Status of Physics and Safety Analyses for the Liquid-Salt-Cooled Very High-Temperature Reactor (LS-VHTR)
A study has been completed to develop a new baseline core design for the liquid-salt-cooled very high-temperature reactor (LS-VHTR) that is better optimized for liquid coolant and that satisfies the top-level operational and safety targets, including strong passive safety performance, acceptable fuel cycle parameters, and favorable core reactivity response to coolant voiding. Three organizations participated in the study: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Although the intent was to generate a new reference LS-VHTR core design, the emphasis was on performing parametric studies of the many variables that constitute a design. The results of the parametric studies not only provide the basis for choosing the optimum balance of design options, they also provide a valuable understanding of the fundamental behavior of the core, which will be the basis of future design trade-off studies. A new 2400-MW(t) baseline design was established that consists of a cylindrical, nonannular core cooled by liquid {sup 7}Li{sub 2}BeF{sub 4} (Flibe) salt. The inlet and outlet coolant temperatures were decreased by 50 C, and the coolant channel diameter was increased to help lower the maximum fuel and vessel temperatures. An 18-month fuel cycle length with 156 GWD/t burnup was achieved with a two-batch shuffling scheme, while maintaining a core power density of 10 MW/m{sup 3} using graphite-coated uranium oxicarbide particle fuel enriched to 15% {sup 235}U and assuming a 25 vol-% packing of the coated particles in the fuel compacts. The revised design appears to have excellent steady-state and transient performance. The previous concern regarding the core's response to coolant voiding has been resolved for the case of Flibe coolant by increasing the coolant channel diameter and the fuel loading. Also, the LSVHTR has a strong decay heat removal performance and appears capable of surviving a loss of forced circulation (LOFC) even with failure to scram. Significant natural convection of the coolant salt occurs, resulting in fuel temperatures below steady-state values and nearly uniform temperature distributions during the transient.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 885991
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2005/218; TRN: US0604164
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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