Uniterm low-capacity nuclear power plant

Abstract

The results of development work on an innovative low-capacity nuclear power plant (LCNPP) Uniterm together with substantiation of the need for a technical design of a reactor system and the basic design of the power plant are presented. The results of the work are used to determine the power range of the power generating unit where the main consumer qualities are guaranteed to be attained. Economic assessments of the development and operation of a two-block LCNPP under conditions in Russia are presented.The development of society is linked with a rise of the economy and its foundations -energy production. This is indicated in the federal target program "Development of the Atomic Energy-Industrial Complex in Russia in 2007-2010 and up to 2015." The subject of this document is the sharp increase in the production of electricity due to the construction of nuclear power plants. It is supposed that nuclear power plants will also meet the requirements of the 21st century, the main ones being cost-effectiveness, safety, resistance to nonproliferation of nuclear materials, and reduction of radioactive wastes to a minimum.Most of these requirements are satisfied by low-power nuclear power plants (LPNPP). At the same time, their costeffectiveness cannot compete with large-capacity plants. The point of the cost-effectiveness of LPNPP is more accurately characterized by the concept of "utility," since they operate under diverse conditions. They must operate autonomously, reliably, under different difficult climatic conditions, in regions occupying about 70% of the territory of the country where large energy systems cannot be used. One reason for such an approach is the difficulty and high cost of delivering fossil fuels. The utility of developing LPNPP is justified if the cost of developing a nuclear power plant with unit energy is no higher than the analogous cost for a plant burning fossil fuel. The cost-effectiveness of LPNPP is also studied similarly by power engineers in other countries, justifying the construction of LPNPP with a 4S reactor (Japan) in, for example, Alaska [1].Another requirement is safety. The consumer must be confident in the reliability, cleanliness, and safety of the energy production. On the basis of the practice of construction and operation, nuclear propulsion systems were found to be closest with respect to power and requirements to LPNPP. Specifically, propulsion nuclear power systems operate in an autonomous regime without access by maintenance workers, use passive safety systems, and the order of fuel utilization, radioactive equipment, and so forth has been solved for them. LPNPP must free people to the maximum degree possible from contact with a radioactive medium and must eliminate radiation contamination of the locale.An active search for solutions for LPNPP began in the 1990s. In the last few years, a substantial number of reports have been published on proposals and developments of LPNPP-SMART (South Korea), IRIS (USA), PACKAGE, PSRD (Japan), ABV and RIT (Russia), and others [1]. In our...