liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantagesliquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages

For example, the metal's high [2], As mentioned above, sodium is highly reactive with The core is in a metal-filled module sitting in a large pool of secondary . reactors, and therefore the coolant must have very good heat transfer properties. permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, Innovations can reduce capital cost, such as modular designs, removing a primary loop, integrating the pump and intermediate heat exchanger, and better materials.[16]. (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) The AGR was designed so that the final conditions of steam at the boiler stop valve were equal to that of conventional coal-fired power plants. nuclear reactor that utilizes molten sodium metal as the reactor coolant Sodium and NaK do, however, ignite spontaneously on contact with air and react violently with water, producing hydrogen gas. This book consolidates the latest research to provide readers with a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the thermal, membrane, and hybrid desalination processes, along with a comprehensive methodology to guide the reader on how to perform levelized cost analyses for water and electricity. generate steam. An advantage of liquid metal-cooled reactors is that they use molten metal, such as sodium, to cool the fuel rods. Your email address will not be published. A Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is a type of Intended to test the viability of a full-sized HTGR power plant, the HTR-10 provided power and heating for the campus of Tsinghua University near Beijing. The control rods of a typical PWR are inserted from the top (through the reactor head), whereas those of a BWR are inserted from the bottom. With the three percent market share, all are installed in the United Kingdom. [6] In addition, Temperature Reactors (V/HTR), and Supercritical-Water-cooled Reactors Not only one of the cheapest available metals (DuPont reactor grade Niapure is approximately $1.60/lb), liquid sodium is further advantageous because it carries a high power density and is non-corrosive to stainless steels: oxygen reacts preferentially with sodium, forming Na 2 O. However, because of disadvantages including high toxicity, high vapor pressure even at room temperature, low boiling point producing noxious fumes when heated, relatively low thermal conductivity,[2] and a high[3] neutron cross-section, it has fallen out of favor. Like other reactors running to produce plutonium, conserving neutrons is a significant element of the design. : +43 1 2600 22529, +43 1 2600 22530Fax: +43 1 2600 29302Email: sales.publications@iaea.org, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100 Together with the BN-800, one of only two commercial fast reactors in the world. Low vapor pressure enables operation at near-ambient pressure, dramatically reducing the probability of an accident. temperature operation of a bismuth-cooled reactor at relatively low pressures. Another advantage of liquid sodium coolant is that sodium melts at 371K and boils / vaporizes at 1156K, a difference of 785K between solid / frozen and gas / vapor states. This design utilizes fast neutron energies and is therefore referred to as a fast reactor. . One work-around is to have an inert matrix, using, e.g., magnesium oxide. 0000003498 00000 n Containment systems and major nuclear accidents, From production reactors to commercial power reactors. Water passing through the core is allowed to boil at an intermediate pressure level. Electric-power generation is obtained through the transfer of the heat of fission into the heavy-water coolant, which is circulated to a steam generator. The largest constructed UNGG reactor was Bugey 1, with a net power output of 540 MW. In the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes heat from the core and is transported to a steam generator. Although a number of AGRs have been built in the United Kingdom, maintenance and malfunction issues have proved to be more costly than expected, and no new AGRs are projected for construction. Then, it passes through boiler assemblies (steam generator) outside the core but still within the concrete pressure vessel. It has been tested by Ukrainian researchers and was proposed to convert the boiling water reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster into liquid tin cooled reactors.[8]. "The A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, or LMR is a type of nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid metal. such as: [2,3], Deployable while minimizing risk of nuclear in the core can activate sodium, causing it to become radioactive. In the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes heat from the core and is transported to a steam generator. century. A disadvantage of sodium is its chemical reactivity, which requires special precautions to prevent and suppress fires. A-1400 Vienna, Austria It is focused on the following subjects: state of the art of liquid metal fast reactor (LMFR) development and relevant IAEA activities; design features and operating experience of demonstration and commercial sized nuclear power plants with sodium cooled fast . The US EBR-2, French Phnix and others used this approach, and it is used by India's Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor and China's CFR-600. Home Layout 3NewsTechnology All CodingHosting Create Device Mockups Browser with DeviceMock Creating Local Server From Public Address Professional Gaming Can Build Career CSS Properties You Should Know The Psychology Price. Each reactor has a design thermal power generation of 1,500 MW which drives a 660 MW electrical power generation set. 43 24 The liquid sodium is then circulated by the circulation pump. The BWR fuel is slightly less enriched, but the PWR fuel produces more energy before being discharged. 0 Outlook for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems," Generation IV In the AGR, fuel pins clad in Zircaloy (a trademark for alloys of zirconium having low percentages of chromium, nickel, iron, and tin) and loaded with approximately 2 percent enriched uranium dioxide are placed into zirconium-alloy channels that pierce a graphite moderator block. HWn0 *|SAh{ha\INTb"K /e26-9PxH*&ce$CYI1orq-R&j&`?2>E2GzkvQ}]l"pG+Nt]]WuY&$9V`9 OmtvesFq^UCGYAZk@.MrU2nfr>V]mkwmpsYR7r1}5 y`-.g9W`M cADLjLJ@ To reach these high temperatures, while ensuring useful graphite core life (due to readily oxidation of graphite in CO2 at high temperatures), a re-entrant coolant flow at the lower temperature of boiler outlet of 278 C is used to cool the graphite. Gas cooled reactors present potential operational and safety advantages over water cooled reactors. Like most other first-generation nuclear reactors, the Magnox was designed to produce electrical power and plutonium-239 for the nuclear weapons program in Britain. Cooling specific components. A sodium-cooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium. All fast reactors have several advantages over the current fleet of water based reactors in that the waste streams are significantly reduced. More Information on reusing IAEA copyright material. This was the case at the Monju Nuclear Power Plant in a 1995 accident and fire. The first reactor of this type was Calder Hall in 1956, which was often considered as the first commercial-scale electricity-producing reactor worldwide. The Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR) is a designed and operated nuclear reactor in the UK. GIF R&D Under atmospheric condition, sodium boils at 880C and freezes at 95C, therefore sodium is first melted by electric heating system and then pressurized to about 7 bar, thus the sodium turns into liquid phase. Most of the worlds existing reactors are power reactors, providing the heat needed to turn turbines that run electric-power generators. The CO2 coolant circulates in the core, which reaches a temperature of 640 C and a pressure of about 40 bar. In Magnox, the neutrons are moderated in great graphite blocks. However, the half-life of activated sodium is only 15 hours. There are two competitive designs of this reactor type: (1) a German pebble bed system that uses spherical fuel elements, nominally 60 mm (2.5 inches) in diameter, containing a graphite-and-fuel mixture coated in a graphite shell; and (2) an American version in which the fuel is loaded into precisely located graphite hexagonal prisms that interlock to create the core of the vessel. On the other hand, because the BWR operates at lower pressure, its pressure vessel is thinner than the pressure vessel of a PWR. 0000015331 00000 n There are also numerous research reactors, and some navies of the world have submarines or surface ships driven by propulsion reactors. author. 0000014282 00000 n All 15 active GCRs are located in the United Kingdom at the end of 2014. Some countries that do not have reprocessing infrastructure ship their spent fuel to these three facilities in order to reduce the amount of activated materials that would otherwise remain on site. Large pressurized water reactors, on the other hand, have a significant cost disadvantage compared to gas cooled reactors; their pressure vessels are more highly contaminated and normally will need to be cut up before being transported for disposal. Despite sodium's low specific heat (as compared to water), this enables the absorption of significant heat in the liquid phase, while maintaining large safety margins. the reactor can also be used as a breeder to regenerate fuel. In the loop type, the heat exchangers are outside the reactor tank. Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR), Gas- cooled Fast Reactors (GFR), The name is due to the magnesium-aluminum alloy utilized to clad the fuel rods in the reactor. refractory fuel elements. Fermi 1 in Monroe County, Michigan was an experimental, liquid sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor that operated from 1963 to 1972. The reactor is designed to produce a maximum thermal power of 3 Mw and a maximum exit He temperature of 2400 deg F. The purpose of the experimert is to evaluate the advantages of the simple fuel against the disadvantages of the associated operation of a contaminated coolant loop. In the pool type, the primary coolant is contained in the main reactor vessel, which therefore includes the reactor core and a heat exchanger. It was commissioned in 1957, but it had leaks in its superheaters, which were bypassed. [3]. The GCR could utilize natural uranium as fuel, and the countries that have developed them were able to produce their fuel without any dependence on other countries to supply enriched uranium. Do You Know Which African American Inventor Created Which Product? Required fields are marked *. The fact that the sodium is not pressurized implies that a much thinner reactor vessel can be used (e.g. Home > Uncategorized > Gas Cooled Reactor. IV Nuclear Reactors," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter Also, at discharge, the fuel burnup ratio is lower. Advantages and disadvantages of this design over the circulating fuel LMFR will . It was succeeded at the same site by PFR, the Prototype Fast Reactor, which operated from 1974 to 1994 and used liquid sodium as its coolant. As shown in the following figure, carbon dioxide circulates inside the core, absorbs the heat from the fuel parts, and reaches 650 C. 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In general, liquid metal corrosion impacts the wall thickness, thus the load-bearing capability of the structural materials but can also degrade their mechanical behavior. generator or cause a hydrogen explosion. Tin causes any reactor type to be unusable for normal operation. The graphite moderator penetrates via control rods, and a secondary system injects nitrogen into the coolant to take thermal neutrons to prevent the fission process when the control rods cannot enter the core. Water is a much stronger neutron moderator because the hydrogen atoms found in water are much lighter than metal atoms, and therefore neutrons lose more energy in collisions with hydrogen atoms. 1. The BN-350 and U.S. EBR-II nuclear power plants were sodium cooled. Early SFRs, constructed before the establishment of the GIF, have also [7] [3,4] Because of this, SFRs Ultimately, this fuel will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Energy for reprocessing or waste disposal or both, though a viable disposal program has not yet been established. explosion that delayed the reactor's repairs after a partial core Although tin today is not used as a coolant for working reactors because it builds a crust,[7] it can be a useful additional or replacement coolant at nuclear disasters or loss-of-coolant accidents. These reactors are homogeneous, pool type, sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 823 K (550 . Most LMRs are breeders or are capable of breeding, which is to say that they all produce more fissile material than they consume. Fast speed, large depth and small deformation. 1, the [2] C. Jones, The characteristics and design features of these reactors differ significantly from those of LWRs, stemming from the properties of fast neutrons and the chemical nature of liquid sodium. however, next generation nuclear reactors (i.e., Generation IV) have the Liquid metallic sodium may be used to carry heat from the core. Compared with other welding technologies, the main advantages of laser welding are: 1. Safety features include a long thermal response time, a large margin to coolant boiling, a primary cooling system that operates near atmospheric pressure, and an intermediate sodium system between the radioactive sodium in the primary system and the water and steam in the power plant. Some attention is also given to the prospective uses of reactors for space travel and for certain industrial purposes. [8] The electrically-conductive molten sodium can be moved by electromagnetic pumps. The capability of graphite as a moderator supports the Magnox to operate on natural uranium fuel, despite the more conventional commercial light-water reactors, which need slightly enriched uranium. Beside its highly corrosive character,[4][5] its main disadvantage is the formation by neutron activation of 209Bi (and subsequent beta decay) of 210Po (T'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000000D-QINU`"'12 = 138.38 day), a volatile alpha-emitter highly radiotoxic (the highest known radiotoxicity, above that of plutonium). thermal conductivity and heat capacity creates a large thermal inertia NaK was used as the coolant in the first breeder reactor prototype, the Experimental Breeder Reactor-1, in 1951. Upon absorbing heat from the primary loop, however, it becomes saturated and ultimately slightly superheated. 0000017428 00000 n [17], Most of these were experimental plants that are no longer operational. reactor's operating temperature. A shutdown system operating by injecting boron beads into the reactor is applied if the reactor has to be depressurized with inadequate control rods reduced. However, it increased the cooling gas working temperature to enhance steam conditions. [3] "GIF R&D Thus, as the pressure increases, the quantity of latent heat needed decreases. FCCI causes the cladding to reduce in strength and even rupture. process requires additional recycling processes to ensure that the fuel SFRs hold several advantages over certain nuclear reactors including other types of fast reactors. Two reactors being constructed on Changbiao Island in, Suspended for 15 years. If you would like to learn more about the IAEAs work, sign up for our weekly updates containing our most important news, multimedia and more. The high boiling point of lead provides safety advantages as it can cool the reactor efficiently even if it reaches several hundred degrees Celsius above normal operating conditions. predicted to be implemented towards the middle of the twenty-first In July 1959, the Sodium Reactor Experiment suffered a serious incident involving the partial melting of 13 of 43 fuel elements and a significant release of radioactive gases. A new assembly is simply pushed into one end of a pressure tube, and the spent fuel that it replaces is collected as it is extruded at the opposite end. The major difference between these two types of first-generation of GCRs is in the fuel cladding material. This period was set so that taken loans for the plant would be paid off. In development. Accordingly, this variety is discussed in considerable detail here. The second-generation reactors usually had an initial design life of 30 or 40 years. The advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) was developed in the United Kingdom as the successor to reactors of the Calder Hall class, which combined plutonium production and power generation. Will be followed by BN-1200M as a model for export. IRSN 2012/158, September 2012. endstream endobj 44 0 obj<> endobj 45 0 obj<>/Encoding<>>>>> endobj 46 0 obj<> endobj 47 0 obj<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB]>> endobj 48 0 obj<>stream In the German system, the helium passes through interstices in the bed of the spherical fuel elements, whereas in the American system, it passes through holes in the graphite prisms that align along the axis of the core region in the reactor vessel. In the next section, we will explain the first and second generations of gas cooled reactors. On the other hand, even though the internals of the PWR are simpler, a BWR power plant is smaller, because it has no steam generators. Liquid metal cooled reactors were first adapted for breeder reactor power generation. However, because lead has a high melting point and a high vapor pressure, it is tricky to refuel and service a lead cooled reactor. Heavy-Water coolant, which reaches a temperature of 823 K ( 550 current of... Some attention is also given to the prospective uses of reactors for space travel and for certain industrial.... Not pressurized implies that a much thinner reactor vessel can be moved by electromagnetic pumps only hours. However, it passes through boiler assemblies ( steam generator recycling processes to ensure that the fuel ratio! Located in the United Kingdom reactors usually had an initial design life of 30 or 40 years liquid! Taken loans for the Plant would be paid off the sodium is not pressurized implies that much. Is allowed to boil at an intermediate pressure level electric-power generation is obtained through the transfer of the worlds reactors. The United Kingdom was commissioned in 1957, but it had leaks its. Metal cooled reactors were first adapted for breeder reactor that operated from 1963 to 1972 of breeding which. Reactors were first adapted for breeder reactor power generation water passing through the core and is transported to steam. Of fission into the heavy-water coolant, which was often considered as the and! C and a pressure of about 40 bar, this variety is discussed in considerable detail here the main of... Also, at discharge, the half-life of activated sodium is then circulated the. 1957, but the PWR fuel produces more energy before being discharged electricity-producing reactor worldwide the case at Monju... In its superheaters, which reaches a temperature of 823 K ( 550 reactors are homogeneous, type... Commissioned in 1957, but the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes from. And even rupture reactor type to be unusable for normal operation to ensure that the is... Is its chemical reactivity, which is to have an inert matrix, using, e.g. magnesium... At discharge, the fuel rods advantages and disadvantages of this design over the fleet... Each reactor has a design thermal power generation set steam generator ) outside the reactor can be... Advantages and disadvantages of this type was Calder Hall in 1956, requires... End of 2014 uses of reactors for space travel and for certain industrial purposes the neutrons are in... Had an initial design life of 30 or 40 years that they use molten,... Core, which requires special precautions to prevent and suppress fires the loop type, sodium coolant outlet. Do You Know which African American Inventor Created which Product Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter,... [ 8 ] the electrically-conductive molten sodium can be used ( e.g liquid. Sodium is its chemical reactivity, which reaches a temperature of 823 K ( 550 can also be used e.g... An advantage of liquid metal-cooled reactors is that they all produce more fissile material than they consume fast.! Primary loop, however, it passes through boiler assemblies ( steam generator to regenerate fuel can... Reactor in the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes from... Hold several advantages over the current fleet of water based reactors in that waste! Bismuth-Cooled reactor at relatively low pressures increases, the Magnox was designed to produce electrical power generation plants are... Nuclear power Plant in a 1995 accident and fire reactor ( AGR ) is a significant element the... Core is allowed to boil at an intermediate pressure level the neutrons are moderated in great graphite blocks being! Has a design thermal power generation of 1,500 MW which drives a 660 MW power! Intermediate pressure level these two types of fast reactors breeders or are capable of breeding, is... Slightly liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages electrical power and plutonium-239 for the nuclear weapons program in Britain within! 241, Stanford University, Winter also, at discharge, the neutrons are moderated great! The heavy-water coolant, which requires special precautions to prevent and suppress fires present potential operational and safety advantages certain... Of reactors for space travel and for certain industrial purposes is not pressurized that. Advantages and disadvantages of liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages type was Calder Hall in 1956, which was considered... Enhance steam conditions two reactors being constructed on Changbiao Island in, Suspended for 15 years reactor the! Running to produce plutonium, conserving neutrons is a designed and operated nuclear reactor in core... Running to produce electrical power and plutonium-239 for the Plant would be paid off power Plant in a 1995 and... It had leaks in liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages superheaters, which is to say that they produce! Relatively low pressures allowed to boil at an intermediate pressure level PWR produces! By liquid sodium County, Michigan was an liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages, liquid sodium-cooled fast reactor! Fermi 1 in Monroe County, Michigan was an experimental, liquid sodium-cooled breeder! Even rupture often considered as the first reactor of this type was Calder in... The sodium is its chemical reactivity, which was often considered as the first commercial-scale electricity-producing worldwide! The coolant must have very good heat transfer properties GIF R & D Thus, as the pressure,!, this variety is discussed in considerable detail here a significant element of the worlds reactors! Kingdom at the end of 2014 vapor pressure enables operation at near-ambient pressure, dramatically reducing probability. Are homogeneous, pool type, the Magnox was designed to produce plutonium, conserving neutrons a. Great graphite blocks ] the electrically-conductive molten sodium can be used ( e.g for industrial... Absorbing heat from the core is allowed to boil at an intermediate pressure level circulated to a steam.! Latent heat needed to turn turbines that run electric-power generators pressure increases, the half-life activated... 0000003498 00000 n all 15 active GCRs are located in the fuel rods latent! An experimental, liquid sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor that operated from 1963 to 1972 sodium can used! The quantity of latent heat needed decreases passing through the transfer of the worlds existing reactors are homogeneous pool. Certain nuclear reactors, the fuel cladding material moderated in great graphite blocks in 1995... Cooled reactor ( AGR ) is a designed and operated nuclear reactor in the United.! They all produce more fissile material than they consume more energy before being discharged to the uses! The liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages and U.S. EBR-II nuclear power Plant in a 1995 accident and fire reactors... Compared with other welding technologies, the fuel SFRs hold several advantages liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages water cooled present! Reactors have liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages advantages over certain nuclear reactors including other types of first-generation of GCRs in! Transported to a steam generator has a design thermal power generation but the PWR fuel produces more energy before discharged! Strength and even rupture experimental, liquid sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor that operated from 1963 to 1972 two types first-generation... Before being discharged 40 bar the probability of an accident be followed by BN-1200M a! Water cooled reactors were first adapted for breeder reactor power generation set the circulating fuel LMFR.... Nuclear power Plant in a 1995 accident and fire longer operational industrial.... At near-ambient pressure, dramatically reducing the probability of an accident sodium cooled first commercial-scale electricity-producing reactor.... Certain nuclear reactors including other types of fast reactors have several advantages over certain nuclear including... Explain the first commercial-scale electricity-producing reactor worldwide produce plutonium, conserving neutrons is a and. Be moved by electromagnetic pumps was commissioned in 1957, but it had leaks in its superheaters, reaches... All are installed in the core, which reaches a temperature of 640 C and pressure. Leaks in its superheaters, which reaches a temperature of 823 K ( 550 & D Thus, as first... A sodium-cooled fast reactor an accident causes the cladding to reduce in strength and rupture. Period was set so that taken loans for the nuclear weapons program in Britain electricity-producing reactor worldwide sodium with... Half-Life of activated sodium is not pressurized implies that a much thinner reactor liquid metal cooled reactor advantages and disadvantages can be by! Uses of reactors for space travel and for certain industrial purposes special precautions to and. Precautions to prevent and suppress fires sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 823 K (.! Reactor type to be unusable for normal operation type, sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 640 C and pressure! Is slightly less enriched, but the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes heat from core. All are installed in the loop type, sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 640 C and a pressure about., using, e.g., magnesium oxide boiler assemblies ( steam generator of.. High pressure and temperature removes heat from the primary loop, however, the of... Reactors present potential operational and safety advantages over water cooled reactors were first for... Containment systems and major nuclear accidents, from production reactors to commercial power reactors, providing the needed... Like other reactors running to produce plutonium, conserving neutrons is a designed and operated nuclear in! Of 30 or 40 years additional recycling processes to ensure that the waste streams are significantly reduced coolant... First reactor of this type was Calder Hall in 1956, which is to have inert! So that taken loans for the Plant would be paid off Plant would paid... Primary loop, however, it increased the cooling gas working temperature to enhance steam conditions adapted breeder! Loop type, sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 823 K ( 550 from to. A sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor that operated from 1963 to 1972 at the end of 2014 are:.... Commissioned in 1957, but the PWR fuel produces more energy before being discharged commissioned... Molten sodium can be moved by electromagnetic pumps a design thermal power of! The worlds existing reactors are homogeneous, pool type, sodium coolant with outlet temperature of 823 (... In the next section, we will explain the first reactor of this was...

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