Estimation of CFETR performance and burning fraction in different pellet fueling scenarios by a multi-species radial transport model

Tritium self-sufficiency in future DT fusion reactor is a crucial challenge. As an engineering test reactor, CFETR requires a burning fraction of 3% for the goal to test the accessibility to the future fusion plant. To self-consistently simulate burning plasmas with profile changes in pellet injection scenarios and to estimate the corresponding burning fraction, a one-dimensional (1-D) multi-species radial transport model is developed in BOUT++ frame. Several pellet-fueling scenarios are then tested in the model. Results show that the increased fueling depth improves the burning fraction by particle confinement improvement and fusion power increase. Nevertheless, by increasing the depth, the pellet cooling-down may significantly lower the temperature in the core region. Taking the density perturbation into consideration, the reasonable parameters of the fueling scenario in these simulations are estimated as the pellet radius r_p=3 mm, the injection rate = 4 Hz , the pellet injection velocity =1000–2000 m/s without drift or 450 m/s with high filed side (HFS) drift.

Economic Dispatch Model of Nuclear High-Temperature Reactor with Hydrogen Cogeneration in Electricity Market

Hydrogen produced without carbon emissions could be a useful fuel as nations look to decarbonize their electricity, transport, and industry sectors. Using the iodine–sulfur (IS) cycle coupled with a nuclear heat source is one method for producing hydrogen without the use of fossil fuels. An economic dispatch model was developed for a nuclear-driven IS system to determine hydrogen sale prices that would make such a system profitable. The system studied is the HTTR-GT/H2, a design for power and hydrogen cogeneration at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor. This study focuses on the development of the economic model and the role that input data plays in the final calculated values. Using a historical price duration curve shows that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) or breakeven sale price of hydrogen would need to be 98.1 JPY/m3 or greater. Synthetic time histories were also used and found the LCOH to be 67.5 JPY/m3. The price duration input was found to have a significant effect on the LCOH. As such, great care should be used in these economic dispatch analyses to select reasonable input assumptions.

Design and Analysis of CFETR CS Coil and Pretension Structure

The coil and the pretension rod play important roles in the central solenoidal coil system of Tokamak. Therefore, the analysis of the coil and the pretension rod in the normal operating environment is essential for the facility’s construction. In this paper, the 3D model of the two parts mentioned above is built based on SolidWorks. Subsequently, the simulations are carried out to revert the real operation environments following the fields, loads, and boundary conditions. Then, we compare the official analysis results of the corresponding parts in the central solenoidal system of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) based on the results from COMSOL. Compared with the official analysis, the error is about 1.3% for the maximum magnetic field and about 0.53% error for the outer part, respectively. As for the pretension rod, simulations are carried out based on the finite element analysis software ABAQUS. The Von mises and the maximum principal stress are 140.1 MPa and 168.4 MPa, which is much lower than the material’s yield stress (205 MPa). The safety factor is 1.78, larger than the critical failure value 1. According to our results, the rationality of the CFETR central solenoidal coil system design is re-examined and verified.

Preliminary Neutronic Analysis of 150 MWt High-Temperature Gas Reactor to Produced Electricity in Small Area

There are small areas in Indonesia with insufficient electricity. High-Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) is a promising nuclear power plant that can be used in such areas as its capability to produce electricity and co-generation applications. A preliminary study on the neutronic aspect of the 150 MWt HTGR design is performed in this research. High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) is used as a basic model. The calculation was performed by Standard Thermal Reactor Analysis Code (SRAC) code, and Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (JENDL) 4.0 as nuclear data library. As a result, by increasing HTTR fuel assembly geometry to 1.5 times its original and using higher uranium enrichment, the reactor can be operated for five years.