Steam generators – horizontal or vertical (which type should be used in nuclear power plants with VVER?)

The steam generator is a very important component of a nuclear power plant. Historically, vertical steam generators came to be used abroad and horizontal steam generators in our country. Both types of steam generators operate successfully in nuclear power plants and satisfactorily fulfill their functions, enabling the production of electricity. Repeated attempts to re-examine the existing concepts in one or another country have been unsuccessful because there are no convincing arguments for this. Nonetheless, the question of using a different type of steam generator is raised periodically in our country and abroad. This article briefly reviews different concepts of steam generators. Their parameters, characteristics, and thermal efficiency are compared and ways to increase the latter are analyzed. It is shown that it is impossible to choose one or the other type of steam generator without making an exhaustive study and analysis of the layout of the reactor facility and its scheme, servicing, and operation as part of a nuclear power plant. A comparative analysis of layouts of reactor facilities with different types of steam generators is made. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 105, No. 3, pp. 127–135, September, 2008.     

PGV-1500 steam generator. New problems and solutions

The basic questions concerning the development of a steam generator for a nuclear power plant with a VVé R-1500 reactor are presented. The basic design requirements which follow for steam generators from experience in operating analogs at nuclear power plants and taking account of the requirements for a reactor system are presented. The special features inherent to horizontal-type steam generators, which have been mastered and are used in nuclear power plants in our country, are noted. The domestic and world operating experience is taken into account in the development of the design. It is concluded that the design of the PGV-1500 steam generator satisfies the requirements for the concept of a VVéR reactor facility for a 1500 MW(e) unit of a nuclear power plant and is competitive on the world market for power-generating equipment for nuclear power plants. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 99, No. 6, pp. 416–425, December, 2005. An erratum to this article is availabel at .     

Homogenous Transmutation of 237Np, 241Am, 243Am in a Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor

Atomic Energy - The results of a study of the effect of the homogeneous addition of 237Np, 241Am, 243Am into the fuel on the neutronics characteristics of a lead-cooled fast reactor are reported....     

Tokamak based hybrid systems for fuel production and recovery from spent nuclear fuel

The effect of the internal elements of a tokamak with different coolants on the transmutation rate of long-lived actinides is studied. The Monte Carlo method is used to calculate nuclear reactions in a homogeneous model of a blanket and in specific designs of a blanket. The neutron-physical calculations of a homogeneous model of a blanket showed that the absorption of neutrons by the central column of the tokamak and their moderation by the beryllium coating slow the transmutation rate to 35% of the initial value with the most efficient utilization of lead coolant. For water coolant, this effect is negligible. In a heterogeneous model of a blanket where water coolant is used, plutonium must be added to the actinides (50%/50%). The use of lead as the coolant will increase the transmutation rate of the actinides without using plutonium. In this case, it will be possible to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from more than 10 VVER-1000 in the JUST-T hybrid reactor.