scholarly journals Innovative Investigation of Reflector Options for the Control of a Chloride-Based Molten Salt Zero-Power Reactor

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6795
Author(s):  
Bruno Merk ◽  
Anna Detkina ◽  
Seddon Atkinson ◽  
Dzianis Litskevich ◽  
Gregory Cartland-Glover
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Power Distribution ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Power Reactor ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Monte Carlo Study ◽  
Beryllium Oxide ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Closed Fuel Cycle

Molten salt reactors have gained substantial interest in the last years due to their flexibility and their potential for simplified closed fuel cycle operations for massive net-zero energy production. However, a zero-power reactor experiment will be an essential first step into the process delivering this technology. The choice of the optimal reflector material is one of the key issues for such experiments since, on the one hand, it offers huge cost savings potential due to reduced fuel demand; on the other hand, an improper choice of the reflector material can have negative effects on the quality of the experiments. The choice of the reflector material is, for the first time, introduced through a literature review and a discussion of potential roles of the reflector. The 2D study of different potential reflector materials has delivered a first down-selection with SS304 as the representative for stainless steel, lead, copper, graphite, and beryllium oxide. A deeper look identified, in addition, iron-based material with a high Si content. The following evaluation of the power distribution has shown the strong influence of the moderating reflectors, creating a massively disturbed power distribution with a peak at the core boundary. This effect has been confirmed through a deeper analysis of the 2D multi-group flux distribution, which led to the exclusion of the BeO and the graphite reflector. The most promising materials identified were SS304, lead, and copper. The final 3D Monte Carlo study demonstrated that all three materials have the potential to reduce the required amount of fuel by up to 60% compared with NaCl, which has been used in previous studies and is now taken as the reference. An initial cost analysis has identified the SS304 reflector as the most attractive solution. The results of the 2D multi-group deterministic study and the 3D multi-group Monte Carlo study have been confirmed through a continuous energy Monte Carlo reference calculation, showing only minor differences.

scholarly journals Evaluating Reactivity Control Options for a Chloride Salt-Based Molten Salt Zero-Power Reactor

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7447
Author(s):  
Bruno Merk ◽  
Anna Detkina ◽  
Seddon Atkinson ◽  
Dzianis Litskevich ◽  
Gregory Cartland-Glover
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Power Reactor ◽  
Singular System ◽  
System Level ◽  
Chloride Salt ◽  
Solid Core ◽  
Closed Fuel Cycle ◽  
The Core ◽  
Reactor Experiment

Molten salt reactors have gained substantial interest in recent years due to their flexibility and their potential for simplified closed fuel cycle operation for massive net-zero energy production. However, a zero-power reactor experiment will be an essential first step in the process of delivering this technology. The topic of the control and shutdown for a zero-power reactor is, for the first time, introduced through a literature review and a reduction in the control approaches to a limited number of basic functions with different variations. In the following, the requirements for the control and shutdown systems for a reactor experiment are formulated, and based on these assessments, an approach for the shutdown, i.e., splitting the lower part of the core with a reflector, and an approach for the control, i.e., a vertically movable radial reflector, are proposed. Both systems will be usable for a zero-power system with a liquid as well as a solid core, and even more importantly, both systems somehow work at the integral system level without disturbing the central part of the core which will be the essential area for the experimental measurements. Both approaches were investigated as a singular system, in addition to their interactions with one another and the sensitivity of the control system. This study demonstrates that both proposed systems are able to deliver the required characteristics with a sufficient shutdown margin and a sufficiently wide control span. The interaction of the system is shown to be manageable, and the sensitivity is at a very good level. The multi-group Monte Carlo approach was cross-evaluated by a continuous energy test, leading to good results, but they also demonstrate that there is room for improvement.

scholarly journals On the Dimensions Required for a Molten Salt Zero Power Reactor Operating on Chloride Salts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6673
Author(s):  
Bruno Merk ◽  
Anna Detkina ◽  
Seddon Atkinson ◽  
Dzianis Litskevich ◽  
Gregory Cartland-Glover
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Power Reactor ◽  
Modelling And Simulation ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Eutectic System ◽  
Low Carbon

Molten salt reactors have gained substantial interest in the last years due to their flexibility and their potential for simplified closed fuel cycle operation for massive expansion in low-carbon electricity production, which will be required for a future net-zero society. The importance of a zero-power reactor for the process of developing a new, innovative rector concept, such as that required for the molten salt fast reactor based on iMAGINE technology, which operates directly on spent nuclear fuel, is described here. It is based on historical developments as well as the current demand for experimental results and key factors that are relevant to the success of the next step in the development process of all innovative reactor types. In the systematic modelling and simulation of a zero-power molten salt reactor, the radius and the feedback effects are studied for a eutectic based system, while a heavy metal rich chloride-based system are studied depending on the uranium enrichment accompanied with the effects on neutron flux spectrum and spatial distribution. These results are used to support the relevant decision for the narrowing down of the configurations supported by considerations on cost and proliferation for the follow up 3-D analysis. The results provide for the first time a systematic modelling and simulation approach for a new reactor physics experiment for an advanced technology. The expected core volumes for these configurations have been studied using multi-group and continuous energy Monte-Carlo simulations identifying the 35% enriched systems as the most attractive. This finally leads to the choice of heavy metal rich compositions with 35% enrichment as the reference system for future studies of the next steps in the zero power reactor investigation. An alternative could be the eutectic system in the case the increased core diameter is manageable. The inter-comparison of the different applied codes and approaches available in the SCALE package has delivered a very good agreement between the results, creating trust into the developed and used models and methods.

Prospects of subcritical molten salt reactor for minor actinides incineration in closed fuel cycle

Kerntechnik ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. Alekseev ◽  
A. L. Balanin ◽  
V. Yu. Blandinsky ◽  
A. A. Dudnikov ◽  
P. A. Fomichenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Minor Actinides ◽  
Molten Salt Reactor ◽  
Closed Fuel Cycle

scholarly journals Preliminary proliferation study of the molten salt fast reactor

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Allibert ◽  
Elsa Merle ◽  
Sylvie Delpech ◽  
Delphine Gerardin ◽  
Daniel Heuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Fast Reactor ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Power Reactor ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Reactor System ◽  
Molten Salt Reactor ◽  
International Forum ◽  
Large Power

The molten salt reactor designs, where fissile and fertile materials are dissolved in molten salts, under consideration in the framework of the Generation IV International Forum, present some unusual characteristics in terms of design, operation, safety and also proliferation resistance issues. This paper has the main objective of presenting some proliferation challenges for the reference version of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR), a large power reactor based on the thorium fuel cycle. Preliminary studies of proliferation resistance are presented here, dedicated to the threat of nuclear material diversion in the MSFR, considering both the reactor system itself and the processing units located onsite.

scholarly journals Monte Carlo study of the capacitance of the double layer in a model molten salt

1999 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 5346-5350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dezső Boda ◽  
Douglas Henderson ◽  
Kwong-Yu Chan
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Double Layer ◽  
Monte Carlo Study

A Monte Carlo study on burnup treatment in sodium-cooled reactor with Th fuel

Kerntechnik ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-311
Author(s):  
M. E. Korkmaz ◽  
N. K. Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Power Distribution ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Monte Carlo Study ◽  
Minor Actinides ◽  
Monte Carlo Code ◽  
Effective Multiplication Factor ◽  
Conceptual Core ◽  
Effective Multiplication

Abstract Sodium Cooled Reactors is one of the Generation-IV plants selected to manage the long-lived minor actinides and to transmute the long-life radioactive elements. This study presents the comparison between two-designed SFR cores with 600 and 800 MWth total heating power. We have analyzed a conceptual core design and nuclear characteristic of SFR. Monte Carlo depletion calculations have been performed to investigate essential characteristics of the SFR core. The core calculations were performed by using the Serpent Monte Carlo code for determining the burnup behavior of the SFR, the power distribution and the effective multiplication factor. The neutronic and burn-up calculations were done by means of Serpent-2 Code with the ENDF-7 cross-sections library. Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor core was taken as the reference core for Th-232 burnup calculations. The results showed that SFR is an important option to deplete the minor actinides as well as for transmutation from Th-232 to U-233.

Extended development of a Monte Carlo code OpenMC for fuel cycle simulation of molten salt reactor

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 103115
Author(s):  
Kun Zhuang ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
Qian Zhang ◽  
Qinghua He ◽  
Tengfei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Monte Carlo Code ◽  
Molten Salt Reactor ◽  
Cycle Simulation
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