Innovative development of nuclear power in Russia

The basic principles for performing analysis and the systems requirements for large-scale nuclear power in our country are formulated. The problems of modern nuclear power are examined and ways for modern nuclear power to transition to innovative development while satisfying these systems requirements for fuel use, handling spent fuel and wastes, and nonproliferation are indicated. The basic scenario of innovative development in the near term (up to 2030) is based on using predominantly ²³⁵U as fuel and water-moderated water-cooled reactors, which have been well mastered, for increasing nuclear capacities with limited introduction of fast reactors for solving the problem of spent fuel from thermal reactors. In the long term (2030–2050), a transition to ²³⁸U as the primary raw material with fast reactors predominating and complete closure of the nuclear power fuel cycle will be made. The journal variant of a report “New-Generation Nuclear Energy Technologies” presented at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council of Rosatom, Moscow, September 27, 2006. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 147–155, September, 2007.     

Nuclear fuel and the characteristics of aerosol formation in the object “Cover”

High-temperature atomization of materials, transfer of elements into the gas phase and the condensation of the elements, occurred during the active stage of the accident at least at a local point of the reactor. As a result of these processes, in some cases the ratio Pu/U in large spherical particles of the dispersed phase differ substantially from the ratio characteristic for the average nuclear fuel in the fourth power generating unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Therefore, the term “average nuclear fuel” with respect to materials containing nuclear fuel in the object “Cover” is inadequate. Moscow Technological Center “Cover,” Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Yu. N. Lobach Science Center “Institute of Nuclear Research,” Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 82, No 1, pp. 39–44, January, 1997     

Choice of the capacity of a fast reactor for nuclear power

Analytical assessments, associated with the choice of the unit capacity of a serially built fast reactor under conditions of the future advancement of nuclear power, are presented. It is shown that considering the limited resources of natural uranium, the development of a reliable raw materials base must be based on the development of fast reactors with expanded breeding of fuel and fuel cycle closure. Since fast reactors, together with energy production, are also producers of new fuel, their parameters must be optimized taking account of this factor on the basis of systems analysis. Calculations show that the optimal capacity for fast reactors is in the 1 GW range. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 103, No. 2, pp. 83–88, August, 2007.     

Plutonium use in nuclear power in Russia

Conclusions The following concept of plutonium utilization based on the evolutionary development of the traditional technology in our country arises: The main problem of any short-term program of dealing with plutonium must be solved — reliable and safe storage of separated energy plutonium and freed weapons plutonium before utilization in reactors. Plutonium (mainly energy plutonium) is utilized primarily in BN-800 fast reactors and the development of technology using weapons plutonium in BN-600 reactors starts. In the future attention should be focused on nuclear-power centers patterned after the Industrial Association “Mayak” (RT-1 plant, Complex 300, BN-800) with reliable nonproliferation of weapons plutonium. It is extremely important to speed up work on the completion of Complex 300: This work must be completed before BN-800 is ready. In the future efforts must be concentrated on the following: development and implementation, in BN-800, of an economically more efficient plutonium-burning core; the possibility of building light-water reactors with the required degree of safety for effective plutonium utilization must be justified (including a “cold” core based on cermet fuel); and, development and implementation of technology for a safe and an ecologically acceptable closed nuclear fuel cycle based on plutonium and²³³U with burnout of Am, Np, and Cm. Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation. Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. A. A. Bochvar All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Standardization in Machine Building. Special Design Office for Machines. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 326–332, April, 1994.     

Cascade subcritical liquid-salt reactor for burning transplutonium actinides

A cascade subcritical liquid-salt reactor designed for burning long-lived components of the radioactive wastes of the nuclear fuel cycle is examined. The cascade scheme of the reactor makes it possible to decrease by a factor of three the power of the driving accelerator as compared with conventional accelerator-blanket systems of equal power. The fuel composition of the reactor consists of 20% Np, Am, Cm, and other transplutonium elements and 80% plutonium, which are dissolved in a salt melt NaF(50%)-ZrF₄(50%). For a 10 MW proton accelerator, 1 GeV proton energy (10 mA current) and subcriticality depth 0.05, the thermal power of the reactor is 800 MW, which permits burning ∼70 kg/yr Np, Am, Cm, and other transplutonium actinides, i.e., service five VVéR type reactors of equal power. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 101, No. 2, pp. 116–125, August, 2006.     

Channel reactors: Status and prospects

Conclusions The prospects for nuclear power plants with channel reactors depend on the significant experience accumulated in building and operating such plants. Among the characteristics of the design and construction of nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors, classified, under deep analysis, as deficiencies in the light of the Chernobyl accident, not one was specific to the channel idea. The MKéR-800 design shows how the deficiencies of the RBMK construction can be avoided and how the advantages of the channel idea can be most fully realized. The current trends in the development of the traditional reactor designs, while certainly increasing the safety of the next generation of nuclear power plants, still do not take into account the materialization of the most severe accidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plants. Therefore we are justified in considering the strategic problem of developing inherently safe reactors (operating on fast neutrons) in order to achieve a radical solution to the problems of safety, wastes, ecology, and the future fuel supply. Scientific-Research and Design Institute of Energy and Fuels. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 302–310, April, 1994.     

Density effect of reactivity in a heavy-water power reactor operating in the <Superscript>233</Superscript>U self-fueling regime

The void coefficients of the reactivity of different channel-type power reactors are compared. It is shown that a heavy-water channel reactor operating in a self-fueling regime within a uranium–thorium fuel cycle is just as nuclear-safe as CANDU type reactors. When composite fuel assemblies containing fuel elements with fuel and a ThO₂ target are used, such a reactor possesses negative void and therefore power coefficient of reactivity. Consequently, its nuclear safety is substantially higher than that of channel power reactors cooled by heavy or light water. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 249–254, November, 2008.     

Possibilities of BREST reactors and transmutation fuel cycle under conditions implementing modern plans for the development of nuclear power

The possible dynamics of the development of BREST-1200 fast reactor capacities after 2030 on the basis of plutonium and other actinides accumulated in the spent fuel of thermal reactors is examined. It is shown that by 2100 the power BREST reactors could be 114–176 GW, and subsequently they will develop as a result of their own breeding of plutonium. Calculations have shown that the rate at which BREST reactors are put into operation can be doubled by using enriched uranium obtained from natural uranium and regenerated spent fuel from thermal reactors. It is shown that the development of fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle solves the problem of transmutation of long-lived high-level actinides and makes it possible to implement a transmutation fuel cycle in nuclear power. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya,Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 21–28, July, 2007.     

Assessment of the quality and activity of the radionuclides in the fuel cycles of a three-component structure of nuclear power

A three-component structure of nuclear power with a closed nuclear fuel cycle is examined. In addition to the existing thermal and fast reactors the system contains a liquid-salt reactor for closing the fuel cycle with respect to actinides. The quantity and activity of the radionuclides are analyzed for promising variants of the structure of nuclear power and the uranium-plutonium, thorium-uranium, and uranium-plutoniumthorium closed fuel cycle. It is concluded on the basis of calculations and analysis, taking into account the life cycle from production of the fuel to the burial of the wastes, that the uranium-plutonium-thorium fuel cycle is more advantageous than the uranium-plutonium and thorium-uranium fuel cycles. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 214–221, September, 2006.     

Handling Irradiated RBMK-1000 and VVÉR-1000 Fuel during the Growth of Nuclear Power

On-site storage facilities, consisting of ponds with water, for irradiated RBMK-1000 fuel are now close to being filled. To continue operating nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors, it is necessary to select one possible method for handling irradiated fuel.A variant of long-term storage followed by reprocessing is examined and considerations are presented for future use of reprocessed irradiated RBMK and VVÉR fuel as fuel for an initial load for naturally-safe fast reactor. Important points in handling irradiated RBMK-1000 fuel include economic assessments and requirements for a strategy for development of nuclear power in Russia based on closure of the nuclear fuel cycle with radiation-equivalent burial of wastes and utilization of accumulated plutonium for fast reactors. 3 figures, 2 tables, 8 references.     

Subcritical power reactor with irradiation by a beam of accelerated protons

Conclusions The conversion of a nuclear power plant to operation with quite deeply subcritical reactors eliminates the primary reason for the appearance of reactivity accident situations associated with the probability of the reactor being transferred into a subcritical state and runaway of this state. There is no doubt that a nuclear power plant can in principle operate on the basis of a subcritical reactor and a high-power proton accelerator. To answer the question of whether or not it is desirable to equip nuclear power plants with accelerators, it must be kept in mind that besides achieving the main goal — complete elimination of the possibility of reactivity accidents and as a consequence of such accidents emission of solid radioactive products of uranium fission with enormous consequences for ecological and economic damage — such improvements have other important consequences. These include, for example, the possibility of constructing fuel cycles on the basis of the fuel depleted with respect to fissioning isotopes (^233,235U,²³⁹Pu), which will make it possible to decrease substantially the fuel component of the cost of a nuclear power plant; the possibility of more efficient utilization of nuclear fuel by increasing significantly the interval between loadings; and, control of the power and shielding of a reactor by changing the beam current of the accelerator. All this will make it possible, in principle, even at today's level of development of reactor and accelerator technology to build a subcritical power reactor with external irradiation with a high-energy particle beam. Institute of High Energy Physics. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 300–308, October, 1994.     

Suitability of Small Scale Linear Systems for a Fission–Fusion Reactor, Breeder, and Waste Transmutation

To date the magnetic fusion effort has been almost entirely devoted to only one application, that being a multi gigawatt central station electric plant. Given the already well established fission based industry, the likelihood that fusion will have any impact on curbing the current carbon-based energy demand in the 21st century is slim. This paper advocates that the first and primary use of fusion neutrons should be as the driver for a sub-critical fission nuclear energy system—a fission–fusion hybrid reactor. This system can also be utilized to transmute long-lived radioactive wastes, and breed fissile nuclear fuel for several additional fission reactors. A small-scale fusion system based on a reciprocating fusion cycle employing the magneto-kinetic compression of the Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) is particularly well suited for this application. The characteristics of this fusion neutron driver and the potential for transmutation of long-lived nuclear wastes and breeding of fissile nuclear fuel in a blanket are presented.     

Analysis of criticality in shipment and storage of fuel at a nuclear power plant with a VVÉR reactor

The substantiation of nuclear safety during shipment and storage of fresh and spent fuel at nuclear power plants with VVéR reactors is examined in the light of the more stringent nuclear safety rules. Possible technical measures for satisfying the safety criterion are examined, for example, the concept of subcritical fresh fuel. An example of the estimation of the probability of the formation of a critical mass as result of fuel assemblies falling randomly out of a container is presented. Certain characteristic features of the calculation of the neutron-physical characteristics of fuel in a cooling pond are presented, for example, the nonconservative nature of a separate analysis in the infinite approximation. 4 figures, 5 references. OKB “Gidropress”. Translated from Atomnaya éneriya, Vol. 87, No. 1, pp. 11–16, July, 1999.     

Radiation Characteristics of Fuel and Wastes in the Uranium–Plutonium and Thorium–Uranium Fuel Cycle

The radiation characteristics of fuel cycles of various reactors – replacement candidates in the future nuclear power – are compared. Proceeding from the basic requirements (safety, fuel supply, and nonproliferation of fissioning materials), inherently safe fast reactors of the BREST type can be used as the basis for large-scale nuclear power. Thermal reactors, which can burn enriched uranium, thorium–uranium fuel, or mixed uranium–plutonium fuel with makeup with fissioning materials from fast reactors, will operate for a long time simultaneously with fast reactors in the future nuclear power. VVÉR-1000 and CANDU reactors are examined as representatives of thermal reactors; for each of these reactors the operation in various variants of the fuel cycle is simulated. It is shown that with respect to radiation characteristics of the fuel and wastes the thorium–uranium fuel cycle has no great advantages over the uranium–plutonium cycle.     

Method for liquidating the consequences of the chernobyl accident

Conclusions The proposed method is a safe, technically feasible, and economically acceptable solution to the problem of liquidating the focus of the environmental contamination at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The radioactive substances, materials, and objects will be removed from “Cover” and imperfect storage sites within the 100-km zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and placed in storage sites which meet modern requirements. The storage of the wastes will be controllable and monitorable. The object “Cover” will be liquidated. Main Scientific Center of the Russian Federation — Physics and Power Engineering Institute. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 214–217, March, 1995.     

Possibility of long-term nuclear power development based on today’s technology

The possibility of long-term nuclear power development with a uranium fuel cycle based on ²³⁸U burnup and todays industrial technology is investigated. It is shown that such development is possible with fast reactors, including with sodium coolant. In this case, incomplete fuel reprocessing is admissable in a closed fuel cycle employing a pyroelectrochemical technology, which allows some fission products and actinides to be present in the fresh fuel prepared for reloading after reprocessing. These fission products and actinides can be burned in a reactor, thereby decreasing the quantity of radioactive wastes compared with the complete reprocessing with chemical separation of the fuel elements and decreasing the radiation load on the environment.Translated from Atomnaya Ènergiya, Vol. 97, No. 4, pp. 252–260, October, 2004.     

Micro-structured nuclear fuel and novel nuclear reactor concepts for advanced power production

Many applications (e.g. terrestrial and space electric power production, naval, underwater and railroad propulsion and auxiliary power for isolated regions) require a compact-high-power electricity source. The development of such a reactor structure necessitates a deeper understanding of fission energy transport and materials behavior in radiation dominated structures. One solution to reduce the greenhouse-gas emissions and delay the catastrophic events' occurrences may be the development of massive nuclear power. The actual basic conceptions in nuclear reactors are at the base of the bottleneck in enhancements. The current nuclear reactors look like high security prisons applied to fission products. The micro-bead heterogeneous fuel mesh gives the fission products the possibility to acquire stable conditions outside the hot zones without spilling, in exchange for advantages – possibility of enhancing the nuclear technology for power production. There is a possibility to accommodate the materials and structures with the phenomenon of interest, the high temperature fission products free fuel with near perfect burning. This feature is important to the future of nuclear power development in order to avoid the nuclear fuel peak, and high price increase due to the immobilization of the fuel in the waste fuel nuclear reactor pools.     

Validation of nuclear and radiation safety of a container for spent amb reactor fuel assemblies at the Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant

An approach is proposed for validating the nuclear and radiation safety of a container for spent fuel assemblies from AMB-100 and-200 reactors at the Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant. To validate the radiation safety, the characteristics of fuel assemblies and their classification according to the average fuel burnup in the casing, and the intensities of n and γ radiation in the casing are analyzed. Nuclear safety is validated on the basis of the concept of a “model” casing. This model makes it possible to obtain an upper estimate of the effective coefficient of neutron multiplication for all real casings with fuel assemblies. Calculations are used to determine the minimum necessary thickness of the vessel, bottom, and cover for 17-and 35-place casings. It is shown that no special neutron protection is needed. The container design to be developed meets the IAEA and OPBZ-83 safety standards. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 100, No. 6, pp. 423–428, June, 2006.     

Conditions for the existence of chaotic oscillations in nuclear reactors

It is shown on the basis of point kinetics equations with delayed neutrons that if the impulse feedback function is negative, nonmonotonic, and possesses several maxima and the coefficient of amplification of feedback is sufficiently large, then chaotic self-excited oscillations of the following type arise in nuclear reactors. Neutron bursts with random intensity occur in random time interals in the reactor, and the neutron density between the bursts oscillates at a low level. The mechanism for the appearance of chaos is described and one-dimensional mappings which approximately determine the chaotic dynamics are constructed. Three types of reactors (boiling water, with gaseous core, pulsed) where such chaotic oscillations can arise are indicated. The results obtained point the way to determining other types of reactors with stochastic behavior. 4 figures, 10 references. This work is supported by a grant (No. 87 Gr-98) in fundamental studies in the field of power engineering and electronics (Ministry of Education, Moscow Power-Engineering Institute) “Chaotic dynamics of nuclear reactors” and a grant in fundamental studies in the field of automatics and telemechanics, computer technology, information technology, cybernetics, metrology, and communication (Ministry of Education, St. Petersburg State Electrical Engineering University) “Chaotic dynamics of nonlinear control systems.” Scientific-Research Institute of Mechanics at Nizhnii Novgorod State University. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 88, No. 6, pp. 432–438, June, 2000.     

Heavy water reactors and nuclear power plants in the USSR and Russia: Past, present, and future

The history of the development of heavy-water nuclear reactors and the assoiated, installations in the USSR and Russia is presented. Research reactors constructed at the ITEP and under the scientific direction of the ITEP in other countires (Yugoslavia), industrial heavy-water nuclear reactors, and the Maket zero-power reactor are described. Heavy-water gas-cooled reactors for nuclear power plants are discussed in detail: the nuclear power plant with an A-1 reactor, constructed in Czechoslovakia, and the design of maximum-safety nuclear power plant. Electronuclear neutron generators and subcritical nuclear reactors and the possibility of using the for burning weapons plutonium are examined. The electronuclear neutron generator developed at the ITEP is described. State Science Center of the Russian Federation—Institute of Theoetical and Experimental Physics. Translated from Atomanaya énergiya, Vol. 86, No. 4, pp. 310–321, April, 1999.