Power flattening options for the ENHS (encapsulated nuclear heat source) core

The feasibility of power flattening while maintaining a nearly constant k_eff over the core life is assessed for the Encapsulated Nuclear Heat Source (ENHS). A couple of approaches are considered — using different fuel dimensions and using different enrichment levels across the core. Three new cores with flattened power distribution are successfully designed: Design-I uses different fuel rod diameters but uniform fuel composition; Design-II uses different fuel enrichment in the radial direction but uniform fuel rod dimensions; Design-III is similar to Design-II but uses enrichment splitting also in the axial direction. Relative to the reference ENHS core, the BOL peak-to-average channel power ratio is reduced from 1.50 to 1.15, 1.22 and 1.15 and the average discharge burnup increases by 8.5%, 27.9% and 41.2% for, respectively, Design-I, -II and -III. The corresponding burnup reactivity swings over 20 years of full power operation are 0.37%, 0.52% and 0.60% relative to 0.22% of the reference design. Design-II and -III have a negative coolant expansion reactivity defect while in the reference design this defect is positive. The radial power flattening increases the reactivity worth of the peripheral absorbers of the three new designs while the central absorber reactivity worth is reduced but their sum is nearly maintained. The newly designed cores have slightly more positive coolant void reactivity worth than the reference ENHS core.     

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.     

The encapsulated nuclear heat source reactor for low-waste proliferation-resistant nuclear energy

The encapsulated nuclear heat source (ENHS) is a new Pb-Bi cooled modular reactor concept that features a combination of the following useful features that may make nuclear energy more attractive: (1) 20 years of full power operation without refueling. (2) Nearly constant fissile fuel contents and k_eff. (3) No on-site refueling and fueling hardware. (4) The ENHS modules are factory manufactured and transported already fueled to the site. (5) No access to neutrons. (6) No mechanical connections between the ENHS module and the energy conversion plant (The ENHS module has the function of a nuclear battery — with 20 years of full power operation at 125 MW_th). (7) At end of life, the ENHS module serves as a spent fuel storage cask and, later, as a spent fuel shipping cask. That is, the fuel is locked inside the ENHS from “cradle to grave”. (8) 100% natural circulation resulting in passive load following capability and autonomous control. This combination of features offers a highly safe nuclear energy system that is characterized by low waste, high proliferation resistance and high uranium utilization. The low waste and high uranium ore utilization are achieved by recycling the Pu and MA many times using a proliferation-resistant dry process; only fission products are to be extracted between cycles. Spent LWR fuel can provide for the HM make-up. The high level of proliferation resistance is obtained by restricting access to the fuel and neutrons and by eliminating the economic incentive of the client country to invest in sensitive technologies or infrastructure that can be used for clandestine production of strategic nuclear materials.     

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.     

ENHS reactor power level enhancement possibilities

The ENHS thermal hydraulic optimization code was modified and applied to search for the maximum attainable power from a wide range of ENHS design options subjected to the following constraints: maximum permissible hot channel coolant outlet temperature of 600 °C, clad inner temperature of 650 °C and primary coolant temperature rise of either 150 °C or 90% of the theoretical limit for accelerated corrosion rate. The T–H optimization variables include the intermediate heat exchanger number of channels, channel width and elevation; diameter of the riser and diameter of a flow-splitting shroud in the riser. It was found possible to increase the attainable power from the nominal 125 MW_th up to 311 MW_th for the reference core, 400 MW_th for a reference-like core having equilibrium composition fuel and 372 MW_th for a flattened power core with 9 plutonium concentration zones. A power level exceeding 400 MW_th may be achieved by flattening the power distribution of the equilibrium core or using nitride fuel with enriched nitrogen rather than metallic fuel. With forced circulation it is possible to operate the flattened power core at up to 532 MW_th corresponding to 223 MW_e.     

Plutonium rock-like fuel burning in LWR

Plutonium rock-like oxide(ROX) fuel burning in LWR has been studied. To improve reactivity insertion accident(RIA) behavior of zirconia(ZrO₂) type ROX(Zr-ROX) fuel PWR, small negative Doppler reactivity coefficient of the fuel is increased with the additives such as 24mol% ThO₂ or 15mol% UO₂ in the fuel. There is also an approach of a heterogeneous core with 1/3 ROX and 2/3 UO₂ fuels. From the loss of coolant accident(LOCA) analysis of Zr-ROX fuel PWR, the importance to decrease the large power peaking is shown. The ThO₂ additive can make it easier to flatten the power distribution in the core, and improve not only the reactivity accident behavior but also the LOCA behavior. The power flattening can also be achieved by reducing the content of Gd₂O₃ mixed in ZrO₂ and adding Er₂O₃ in place.

In the case of weapons-grade plutonium burning, the plutonium transmutation rate in Zr-ROX fuel LWR is about 0.9tonne/GWe/300 days, and far larger than that of full MOX LWR. The additives of ThO₂ or UO₂ decrease the plutonium transmutation rate, yet it is still larger than that in full MOX LWR by more than 2 times. Even in 1/3 Zr-ROX fuel core, the transmutation rate is comparable with the full MOX case. Total amount of discharged plutonium becomes less than 1/4 to 1/6 in these cores.     

Cascade subcritical molten salt reactor (CSMSR): Main features and restrictions

The ADS-burner of minor actinides (MA) is considered of the following assumptions:

• Proton accelerator — driver has energy E_a=1 GeV and current I_a=10 mA;

• Subcriticality is Δk = 0.05 (k_eff=0.95);

• Reactor consists of two cores: core-1 of cascade amplification (CA) and core-2 of transmutation (CT);

• Molten salt NaF-ZrF₄ is used as a coolant and the nuclear fuel solvent in CT.

Technical solutions are chosen close to used in reactor technology. The main neutron physics characteristics of reactor are calculated including reactor power distribution, reactivity effects, MA burnup, thermo-hydraulics of CA fuel elements etc.Such CSMSR with power 800 MWth can incinerate 50 kg MA/year, i.e. the MA production of five thermal reactors of the same power.     

Accuracy of nuclear design of fast and thermal neutron coupled core by SRAC

Supercritical-pressure light water cooled fast reactor adopts the blanket fuel assemblies with depleted uranium fuel and zirconium hydride layer in the core for negative coolant void reactivity. Thermal neutrons are generated in the core of fast reactor. It is called “fast and thermal neutron coupled core”. The purpose of the present study is to examine the accuracy of assembly and core calculations including preparation of the macroscopic cross sections with the SRAC code system for “fast and thermal neutron coupled core” in comparison with the Monte Carlo codes, MVP and MVP-BURN. Accuracy of the neutron multiplication factor and coolant void reactivity calculation has been evaluated in four types of cores of different fractions of the blanket fuel assembly with zirconium hydride rods. The conventional analysis is based on the macroscopic cross sections which are prepared with infinite lattice. The conventional SRAC calculation underestimates the neuron multiplication factor for all types of cores. Other findings are that the conventional SRAC calculation overestimates coolant void reactivity for the cores without zirconium hydride rods, and underestimates coolant void reactivity for the core of all blanket fuel assemblies having zirconium hydride rods. To overcome these problems, it has been proposed that the macroscopic cross sections of seed fuel assembly are prepared with the model that a seed fuel assembly is surrounded by blanket fuel assemblies in order to take into account the effects of the surrounding fuel assemblies. Evaluations show that accuracy of the neutron multiplication factor by the SRAC calculation can be improved by the proposed method.     

Analysis of the reactivity coefficients of the advanced high-temperature reactor for plutonium and uranium fuels

The conceptual design of the advanced high-temperature reactor (AHTR) has recently been proposed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with the intention to provide and alternative energy source for very high temperature applications. In the present study, we focused on the analyses of the reactivity coefficients of the AHTR core fueled with two types of fuel: enriched uranium and plutonium from the reprocessing of light water reactors irradiated fuel. More precisely, we investigated the influence of the outer graphite reflectors on the multiplication factor of the core, the fuel and moderator temperature reactivity coefficients and the void reactivity coefficient for five different molten salts: NaF, BeF₂, LiF, ZrF₄ and Li₂BeF₄ eutectic. In order to better illustrate the behavior of the previous parameters for different core configurations, we evaluated the moderating ratio of the molten salts and the absorption rate of the key fuel nuclides, which, of course, are driven by the neutron spectrum. The results show that the fuel and moderator temperature reactivity coefficients are always negative, whereas the void reactivity coefficient can be set negative provided that the fuel to moderator ratio is optimized (the core is undermoderated) and the moderating ratio of the coolant is large.     

A study on reactivity insertion controlled LMR cores with metallic fuel

An inherently safe core concept with metallic fuel for sodium cooled fast reactor is proposed that has a negative void reactivity at the loss of coolant events without scram as well as a small excess reactivity during the operation cycle. The relationship of sodium void reactivities and burn-up reactivities to different core configurations has been studied quantitatively to clarify the core concept for large metallic fuel reactors. It has shown that the sodium void reactivity is greatly dependent on the core shapes while the excess reactivity is on the fuel compositions. It has also indicated that the core configuration that enables to enhance the neutron streaming through the region above the active core at coolant voiding is most effective to decrease sodium void reactivity.

A 3000 MWt core composed of the flat inner core and annular outer core where the fuel volume fraction is relatively high and the sodium plenum is placed just above the active core region has been selected as a candidate core.

The maximum excess reactivity of the candidate core at UTOP is about 0.4 $ and it can be reduced to approximately zero by power or inlet temperature adjustment during the operation cycle, meanwhile the sodium void reactivity is as low as -1.3 $ in negative that is enough to prevent ULOF sequences.     

Current status of researches on the plutonium rock-like oxide fuel and its burning in light water reactors

Intention of the ROX-LWR system research is to provide an option for utilization or disposition of surplus plutonium. Researches on inert matrix materials and irradiation performance shows that the most favorable candidate for the ROX fuel is a particle dispersed fuel where small particles consisted of yttria stabilized zirconia, PuO₂ and some additives are homogeneously dispersed in spinel matrix. Reactor safety analyses show that the ROX fueled PWR core has nearly the same performability as the existing UO₂ fueled PWR under both reactivity initiated accidents and loss of coolant accidents.     

Multi-recycling in the ENHS and the equilibrium core

This work investigates the effect of initial fuel composition, power density and number of recycles on the pitch-to-diameter (P/D) ratio and TRans-Uranium isotopes (TRU) loading required for attaining one of the most important design goals of the Encapsulated Nuclear Heat Source (ENHS) – nearly zero burnup reactivity swing over the 20 years of core life. It is found that the required P/D ratio is sensitive to, primarily, the initial concentration of the short-lived isotope ²⁴¹Pu in the fuel loaded into the first core and to the core power density. The longer is the cooling time of the TRU from LWR spent fuel the smaller becomes the relative ²⁴¹Pu concentration and the smaller becomes the fraction of ²⁴¹Pu lost via radioactive decay and, hence, the smaller needs be the conversion ratio required for nearly zero burnup reactivity swing and the larger can be the P/D ratio. Likewise, the higher is the ENHS power density, the smaller becomes the fraction of ²⁴¹Pu lost via radioactive decay and the larger becomes the P/D required for the first core. The optimal P/D ratio tends to increase with the number of times the fuel is recycled from one ENHS core to the next one. The optimal P/D ratio for the equilibrium composition core is in between 1.53 and 1.59. For a given discharge burnup it tends to somewhat increase with the equilibrium core power density. However, if structural materials will be developed to enable a 20 years core life at elevated power densities, the higher the power density the smaller is the required equilibrium P/D ratio.     

Liquid salt cooled flexible conversion ratio fast reactor: Neutronic design

This paper presents the neutronic design of a liquid salt cooled fast reactor with flexible conversion ratio. The main objective of the design is to accommodate interchangeably within the same reactor core alternative transuranic actinides management strategies ranging from pure burning to self-sustainable breeding. Two, the most limiting, core design options with unity and zero conversion ratios are described. Ternary, NaCl-KCl-MgCl₂ salt was chosen as a coolant after a rigorous screening process, due to a combination of favourable neutronic and heat transport properties. Large positive coolant temperature reactivity coefficient was identified as the most significant design challenge. A wide range of strategies aiming at the reduction of the coolant temperature coefficient to assure self-controllability of the core in the most limiting unprotected accidents were explored. However, none of the strategies resulted in sufficient reduction of the coolant temperature coefficient without significantly compromising the core performance characteristics such as power density or cycle length. Therefore, reactivity control devices known as lithium thermal expansion modules were employed instead. This allowed achieving all the design goals for both zero and unity conversion ratio cores. The neutronic feasibility of both designs was demonstrated through calculation of reactivity control and fuel loading requirements, fluence limits, power peaking factors, and reactivity feedback coefficients.     

Noise analysis performed at the sodium cooled power reactor KNK I for malfunction diagnosis and plant surveillance

In order to use neutron noise analysis as an effective tool for early malfunction detection it is necessary to identify the driving forces and to calculate their contributions to the power fluctuations. In this paper the influence of a considerable number of measured noise sources on neutron noise within a large frequency range (10⁻³ Hz to 10³ Hz) is investigated for the sodium cooled power reactor KNK I (thermal core, 58 MW_th).

The experimental basis for the analysis is numerous records of the following signals at various power levels: neutron noise which has been measured with an in-core fission chamber and 3 ex-core ionisation chambers; the sodium inlet temperature and the coolant flow in both primary coolant loops and the movement of the control rods. In addition signals from acoustic-, seismic- and pressure transducers and the coolant outlet temperature were collected.

The influence of the thermohydraulic- and of the control system on neutron noise has also been calculated by means of the relations for linear and multiple-input systems. Important for this analysis is the reactivity-power transfer function. Calculations of this function could be confirmed by measurements using a pseudo-random binary signal as reactivity input.

The following results were obtained from the analysis of the auto-power spectral densities of the neutron flux: Fluctuations of the coolant inlet temperature and the coolant flow are relatively small sources for neutron noise. However, reactivity adjustments resulting from the automatic control system because of the inherent instability of the reactor turned out to be an important driving force.

The influence of still unknown driving forces increased considerably with the reactor power. Since the coolant flow was proportional to the reactor power in order to keep the coolant temperature constant, this result indicates that turbulent flow must have induced stochastical movements of core components. These movements are considered to have mainly caused the unknown reactivity driving forces. Their magnitude could be determined reliably only in the frequency range, in which external feedback mechanisms through the primary coolant system were negligible. For 30 to 50 % reactor power the contribution was about 30 % (for f > 5·10⁻³ Hz) and for full power it increased to about 80 % (for f > 5·10⁻² Hz) of the measured neutron noise. For frequencies > 5 Hz the white detection noise prevails. Single peaks in this frequency region could be explained by coherence function investigations between in-core and ex-core neutron detector signals and by correlation of these signals with displacement- and pressure fluctuations.

Though the measured neutron noise could not be unambiguously related to driving forces, the combination of analytical and empirical methods makes the results also applicable for the design of surveillance techniques for other sodium cooled reactors (e.g. LMFBRs). Examples for possible applications are given.     

Hafnium clad fuels for fast spectrum BWRs

We show that by use of hafnium cladding, a fast neutron spectrum is achievable in the top of uprated BWRs. Monte Carlo calculations have been made for Hf clad inert matrix nitride and low fertile MOX fuels, with fuel segments located in the upper part of an uprated BWR, where the coolant void fraction exceeds 70%. The nitride fuel results in the hardest neutron spectrum, but the low fertile MOX fuel still yields fission probabilities for even neutron number nuclides similar to those of sodium cooled reactors. The inert matrix nitride fuel configuration yields high burning rates, permitting to stabilise TRU inventories with less than 50% BWR cores of the here suggested type in the power park. The core with low fertile MOX fuel is less efficient, but still a zero net producer of TRU. Fuel and coolant temperature feedbacks are affected by introduction of absorbing elements in the fuel, but remain within acceptable ranges for the low fertile MOX fuel. Although control rod worths are reduced, shutdown margins are sufficient to ensure sub-criticality in cold conditions. From a materials point of view, the behaviour of hafnium clad MOX fuel would be similar to zircalloy clad MOX fuel already used extensively in nuclear industry. Thus, if dynamic stability of the core can be ensured, the here proposed fuel may be considered as a low cost solution for transmutation of minor actinides on industrial scale.     

Neutronic performance comparation of MOX, nitride and metallic fuel based 25–100 MWe Pb–Bi cooled long life fast reactors without on-site refuelling

In this paper the performance of 25–100 MWe Pb–Bi cooled long life fast reactors based on three type of fuels: MOX, Nitride and Metal are compared and discussed. In general MOX fuel (UO₂–PuO₂) has lower atomic density compared to the nitride or metal fuel, but MOX fuel has some advantages such as higher Doppler coefficient, high melting point and availability. Nitride fuel has advantages such as high density, high thermal conductivity, and high melting point, but need N-15 to avoid C-14 problems.

The results show that nitride fuel as well as MOX fuel can be used to develop 25–100 MWe (75–300 MWth) Pb–Bi cooled long life reactors without on-site fuelling. The results show that nitride fuels have more superior neutronic characteristics compared to that of MOX fuel due to higher density. However, in the large power level both fuels can be easily applied. In lower power level the MOX fuel need higher fuel volume fraction to reach the comparable target of nitride fuelled cores.     

Analysis of reactivity induced accidents at Pakistan Research Reactor-1

Analysis of reactivity induced accidents in Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1) utilizing low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, has been carried out using standard computer code PARET. The present core comprises of 29 standard and five control fuel elements. Various modes of reactivity insertions have been considered. The events studied include: start-up accident; accidental drop of a fuel element on the core; flooding of a beam tube with water; removal of an in-pile experiment during reactor operation etc. For each of these transients, time histories of reactor power, energy released and clad surface temperature etc. were calculated. The results reveal that the peak clad temperatures remain well below the clad melting temperature during these accidents. It is concluded that the reactor, which is operated safely at a steady-state power level of 10 MW, with coolant flow rate of 950 m³/h, will also be safe against any possible reactivity induced accident and will not result in a fuel failure.     

等效天然铀燃料中子学性能分析

采用10种回收铀（RU）和贫铀（DU）成分情形,根据等效天然铀（NUE）燃料混合比计算程序ALPHA算得配成NUE燃料的混合比。以标准CANDU 6栅元结构为载体,采用WIMS程序,通过比较NUE燃料与天然铀（NU）燃料的中子学性能参数,以及NUE燃料入堆示范验证试验中实际入堆的燃料信息,对NUE燃料与NU燃料的中子学性能等效性进行了论证分析。研究表明,与NU燃料相比,各种情形下NUE燃料在无限增殖系数、卸料燃耗、冷却剂空泡反应性以及燃料温度效应等中子学性能参数上吻合较好,NUE燃料与NU燃料具备较好的中子学等效性,可应用于重水堆核电站,实现回收铀的有效利用。     

小型可运输长寿命铅铋冷却快堆堆芯设计研究

为满足偏远地区供电需求,提出了一种小型可运输长寿命铅铋冷却快堆（STLFR）堆芯设计方案,额定热功率为20 MW,在不换料条件下可运行18 EFPY（有效满功率年）。为减小堆芯体积,堆芯采用蜂窝煤型燃料组件,内设若干冷却剂管道,管外为燃料,实现了较高的堆芯燃料体积占比。为展平堆芯径向功率分布,将堆芯燃料区沿径向划分为三区,分别采用不同的冷却剂管道尺寸。为降低堆芯高度,设计使用含高富集度⁶Li的液态锂作为吸收体的液态吸收体控制系统。为降低初始剩余反应性,在堆芯控制组件与安全组件中布置两组固定式可替换吸收体,分别在堆芯燃耗1/3和2/3寿期时替换为固定式反射体。提出的堆芯设计方案在整个运行寿期内满足热工设计限值,控制系统和安全系统能独立满足堆芯控制和停堆要求。采用准静态反应性平衡方法对5种典型无保护事故工况进行分析,初步证明了堆芯具有固有安全特性。     

Expansion of the method of correlated temperatures to clad and fuel design analyses

In the thermal design of nuclear reactor cores, specified design limits (temperatures and linear power rating) should not be exceeded by the operating values of certain elements (coolant, clad and fuel). However, a certain number of channels or fuel pins could be permitted to exceed the specified limits without affecting the reactor's safety while still allowing reliable operation. An expansion of the method of correlated temperatures, developed for coolant temperature analysis, was performed to enable clad temperature and fuel centerline melting analyses for reactor core reliability studies. Since generation of random numbers is involved, calculational procedures, tailored to designer needs, were developed in order to reduce computational time. The method is applied to a typical LMFBR core and results are presented for various assumed clad and fuel design limits.