Thermal criteria to compare fast reactors coolants for the intermediate loop
- CEA/CADARACHE/Nuclear Energy Direction 13108 Saint-Paul Lez Durance (France)
Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) are typically using a liquid metal as the primary coolant. Up to now, sodium is the referenced coolant for all large-scale FBR, but lead and sodium-potassium alloy have both also been used successfully for smaller rigs. The French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) has an extensive experience and significant expertise in Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) over the past 40 years of R and D and feedback experiments. Some improvements are needed on the SFR to meet the Generation IV goals, and in particular the safety and the reliability through the intermediate loop coolant. As sodium reacts exo-thermically with air and water and to eliminate the drawback of the water-sodium interaction when a steam generator tube is ruptured, CEA is involved in a substantial effort in order to investigate the interest to use an alternative coolant than sodium in the intermediate loop. This paper presents the main thermal criteria to compare Fast Reactors coolants for the intermediate loop under natural and forced convection. Neutronics considerations are not taken into account for the intermediate loop coolant. Transport, transfer and energetic criteria are analysed in the field of turbulent flows. Criteria are applied to the following potential coolant candidates: sodium, lithium, tin, bismuth, lead, lead-bismuth alloy, lead-lithium alloy, gallium, indium, potassium and sodium-potassium alloy. According to this thermal analysis, the gallium as heat transfer agent for the intermediate loop is considered as a promising candidate. For the discussion of the applicability of the gallium as heat transfer agent for the intermediate loop, a limited thermal hydraulic pre-sizing of a steam generator is undertaken using simple engineering methods implemented in COPERNIC code, a CEA tool dedicated to reactor systems pre-sizing. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 20979695
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems (GLOBAL 2007), Boise - Idaho (United States), 9-13 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 11 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2007 conference on advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems, 1873 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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