Safety Approach and R&D Program for Future French Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

This paper presents briefly the safety approach as well as the R&D program that is underway to support the deployment of future French Sodium-Cooled fast Reactors (SFRs): A) Safety objectives and principles for future reactors. The content of the first section reflects the works of AREVA, CEA, and EDF concerning the safety orientations for the future reactors. The availability of such orientations and requirements for the SFRs has to allow introducing and managing the process that will lead to the detailed definition of the safety approach, to the selection of the corresponding safety options, and to the identification and motivation of the supporting R&D. B) Strategy and roadmap in support of the R&D for future SFRs. This section describes the R&D program led jointly by CEA, EDF, and AREVA, which has been developed with the objectives to be able to preliminarily define, by 2012, the safety orientations for the future SFRs, and to deduce from them the characteristics of the ASTRID prototype.     

Status of Indian LLCB TBM program and R&D activities

The Indian LLCB TBM, currently under development, will be tested from the first phase of ITER operation (H–H phase) in one-half of the ITER port no-2. The present LLCB TBM design has been optimized based on the neutronic as well as thermal hydraulic analysis results. LLCB TBM R&D activities are primarily focused on (i) development of technologies related to various process systems such as Helium, Pb–Li liquid metal and tritium, (ii) development and qualification of blanket materials viz., structural material (IN-RAFMS), tritium breeding materials (Pb–Li, and Li₂TiO₃), (iii) development and qualification of fabrication technologies for TBM system. The present status of LLCB TBM design activities as well as the progress made in major R&D areas is presented in this paper.     

Technological review of the HRP manufacturing process R&D activity

ENEA and Ansaldo Nucleare S.p.A. have been deeply involved in the European International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) R&D activities for the manufacturing of high heat flux plasma-facing components (HHFC), and in particular for the inner vertical target (IVT) of the ITER divertor.This component has to be manufactured by using both armour and structural materials whose properties are defined by ITER. Their physical properties prevent the use of standard joining techniques. The reference armour materials are tungsten and carbon/carbon fibre composite (CFC). The cooling pipe is made of copper alloy (CuCrZr-IG).During the last years ENEA and Ansaldo have jointly manufactured several actively cooled monoblock mock-ups and prototypical components of different length, geometry and materials, by using innovative processes: HRP (hot radial pressing) and PBC (pre-brazed casting).The history of the technical issues solved during the R&D phase and the improvements implemented to the assembling tools and equipments are reviewed in the paper together with the testing results.The optimization of the processes started from the successful manufacturing of both W and CFC armoured small scale mockups thermal fatigue tested in the worst ITER operating condition (20 MW/m²) through the achievement of record performances obtained from a monoblock medium scale mockup.On the base of these results ENEA-ANSALDO participated to the European programme for the qualification of the manufacturing technology to be used for the procurement of the ITER divertor IVT, according to the F4E specifications. A divertor inner vertical target prototype (400 mm total length) with three plasma facing component units, was successfully tested at ITER relevant thermal heat fluxes.Now, ANSALDO and ENEA are ready to face the challenge of the ITER inner vertical target production, transferring to an industrial production line the experience gained in the development, optimization and qualification of the PBC and HRP processes.     

Status of ITER blanket attachment design and related R&D

Main function of the ITER blanket system [1], [2], [3] is to shield the vacuum vessel (VV) from nuclear radiation and thermal energy coming from the plasma. Blanket system consists of discrete blanket modules (BM). Each BM is composed of a first wall panel and a shield block (SB). The shield block is attached to the VV by means of four flexible supports and three or four shear keys, through key pads. All listed supports do have parts with ceramic electro-insulating coatings necessary to exclude the largest loops of eddy currents and restrict EM loads. Electrical connection of each SB to the VV is through two elastic electrical straps. Cooling water is supplied to each BM by one coaxial water connector. This paper summarizes the recent evolution of the blanket attachment system toward design solutions compatible with design loads and numbers of load cycles, and providing sufficient reliability and durability. This evolution was done in a frame of pre-defined external interfaces. The ongoing supporting R&D is also briefly described.     

Numerical Analysis on Neutron Shielding Structure of ITER Vacuum Vessel

The neutron shielding component of ITER （International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor） vacuum vessel is a kind of structure resembling a wall in appearance. A FE （finite element） model is set up by using ANSYS code in terms of its structural features. Static analysis, thermal expansion analysis and dynamic analysis are performed. The static results show that the stress and displacement distribution are allowable, but the high stress appears in the junction between the upper and lower parts. The modal analysis indicates that the biggest deformation exists in the port area. Through modal superposition, the single-point response has been found with the lower rank frequency of the acceleration seismic response spectrum. But the deformation and the stress values are within the permissible limit. The analysis results would benefit the work in the next step and provide some reference for the implementation of the engineering plan in the future.     

Evolution of the ITER program and prospect for the next-step fusion DEMO reactors: status of the fusion energy R&D as ultimate source of energy

An international joint project of fusion experimental reactor, the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), is reviewed in view of long-range fusion energy research and development (R&D). Its purpose, goal, evolution, and the present construction status are briefly reviewed. While the ITER is a core machine in the present stage, generation of electricity is a role of the next-step fusion demonstration power plant “DEMO.” The status of designs and technology R&D for DEMO are also reviewed.     

Progress in the design,R&D and procurement preparation of the ITER Divertor Remote Handling System

The ITER Divertor Remote Handling System (DRHS) consists of a number of dedicated remote handling equipment and tooling that will provide the means to perform the exchange of the divertor system in a full-remote way. In order to achieve this objective the DRHS will need to perform a number of novel and complex remote operations in a contaminated and space-constrained environment, in rather poor lightening conditions. Fusion for Energy has recently launched the tendering phase for the in-kind procurement of the DRHS. The procurement is based on a set of system requirements and functional specifications supported by a reference design which are presented and discussed in this paper along with the main outcomes of the different R&D activities that have contributed to the development and validation of the current reference design.     

Kinematics Simulation and Structure Optimization of Tilting and Lifting Mechanism of ITER Tractor

The ITER （international thermonuclear experimental reactor） tractor is an in-cask remote handling equipment, its tilting and lifting mechanism is important for the tractor operated with forty-five-ton plug in front of the ports of Hot Cell and VV （vacuum vessel） successfully. In order to better analyse the movement of this mechanism and decide the key design parameters accurately, a mathematical model of 7-1ink complicated plane mechanism was built up, and the calculation of design and kinematics simulation were implemented. The established mathematical model was proved to be valid by comparing the calculated result with that of kinematics simulation. Finally, the structure analysis and the optimization of its key part, tilting and lifting frame, were performed to guarantee the frame＇s strength in bearing the heavy load of plug.     

高温气冷堆新型燃料球传感器的设计

对高温气冷堆中燃料球运行情况的准确监测是保障反应堆安全可靠运行的关键。针对原有探测器的不足,利用穿透式涡流检测原理提出了新型对装式燃料球传感器。运用有限元方法建立了该传感器的电磁场数值计算模型,对传感器结构参数和检测参数进行了分析和优化设计。实验结果表明,该传感器过球信号信噪比高,对连续过球具有很好的分辨率,满足反应堆现场使用要求。     

HTR-PM热气导管结构强度的分析与计算

500 MW高温气冷堆示范电站(HTR-PM)的反应堆压力容器与蒸汽发生器通过热气导管连接,热气导管是反应堆堆芯出口氦气导入蒸汽发生器的主要通道.热气导管是安全三级、抗震Ⅰ类部件,根据ASME规范,要求热气导管能在地震条件下保持结构的完整性.为验证热气导管在反应堆寿期内的安全可靠性,本文建立了热气导管有限元计算模型,计算了热气导管在绝热纤维压力、压力边界失压的压差、自重以及地震载荷等多种载荷作用下,内衬管、锥管与外管的应力分布状况.计算结果表明,热气导管各部分强度有较大裕度,可承受运行载荷、失压载荷以及地震载荷.     

冷坩埚玻璃固化熔炉埚底的三维电磁分析

利用ANSYS有限元分析软件建模并分析了冷坩埚玻璃固化熔炉埚底结构以及埚底与感应线圈之间的距离对冷坩埚内电磁场分布的影响。计算结果表明,磁通密度、电流密度和焦耳热密度在玻璃熔体的表面中部区域最大,在中心和底部区域最低。对埚底进行分瓣有利于降低埚底的屏蔽效应,分为3瓣时,玻璃的发热量提高了12.7%。埚底与感应线圈距离在10~15 cm时,冷坩埚对玻璃物料的加热效率较高。     

Thermal Response of Bonded CFC/OFHC Divertor Mock-Ups for Fusion Experimental Reactors under Large Numbers of Cyclic High Heat Loads

Plasma facing components for fusion experimental reactors such as the ITER/FER will be exposed to severe heat loads under high heat flux and large number of thermal cycles. From the engineering point of view, divertor mock-ups with different armor tile materials have been prepared in order to investigate their overall performances, in particular an adhesive property between the armor tile and the heat sink metal. Thermal cycling tests of the divertor mock-ups have been carried out under ITER/FER relevant heat flux conditions in a particle beam engineering facility at JAERI. As results of the tests, it has been confirmed that boned carbon-fiber-composite/copper (CFC/OFHC) divertor mock-ups have resisted to 10.0 MW/m² for 1,000 cycles without cracks. At this experimental condition, the integrity and the durability of the bonds have also been confirmed. Furthermore, some bonded CFC/OFHC samples have resisted to 12.5 MW/m² for 1,000 cycles without increase of the surface temperature, although a small crack was observed at a corner of the bonded layer. Residual stress from brazing has also been analyzed for three-dimensional models. The analytical results were not different in the results of manufactured test samples that no cracks or detachments in many samples were observed.     

Application of Hexagonal Element Scheme in Finite Element Method to Three-Dimensional Diffusion Problem of Fast Reactors

The finite element method is applied in Galerkin-type approximation to three-dimensional neutron diffusion equations of fast reactors. A hexagonal element scheme is adopted for treating the hexagonal lattice which is typical for fast reactors. The validity of the scheme is verified by applying the scheme as well as alternative schemes to the neutron diffusion calculation of a gas-cooled fast reactor of actual scale. The computed results are compared with corresponding values obtained using the currently applied triangular-element and also with conventional finite difference schemes.

The hexagonal finite element scheme is found to yield a reasonable solution to the problem taken up here, with some merit in terms of saving in computing time, but the resulting multiplication factor differs by 1% and the flux by 9% compared with the triangular mesh finite difference scheme. The finite element method, even in triangular element scheme, would appear to incur error in inadmissible amount and which could not be easily eliminated by refining the nodes.     

球谐函数有限元程序NECP-FISH的开发及其在聚变堆包层中子学分析中的应用

球谐函数有限元方法采用非结构网格求解中子输运方程,具备处理复杂几何的能力;同时又可避免离散纵标方法所造成的射线效应。本文从一阶中子输运方程出发,通过方程的弱形式推导了球谐函数多尺度有限元方法,并基于此方法开发了中子学分析程序NECP-FISH。通过在前后处理平台SALOME中开发接口程序,实现了程序的建模可视化和计算结果可视化。应用此程序计算了氦冷陶瓷包层,数值结果表明NECP-FISH对中子通量密度、氚增殖比和中子释热的计算结果与蒙特卡罗程序NECP-MCX吻合良好。氚增殖比相对偏差为0.56%,所有区域的中子释热偏差均在6%以内。     

100 MeV紧凑型回旋加速器主磁铁的三维磁场有限元分析技术

100 MeV紧凑型回旋加速器主磁铁的几何结构十分复杂,但为了形成加速器束流动力学所要求的磁场分布,本文对初步设计的磁铁进行必要的简化。综合采用各种适当的三维有限元网格剖分技术,对该磁铁的磁场进行数值分析,计算精度满足加速器物理设计的要求。     

Seismic analysis of the APR 1400 reactor vessel internals using the model reduction method

To secure reliability of the seismic design of the reactor vessel internals (RVIs) through the finite element analysis, it is important to develop the accurate analysis model which can represent the geometric complexity of the RVIs. However, the seismic analysis requires too large computation cost to solve the complex equations; thus, it needs to reduce the overall size of the analysis model. Here, we apply a model reduction method based on the fixed-interface component mode synthesis (CMS) method to practical RVIs to solve complex numerical problems efficiently. To verify the model reduction method, several cases of the RVIs with different conditions are analyzed for the static and dynamic problems. Finally, the seismic analysis was performed with the suggested reduced model with the CMS method. The time history analysis is performed to extract important seismic responses at the specified locations, and the stress analysis is also performed to identify that the RVIs satisfy the seismic design. In the last part of the paper, an example of the design modification is suggested to reduce the stress intensity at the support locations.     

高温气冷堆石墨构件断裂性能数值研究

为探究球床模块式高温气冷堆（HTR-PM）石墨堆内构件抗断裂破坏特性,提供石墨堆内构件设计和完整性评估的依据,利用经实验验证的基于内聚力模型的扩展有限元方法（XFEM）对球床模块式高温气冷堆侧反射层石墨砖的燕尾键 键槽结构进行了断裂性能的模拟分析,并对石墨断裂参数及几何尺寸等参数进行了敏感性分析。模拟结果显示：该石墨砖燕尾键 键槽结构的最大失效载荷P_max为50.7 kN,且随圆角半径而增大;P_max对石墨材料抗拉强度敏感,圆角越大越敏感,对材料断裂功、杨氏模量敏感度较小,但随着结构圆角变小变得相对更敏感,对泊松比几乎不敏感。分析结果与文献预测及实验结论具有较好的一致性。本文研究能对其他类型反应堆（如熔盐堆和快堆）的石墨构件断裂性能分析评价提供参考。     

Preliminary Design and Analysis of ITER In-Wall Shielding

ITER in-wall shielding （IIS） is situated between the doubled shells of the ITER Vacuum Vessel （IVV）. Its main functions are applied in shielding neutron, gamma-ray and toroidal field ripple reduction. The structure of IIS has been modelled according to the IVV design criteria which has been updated by the ITER team （IT）. Static analysis and thermal expansion analysis were performed for the structure. Thermal-hydraulic analysis verified the heat removal capability and resulting temperature, pressure, and velocity changes in the coolant flow. Consequently, our design work is possibly suitable as a reference for IT＇s updated or final design in its next step.     

3D finite element analysis of a nuclear fuel rod with gap elements between the pellet and the cladding

Nuclear fuel rods which comprises an important component of a nuclear power plant are composed of nuclear fuel and cladding. Simulating the nuclear fuel rod using a computer program is the universal method to verify its safety. The computer program used for this is called the fuel performance code. The main objective of this study is to simulate the nuclear fuel rod behavior considering the gap conductance using three-dimensional gap elements. Gap elements are used because, unlike other methods, this approach does not require special methods or other variables such as the Lagrange multiplier. In this work, a nuclear fuel rod has been simulated and the results are compared with the experimental results.     

Multidimensional gap conductance model for thermo-mechanical simulation of LWR fuel behavior using a virtual link element

In light water reactor (LWR) fuel, the modeling of the heat transfer across the gap between the fuel pellets and the protective cladding is essential to understanding the fuel behavior. Based on the Ross and Stoute model, the gap conductance that specifies the temperature gradient within the gap depends on the gap thickness, which is related to the mechanical behavior. A multidimensional gap conductance problem can be challenging in terms of convergence and nonlinearity. In this work, a virtual link gap (VLG) element has been proposed to resolve the convergence issue and nonlinear characteristic of multidimensional gap conductance. The elements that link the node of a pellet surface with the node of the cladding surface are virtually generated so as to transfer heat as a function of gap thickness at every iteration step. To evaluate the proposed methodology for the simulation of the gap conductance, a thermo-mechanical model has been established using ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) for a preliminary study, and a 3D thermo-mechanical module using FORTRAN77 has been implemented. In terms of calculation accuracy and convergence efficiency, the proposed VLG model has been evaluated. As a result, the convergence criterion of the thermo-mechanical calculation considering the iteration characteristics of the VLG element has been proposed. To demonstrate the effect of the VLG model in a 3D simulation with the implemented thermo-mechanical module, the simulation results of a missing pellet surface (MPS) have been compared.