Thermal hydraulic design of a hydride-fueled inverted PWR core

Malen, Jonathan A.; Todreas, Neil E.; Hejzlar, Pavel; Ferroni, Paolo; Bergles, A. E.

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2009.02.026

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The analysis methodology planned for this project is the same as that used by Malen in his preliminary investigation ( [36]), i.e. power-limiting constraints need to be fixed and used to compute the maximum power density attainable by an inverted PWR core.…”

Section: A5 Analysis Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the idea of an inverted fuel design is not new (see Pope [35] for Gas Cooled Fast Reactors), Malen was the first to propose a variation of such a design for PWR applications ( [36]). Malen's design consisted of vertically-oriented hexagonal blocks of hydride (U-ZrH 1.6 ) fuel (referred as "assemblies"), perforated by coolant channels arranged in a triangular lattice.…”

Section: A1 Description Of the Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Feasibility of Recycling Plutonium and Minor Actinides in Light Water Reactors Using Hydride Fuel

Greenspan¹,

Todreas²,

Taiwo³

2009

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Section: A5 Analysis Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A1 Description Of the Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of Recycling Plutonium and Minor Actinides in Light Water Reactors Using Hydride Fuel

Greenspan¹,

Todreas²,

Taiwo³

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Work by Malen et al (2009) extended by Todreas and Ferroni (2009), and later elaborated by Ferroni and Todreas (2009), outlined the use of twisted-tapes in the coolant channels of an innovative pressurised water reactor (PWR) design having the potential to increase the power density relative to existing PWRs. In a traditional PWR, the fuel matrix consists of fuel rods surrounded by a continuous medium of coolant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical heat flux and pressure drop for tubes containing multiple short-length twisted-tape swirl promoters

Arment

Todreas

Bergles

2013

Nuclear Engineering and Design

Self Cite

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“…These scripts are based heavily on the work in [Blair, 2003] and [Malen, 2004], which first developed the idea of interfacing MATLAB with a FORTRAN executable in an effort to look at a wide range of similar thermal hydraulic problems with slightly differing geometries. The information in this Appendix is presented in detail to allow complete understanding in the event of interest in, or continuation of these studies.…”

Section: B1 Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimized Core Design of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Cooled Fast Reactor

2008

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Spurred by the renewed interest in nuclear power, Gas-cooled Fast Reactors (GFRs) have received increasing attention in the past decade. Motivated by the goals of the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF), a GFR cooled by supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ), fueled with Light Water Reactor spent fuel transuranics, and directly coupled with a Brayton cycle is under investigation as part of a larger research effort at MIT. While the original GFR chosen by the GIF is a 600MWh version using Helium as a coolant, the work presented here is for a 2400 MWd, core using S-CO 2 as a coolant, which has comparable thermal efficiency (-45%) at much lower temperatures (650"C v. 850 0 C) A reactor core for use in this direct cycle S-CO 2 GFR has been designed which satisfies established neutronic and thermal-hydraulic steady state design criteria, while concurrently supporting the Gen-IV criteria of sustainability, safety, proliferation, and economics. Use of innovative Tube-in-Duct (TID) fuel has been central to accomplishing this objective, as it provides a higher fuel volume fraction and lower fuel temperatures and pressure drop when compared to traditional pin-type fuel. Further, this large fuel volume fraction allows for a large enough heavy metal loading for a sustainable core lifetime without the need for external blankets, enhancing the proliferation resistance of such an approach.Use of Beryllium Oxide (BeO) as a diluent is explored as a means for both power shaping and coolant void reactivity (CVR) reduction in fast reactors. Results show that relatively flat power profiles can be maintained throughout a batch-loaded "battery" core life using a combination of enrichment and diluent zoning, due to the slight moderating effect of the BeO. Combining BeO diluent with the innovative strategy of using a thick volume of S-CO 2 coolant as the radial reflector yields negative CVR values throughout core life, a rare, if not unique accomplishment for fast reactors. The ability to maintain negative CVR comes from a combination of the effects of spectral softening due to the BeO diluent and the enhanced leakage upon voiding of the S-CO 2 radial reflector.In support of assessing the neutronic self-controllability of this core, a simple first-order steady state design metric is developed, modified from other established methodology to suit the uniqueness of this core concept. The results of this analysis show that the core will passively shut itself down without violation of established core thermal limits in the event of several limiting Anticipated Transients Without SCRAM (ATWS) scenarios, except for a Loss of Coolant Without SCRAM at End of Core life. Since most of the requisites for passive core shutdown have been demonstrated within the parameter uncertainties of current estimates, the candidate core design is deemed sufficiently safe. Further, design solutions for fixing this deficiency are proposed.Alternative cores using traditional pin-type fuel and innovative Internally-Cooled Annular Fuel (ICAF) have also be...

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Thermal hydraulic design of a hydride-fueled inverted PWR core

Cited by 8 publications

References 17 publications

Feasibility of Recycling Plutonium and Minor Actinides in Light Water Reactors Using Hydride Fuel

Feasibility of Recycling Plutonium and Minor Actinides in Light Water Reactors Using Hydride Fuel

Critical heat flux and pressure drop for tubes containing multiple short-length twisted-tape swirl promoters

Optimized Core Design of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Cooled Fast Reactor

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