Special Purpose Application Reactors: Systems Integration Decision Support

Technical Report · Thu Sep 27 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1475413· OSTI ID:1475413

Kennedy, John C. ^[1]; Sabharwall, Piyush ^[1]; Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M. ^[1]; Frick, Konor L. ^[1]; McClure, Patrick ^[2]; Rao, D. V. ^[2]

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1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Microreactors, also known as very-Small Modular Reactors (vSMRs) or Special Purpose Reactors (SPRs), are being considered for use in unique applications where other methods of megawatt level energy production are uneconomical or unavailable. For the purposes of this report, a microreactor is defined as meeting the following criteria: • Factory manufacturable • Easily transportable by truck, plane, train, and/or ship • Produce no more than 20 megawatt thermal (MWth) energy, in order to qualify as Hazard Category 2 under 10CFR830 • Maintains neutronic simplicity, allowing semi- or fully-autonomous operation In the United States (U.S.), there are two general types of microreactors under development: high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) and heat pipe reactors. These two reactor types may, due to their differences in working fluid temperatures, be more effectively suited to different use cases. Additionally, they will require different interfacing components depending on their intended use. This report identifies a broad range of use cases for micro-reactors. Additionally, multiple reactor technologies are examined with an emphasis on the reactor sub-systems and interconnections. Using this information, a decision framework is developed to guide future efforts.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1475413
• Report Number(s): INL/EXT-18-51369-Rev001
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
Small Modular Reactors
Special Purpose Reactors
high-temperature gas reactors