strength (CS) measurements. A relevant statistical fit is determined and the goodness of fit is also evaluated for each data set. The data sets are also normalised for ease of comparison, and combined into one representative data set. The validity of this approach is demonstrated. A second failure mode distribution is found on the CS test data. Identifying this failure mode supports the similar observations made in the past. The success of fitting the Weibull distribution through the normalised data sets allows us to improve the basis for the estimates of the variability. This could also imply that the variability on the graphite strength for the different strength measures is based on the same flaw distribution and thus a property of the material.     

Characterization of tensile strength and fracture toughness of nuclear graphite NBG-18 using subsize specimens

The mechanical properties of NBG-18 nuclear grade graphite were characterized using small specimen test techniques and statistical treatment on the test results. New fracture strength and toughness test techniques were developed to use subsize cylindrical specimens with glued heads and to reuse their broken halves. Three sets of subsize cylindrical specimens of different sizes were tested to obtain tensile fracture strength and fracture toughness. The mean fracture strength decreased as the specimen size increased. The fracture strength data indicate that in the given diameter range the size effect is not significant and much smaller than that predicted by the Weibull moduli estimated for individual specimen groups of the Weibull distribution. Further, no noticeable size effect existed in the fracture toughness data. The mean values of the fracture toughness datasets were in a narrow range of 1.21-1.26 MPa√m.     

The effect of nonlinear stress-strain relationship on the bend strength of isotropic graphite

Four-point bend tests on rectangular specimens of several different sizes of isotropic graphite 7477PT were made to study the effect of nonlinear stress-strain relationship on bend strengths. The measurements showed that the tensile and compressive strains at the outer fibers had a nonlinear relationship with the bending load and that the tensile fiber strains at fracture were 0.4–0.7%, as compared with the uniaxial tensile fracture strains 0.25–0.45%. From the observations the nonlinear stress-strain curves were determined for tension and compression, nonlinearity being larger in the former than in the latter. The true bend strengths were 10–15% smaller than the elastic ones. In calculations on Weibull's statistical theory, the probability distributions of bend fracture in terms of true bend strength agreed better with experiments than those in terms of elastic bend strength.     

HTR-PM高温气冷示范堆堆芯石墨粉尘产生量估算

在球床式高温气冷堆堆芯内,影响石墨球摩擦磨损率的关键条件为载荷与温度。此前,中国辐射防护研究院研究了载荷对石墨球摩擦磨损性能的影响,得到了石墨球磨损率与载荷的关系。本文在此基础上进一步研究了温度对石墨球磨损率的影响,通过拟合得到了石墨球磨损率与石墨球所受载荷、温度之间的关系式,结合HTR-PM高温气冷示范堆内燃料元件所受载荷和温度的分布情况,计算得出石墨球之间摩擦产生的石墨粉尘量约为14.01 g/d(5.1 kg/a)。     

Large-scale numerical simulation of mechanical and thermal properties of nuclear graphite using a microstructure-based model

The mechanical and thermal properties of nuclear graphite depend strongly on the microstructures. In this paper, a large-scale three-dimensional boundary element model is presented to study the relationships between the bulk effective properties and microstructure changes in nuclear graphite. Acceleration of the associated boundary element method (BEM) is achieved by use of a fast multipole method (FMM) in allowing large-scale numerical simulations of the model containing up to several hundred micro-structural pores to be performed on one desktop computer. The effects of several key micro-structural parameters such as the pore aspect ratio and the fractional porosity on the bulk mechanical and thermal properties of nuclear graphite are evaluated. The numerical results are compared with some experimental data due to oxidation and good agreement is observed. It is demonstrated that the presented method is potential for fundamental understanding of the bulk properties of nuclear graphite from micro-structural views.