Integration of high temperature gascooled reactors into. No generation iv reactors are currently active, but some projects are under construction and multitudes of designs exist. The advanced reactors are categorized into fast breeder reactor, high temperature gas cooled reactor, and fusion reactor, depending on energy generation system. From this a purpose designed recuperator and intermediate heat exchanger configuration have been developed, suitable for high temperature gas cooled reactor applications. May 1974 aec selects ga to build the doublet iii magnetic fusion experiment in san diego, based on the success of earlier doublet i.
During that period, the gcfr concept was expected to increase the breeding gain, the thermal efficiency of a nuclear power plant, and alleviate some of the problems associated with liquid metal coolants. Traditionally the pche is a high efficiency, high integrity compact plate type exchanger used primarily for gas applications on offshore facilities. Finis southworth chief technology officer areva inc. Demonstrate high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr technology to produce electricity and high temperature process heat program objectives partner with industry to commercialize htgr technology collaborate with the nuclear regulatory commission nrc to establish a licensing framework for htgrs.
Fluoride salt cooled high temperature reactor fhr 2 new power reactor concept about a decade old forsbergpetersonpickard u. A codetocode benchmark for high temperature gas cooled reactor fuel element depletion. It is expected that the vhtr will be purchased in the future as either an electricity producing plant with a direct cycle gas turbine or a hydrogen producing or other process heat application plant. It uses uranium fuel, a graphite moderator and a gas as a coolant. Over the past five decades, high temperature gas cooled reactors htgrs have been designed and operated throughout the world. Advances in small modular reactor technology developments. The high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr is one of the six geniv designs which is conceived to produce electricity and provide high energy heat source for industrial applications. Benchmarking of the mit high temperature gas cooled reactor trisocoated particle fuel performance model by michael a. Historical gfr concepts as well as the generation iv gfrs represent an alternative to liquid metalcooled fast reactors lmfrs. The veryhightemperature reactor vhtr, or hightemperature gascooled reactor htgr, is a generation iv reactor concept that uses a graphitemoderated nuclear reactor with a oncethrough uranium fuel cycle. Gas cooled nuclear reactors were first proposed in 1942 by farrington daniels, a professor of chemistry at the university of wisconsin. The term typically refers to the next step in the evolutionary development of high temperature gas cooled reactors htgrs. Commercial gas cooled reactors are currently in use only in the united kingdom. A codetocode benchmark for hightemperature gascooled.
Stawicki submitted to the department of nuclear science and engineering on may 5, 2006 in. The status of high temperature gascooled reactor development and design in the united states and other countries important benefits are foreseen from smaller, modular systems by l. High temperature nuclear reactors for hydrogen production. The fort saint vrain helium cooled gas reactor operated in colorado for 12 years, providing valuable insight into the challenges of a heliumcooled reactor. Helium cooled, graphite moderated high temp reactor 360,000 fuel balls in a. Nuclear graphite for high temperature gascooled reactors. Development activities include methods used for reactor physics, criticality safety. The very high temperature reactor the term very high temperature reactor vhtr loosely covers any reactor design with a coolant outlet temperature of c or above.
In march 2016 china installed the first of two reactor pressure vessels for a demonstration high temperature, gas cooled htgr pebble. In addition, this report includes updated information on high temperature gas cooled reactors htgrs at the time of writing, as well as additional. This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the. The gas is separated from the solids via the filter candles blow back and transported to the preparation unit. Advances in high temperature gas cooled reactor fuel technology.
In particular this report addresses the comments provided by inl and documented intev1463 rev. High temperature gas cooled reactor htgr provides another solution. High temperature gascooled reactors lessons learned. Integration of high temperature gas cooled reactors into industrial process applications 1. Significant efforts are underway in several member states to develop high temperature gas cooled reactors htgr based on either pebble bed or prismatic designs. As the name itself suggests, a gas cooled reactor is cooled using a gas, and the heat extracted by the gas during the process of cooling the reactor is used either indirectly to generate steam which in turn is used for turbine propulsion, or this heated coolant could be used directly as the working fluid of the gas turbine thus eliminating the need for a separate steam circuit. Pdf demands for better safety, security, safeguard and economic aspects have led to the emergence of innovative nuclear reactor designs. No reprocessing h igh burnup 90,000 mwdmt d irect disposal of hlw process heat applications hydrogen, water 120 mwe helium cooled 8 % enriched fuel built in 2 years factory built s ite assembled online refueling.
Cost safety due to small core size, all htgrs have limited power levels and utilize passive features to achieve complete shutdown. It is based on htgr technology developed over the past 40 years that includes the design, construction and operation of seven htgr plants. The hightemperature gascooled reactor concept has signif icant advantages for. A gas cooled reactor gcr is a nuclear reactor that uses graphite as a neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant. Pdf high temperature gas cooled reactor regulation. See inlmis0814156, high level requirements high temperature gas reactor htgr component test facility ctf, april 2008, for further information.
High temperature gascooled reactor operation gthtr300 pbmr 100,000 kwe httr30,000kwt nuclear hydrogen production thermochemical. Pdf since its first successful use in the cp1 nuclear reactor in 1942, nuclear graphite has played an important role in nuclear reactors. The gfr may benefit from development of these technologies, as well as development of innovative fuel and very high temperature materials for the vhtr. Significant experience with the light water reactor lwr the high tmperature gas cooled reactor iitgr and the liquid metal fast breeder. Advancement of high temperature gas cooled reactors for.
Gas cooled reactors have had a long and varied history dating back to the very early days of nuclear energy development. No only do you have to have a sufficient mass flow rate to carry away a useable amount of heat. Chaplin encyclopedia of life support systems eolss 1. Although there are many other types of reactor cooled by gas, the terms gcr and to a lesser extent gas cooled reactor are particularly used to refer to this type of reactor. The high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr is similar in concept to the agr. Pdf nuclear graphite for high temperature gas cooled reactors. In 2014, the generation iv international forum confirmed the very high temperature reactor vhtr as one of 6 promising reactor technologies that should be pursued in order to develop advanced reactors suitable for deployment in the 2030s. S department of energy doe is conducting research on the very high temperature reactor vhtr design concept for the next generation nuclear plant ngnp project. They include pressurized water reactors, molten salt reactors, liquid metal cooled reactors, and high temperature gas cooled reactors htgrs.
Research activities mit, ucb, uw, osu, other ornl, inl industrial chinese academy of science build 2mwt fhr by 2017 first new reactor concept to be tested in decades. A high temperature water heat pipes radiator design is developed for a space power system with a sectored gas cooled reactor and three closed brayton cycle cbc engines, for avoidance of single. It differs from the htgr design in that the core has a higher fissile fuel content. The chinese reactor htrpm high temperature gas cooled reactor. The hightemperature gascooled reactor htgr, as mentioned above in fuel types, is fueled by a mixture of graphite and fuelbearing microspheres. Htgr uses triso coated particle fuel, full ceramic core structure, and helium as coolant. The status of hightemperature gascooled reactor development. From 2006 through 2009 he was the program manager for the nuclear hydrogen initiative, coordinating doe efforts to develop high temperature watersplitting technologies to take advantage of htgr outlet temperatures. Fluoridesaltcooled hightemperature reactors for power. Modular high temperature pebble bed reactor modules added to meet demand. It is a graphitemoderated, helium cooled reactor with thermal neutron spectrum.
The peach bottom reactor the peach bottom reactor was a prototype high temperature reactor htr developed in the united states to prove the concept of using a high temperature gaseous coolant to. The design is based on a concept of modularization that can meet the various power needs by combining any number of 350 mwt reactor modules in parallel. Research and development related to high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr became one of the trends of today 1, 2. Modular high temperature pebble bed reactor 1 10 mwe helium cooled indirect cycle 8 % enriched fuel built in 2 years factory built site assembled online refueling modules added to meet demand. High temperature water heat pipes radiator for a brayton.
Nov 21, 2016 there are high temperature gas cooled reactors but i do not think that a simple air cooled reactor, like an air cooled engine, will be able to operate. Past experience current status and future prospects m. Over a period spanning more than halfa century, the high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr design has evolved from early experimental prototypes with singlecoating fuel to more recent modular designs featuring triso fuel and a directcycle gas turbine design, promising enhanced safety and improved economics. Introduction at the december 2008 united nations climate change conference, representatives from the international chamber of commerce, the world business council for sustainable development. The term typically refers to the next step in the evolutionary development of hightemperature gascooled reactors htgrs. Cooled pebble bed reactor august 2018 project report modernization of technical requirements for licensing for advanced nonlight water reactors. Kurbakov soviet atomic energy volume 68, pages 208 214 1990cite this article.
Since its first successful use in the cp1 nuclear reactor in 1942, nuclear graphite has played an important role in nuclear reactors especially the high temperature gascooled type htgrs. The use of gases leads to a harder neutron spectrum compared with the fast reactor cores of sodium and leadcooled fast reactors waltar et al. Apr 09, 2016 development of the a high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, a concept with more than three decades of history behind it, in 2016 has had several new breakout milestones in china and the u. To acquire the experience of htgr design, construction and operation.
Pdf development and validation of scale nuclear analysis. The reactor design will be a graphite moderated, thermal neutron spectrum. There are two competitive designs of this reactor type. The very high temperature reactor vhtr, or high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, is a generation iv reactor concept that uses a graphitemoderated nuclear reactor with a oncethrough uranium fuel cycle. Pdf thermal hydraulics of the very high temperature gas. Thermal hydraulics of the very high temperature gas cooled. The htr has more than 50 years of somewhat chequered history behind it. It introduces the power plants driven by modular high temperature gas cooled reactors htr, which are characterized by their inherent safety features and high output temperatures. The high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr concept is a potential supplement to the light water reactor lwr, and thus it is useful to examine its potential inherent safety and to assess the implications of the accident at the three mile island nuclear generating station a light water reactor on htgr design. Haynes 230 and 617 alloys are competing for use on generation iv, high temperature gas cooled reactor components because of their good high temperature creep strength in the temperature range of 760c and 982c and resistance to attack in the gas cooled reactor environment. By virtue of its high temperature heat, a vhtr can be used in high temperature process heat applications, including hydrogen production and high efficiency electricity generation. After candle strategy was proposed, it has been applied to many reactors, such as lbe lead bismuth eutectic cooled reactor, high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, small long life fast.
Examples of welding involved in joining the plates. Air ingress into a very high temperature gas cooled reactor vhtr is an important phenomena to consider because the air oxidizes the reactor core and lower plenum where the graphite structure. Inl, 2015, relap53d code manual, volumes iv, inlmis1536723. These designs are now referred to as high temperature gas reactors htr or htgr. Coating requires at least 150 manual operations per batch and since even the best. A third phaae in which the utilities mke parge erccala cotmi to electric generating plants by developing the capability tgs mananage the d fgn, construction, test and operation of power ppants in a safe, reliable, economic, and vsp acceptable manner. During the late 1980s, the modular htgr was considered by doe as one of two possible reactor technologies for materials production goodjohn 1991. Sustainability and efficiency improvements of gascooled. Investigating high temperature gascooled reactors for. A small modular nuclear reactor to replace coal plants could be on the market within 5 years. In support of the us nuclear regulatory commission, ornl is updating the nuclear analysis methods and data in the scale code system to support modeling of htgrs. His first report on the topic was published in 1944 daniels 1944. Not only has the features and very high safety levels as a nuclear power. The xe100 concept finalization xecf project will accelerate deployment of advanced reactors ars by enabling completion of xenergys gridscale high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr conceptual design while applying the riskinformed, performance based licensing framework.
High temperature gas cooled reactor fuels and materials. The high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr concept is a potential supplement to the light water reactor lwr, and thus it is useful to examine its potential inherent safety and to assess the implications of the accident at the three mile island. The fuel, core structure, and coolant in htgr can all withstand high temperature. International interest in developing high temperature gas cooled reactors is increasing because they can provide efficient and cost effective electricity and produce high temperature process heat usable for various industrial applications. Development of the a high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, a concept with more than three decades of history behind it, in 2016 has had several new breakout milestones in china and the u. Manual or computer automated image analysis is performed to measure the.
High efficiency and attractive economics are possible without compromising the high levels of passive safety expected of advanced nuclear designs. The vhtr is a type of hightemperature reactor htr that can conceptually have an outlet temperature of c. High temperature gas cooled reactors htgr have been considered to be a potential candidate of smr since they can provide both electricity and heat with a relatively higher efficiency and have leading safety characteristics. The content on the specific smrs is provided by the responsible institute or organization and is reproduced, with permission, in this booklet. The steam cycle high temperature gas cooled reactor schtgr is a graphitemoderated helium cooled reactor coupled directly to a steam generator to produce high temperature steam. Modular hightemperature gascooled reactor power plant. Areva modular steam cycle high temperature gascooled. Status of high temperature gascooled reactor technology.
August 2018 project report modernization of technical. A gascooled reactor gcr is a nuclear reactor that uses graphite as a neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant. High temperature gascooled reactorsnow more than ever. Within the generationiv international forum, helium cooled very high temperature gas reactors are highlighted as a key technology with the. High temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, which is a graphite moderated, helium cooled reactor, is particularly attractive due to capability of producing high temperature helium gas and its inherent safety characteristics, as well as an option to efficiently burn weaponsgrade plutonium for energy production. The vhtr has potential for inherent safety, high thermal efficiency, process heat application capability, low operation and maintenance costs, and modular construction. The high temperature gas cooled reactors htgrs, with its inherent safety and high temperature heat supply of about oc atthe 3 exterior of the reactor, can achieve effective utilization of nuclear energy in various fields by stages.
Gascooled reactors, high temperature gascooled reactors. The book is intended for researchers and engineers involved with nuclear engineering and energy technology. Carbon materials technology cmt group leader and was manager of the modular high temperature gas cooled reactor graphite program responsible for the research project to acquire reactor graphite property design data. Combine overcoated particles with matrix graphite powder to form the fueled zone. From these models, a htgr design with a pebble bed core was chosen based on the following qualities. Jan 29, 2018 guo wentao, with the paul scherrer institut, delivers a presentation to panel iv of the schiller institutes international conference, fulfilling the dream of mankind, in bad soden, germany. High temperature, gas cooled pebble bed reactor licensing modernization projection demonstration. Safety features of high temperature gas cooled reactor hindawi. The thorium high temperature reactor in germany operated for 4 years, and japans high temperature engineering test reactor demonstrated 850c outlet temperatures. All these reactors are primarily fuelled by triso tri isostructural coated particles. Draft preapplication safety evaluation report for the modular high temperature gas cooled reactor nureg38 was written in early 1989. High temperature helium gas cooled nuclear reactors. Small high temperature gascooled reactors with innovative. For example, htgrs make it possible to produce hydrogen with its high temperature heat supply.
The status of high temperature gas cooled reactor development and design in the united states and other countries important benefits are foreseen from smaller, modular systems by l. History and promise of high temperature gas cooled reactors. Benchmarking of the mit high temperature gascooled. The pbmr is a high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr, with a closedcycle, gas turbine or brayton power conversion system. Modular high temperature gas reactor russia general atomics design 290 mwe prismatic core excess weapons plutonium burner. The reactor cavity cooling system rccs is an important heat removal system in case of. No reprocessing high burnup 90,000 mwdmt direct disposal of hlw.
Lab reactors the fluidized bed systems from the bsr model series from schwing constitute diverse high temperature lab reactors for the treatment of nanoscale powders with reaction gases in atmosphe. Current situation of hightemperature gascooled reactors in. The modular high temperature gascooled reactor mhtgr in the us. Past experience current status and future prospects. Several attempts have been made to build reactors of this type, but none has so far entered commercial service.
The gas turbine modular helium reactor gtmhr couples a high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr with a brayton power conversion cycle to produce electricity at high efficiency. Within the scope of the thermodynamic and flowmechanical core design of hightemperature gascooled reactors, the following areas are dealt with. Mar 31, 2018 although there are many other types of reactor cooled by gas, the terms gcr and to a lesser extent gas cooled reactor are particularly used to refer to this type of reactor. It is being developed by areva to serve a wide variety of applications including industrial process heat, moderate electricity generation, and cogeneration. Nea benchmark of the modular hightemperature gascooled. The vhtr is a next step in the evolutionary development of high temperature gas cooled reactors. High temperature gas cooled reactor htgr component test. The high temperature gascooled reactor jrc publications. Safety features of high temperature gas cooled reactor. Dragon united kingdom, arbeitsgemeinschaft versuchsreaktor germany, high.
Mhi has been participating in this project and played a significant role. We have conducted extensive experimental and computational studies of the thermalhydraulic behavior of the system and of specific components. Generation nuclear plant project, the doe initiative to develop and demonstrate a high temperature gas cooled reactor htgr. To date, seven htgr plants depicted in figure es1 have been built and operated. Hightemperature gascooled reactor physics britannica. Jan 19, 2017 a small modular nuclear reactor to replace coal plants could be on the market within 5 years. For very high temperature gas cooled reactors using computational fluid dynamics tools a thesis by angelo frisani submitted to the office of graduate studies of. A multislice helical ct is utilized to acquire the reconstructed crosssectional images of simulated pebbles, among which.
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