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Title: Representative Source Terms and the Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

Abstract

Modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (MHTGRs) offer a high degree of passive safety. The low power density of the reactor and the high heat capacity of the graphite core result in slow transients that do not challenge the integrity of the robust TRISO fuel. Another benefit of this fuel form and the surrounding graphite is their superior ability to retain fission products under all anticipated normal and off-normal conditions, which limits reactor accident source terms to very low values. In this paper, we develop estimates of the source term for a generic MHTGR to illustrate the performance of the radionuclide barriers that comprise the MHTGR functional containment. We also examine the influence of initial fuel quality, fuel performance/failure, reactor outlet temperature, and retention outside of the reactor core on the resultant source term to the environment.

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
DOE - NE
OSTI Identifier:
1111028
Report Number(s):
INL/JOU-12-27469
DOE Contract Number:  
DE-AC07-05ID14517
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Nuclear Technology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 184; Journal Issue: 2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; Temperature+Reactor+NGNP+TDO+VHTR+Module+High

Citation Formats

Petti, D. A., Gougar, Hans, Hobbins, Dick, and Lowry, Pete. Representative Source Terms and the Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors. United States: N. p., 2013. Web.
Petti, D. A., Gougar, Hans, Hobbins, Dick, & Lowry, Pete. Representative Source Terms and the Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors. United States.
Petti, D. A., Gougar, Hans, Hobbins, Dick, and Lowry, Pete. 2013. "Representative Source Terms and the Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors". United States.
@article{osti_1111028,
title = {Representative Source Terms and the Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors},
author = {Petti, D. A. and Gougar, Hans and Hobbins, Dick and Lowry, Pete},
abstractNote = {Modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (MHTGRs) offer a high degree of passive safety. The low power density of the reactor and the high heat capacity of the graphite core result in slow transients that do not challenge the integrity of the robust TRISO fuel. Another benefit of this fuel form and the surrounding graphite is their superior ability to retain fission products under all anticipated normal and off-normal conditions, which limits reactor accident source terms to very low values. In this paper, we develop estimates of the source term for a generic MHTGR to illustrate the performance of the radionuclide barriers that comprise the MHTGR functional containment. We also examine the influence of initial fuel quality, fuel performance/failure, reactor outlet temperature, and retention outside of the reactor core on the resultant source term to the environment.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1111028}, journal = {Nuclear Technology},
number = 2,
volume = 184,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}