Gas cooled fast reactor research and development in the. Sodium cooled fast reactor sfr system safety assessment 5 and operated in a number of countries. Bill gates long and tireless efforts to close a deal with china national nuclear corp. Reports, articles and other documents harvested from the office of scientific and technical information. These reactors are known as fast reactors, named for their use of fast neutrons, which allow for a wider range of fuels that can be burned.
The gen iv gas cooled fast reactor nuclear energy agency. Survive loss of active reactivity shutdown capability without core damage a full recycling of actinides highly proliferation resistant no external blankets, conversion. Sodium as a fast reactor coolant thermophysical and thermalhydraulic properties of sodium are superior to lead or helium. It is logical, as power defects act against power increase, they act also against power decrease. This is because direct disposal is known to be economical in the alternatives of nuclear fuel cycle. When reactor power is decreased quickly, as in the case of reactor trip, power defect causes a positive reactivity insertion, and the initial rod insertion must be sufficient to make the reactor safe subcritical. In particular, the sodium cooled fast reactor sfr design and its fuel cycle will be discussed. In a sodiumcooled fast reactor, commonly called a liquidmetal reactor lmr, the fuel consists of uranium dioxide or uraniumplutonium dioxide pellets french design or of uraniumplutoniumzirconium metal alloy pins u. While the oxygenfree environment prevents corrosion, sodium reacts chemically. Salt cooled fast reactor by the e generation issuu. Sodium as a fast reactor coolant thomas fanning by john a. Experimental fast reactor bor60 riar, melekessdimitrovgrad.
An advanced sodiumcooled fast reactor core concept. Table of nuclear reactor accidents institute for energy and. General electric and southern company team up to power the planet with nuclear waste the pair will collaborate to commercialize advanced nuclear reactors, including the prism sodiumcooled fast. The sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr features a closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of minor actinides. In particular, the sodium cooled fast reactorsfr design and its fuel cycle will be discussed. In particular, a sodium cooled fast reactor sfr has been focused as a new generation of nuclear power plants in korea.
Allen argonne national laboratory po box 2528 idaho falls, id 834032528, u. Sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr system safety assessment 5 and operated in a number of countries. The industrial sodium cooled fast reactor conference osti. Generation iv fast reactors university of cambridge. Sodium cooled reactor experience sodium cooled fast reactors have a checkered history. Project aims to make sodiumcooled nuclear reactors safe. Gas cooled fast reactor gfr research is directed towards fulfilling the ambitious goals of generation iv gen iv, that is, to develop a safe, sustainable, reliable, proliferationresistant and economic nuclear energy system. To design a gas cooled fast reactor system with a high level of safety. According to a fact sheet on the companys web site, it will greatly simplify the current nuclear fuel cycle by reducing the need for uranium mining, enrichment facilities, reprocessing.
Sodium cooled fast reactor hideki kamide, sodium fast reactor internaonal workshop on advanced reactor systems and future energy market needs apr. Fast neutron reactors with a conversion ratio of 1. Information is presented on the performance indicators which were achieved and deviations from the normal operating regime which occurred when the reactor was first started up. Fast reactors provide sustainable nuclear power for. Garwin in numbers for an economical breeder reactor could be so large that it could be filled only by enrichment. Decommissioning of fast reactors after sodium draining. Iaea nuclear energy series liquid metal coolants for fast reactors. Structural materials for liquid metal cooled fast reactor. Project aims to make sodiumcooled nuclear reactors safe, efficient. Such a fast reactor must be developed together with its specific fuel. Cooled fast reactors and prospects of their further development o.
Fast neutron reactors several countries have research and development programs for improved fast breeder reactors fbr, which are a type of fast neutron reactor. Understand how differences between sodium and water result in broad design differences between a sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr and a. The sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr is one of the most promising candidates to meet the. This video shows safety research on sodiumcooled fast reactor aiming to achieve the highest level of safety conducted by master students at yamaguchi lab in osaka university, japan. The table below is an updated version of a similar table in ieers report, the nuclear power deception 1996, which has more information on nuclear reactors and reactor accidents. Classed as a generation iv reactor, it features a fast neutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides. The most recent commercial demonstration reactors belong in the latter category. Characterised by having a compact core no moderator and a high power density 400mwm 3 compared with 5mw m 3 for thermal reactors. By far the most advanced of the six is the sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr, developed by france, russia and.
Fast reactor sfr system features a fast spectrum, sodium cooled reactor and a closed fuel cycle for efficient management of actinides and conversion of fertile uranium. Jan 16, 20 this video shows safety research on sodium cooled fast reactor aiming to achieve the highest level of safety conducted by master students at yamaguchi lab in osaka university, japan. The research is directed towards developing the gfr as an economic electricity generator, with good safety and sustainability characteristics. Experience in operating the bn600 sodiumcooled fast reactor during its nominal service life as well as its service life extension period, an additional 15 years, is described. Preventing situations with whole core melting probabilistic quantitative objectives as for the epr tm. Sodium fast reactors with closed fuel cycle is a valuable reference for industry professionals involved in the construction of fastreactor power plants, as well as graduatelevel engineering students of the design and development of sodiumcooled fastreactor systems and components. Design concept of advanced sodiumcooled fast reactor and. A fast reactor is the most promising future nuclear power plant because of efficient usage of uranium and reduction of radioactive waste. Nuclear reactor accidents reactor type location accident type year iodine1 release, curies comments light water reactor, bwr fukushima, japan cooling system. Fast reactors are better at it than thermal reactors the measure of how good a reactor is at breeding is the conversion ratio or exactly the same thing the breeding ratio, c c number of fissile items created number of fissile atoms consumed. Liquid metal coolants for fast reactors cooled by sodium, lead, and leadbismuth. Sodium as a fast reactor coolant brave new climate. Applying risk informed methodologies to improve the.
Fast reactor sfr system features a fastspectrum, sodiumcooled reactor and a closed fuel cycle for efficient management of actinides and conversion of fertile uranium. Multipurpose fastneutron research reactor mbir general designer. The total heat transfer surface and mass of the intermediate heat exchangers ihx and the steam generators sg in a fast reactor are less than those of the sgs in a. Pages overview of experimental facilities in support of. Sodium fast reactors with closed fuel cycle is a valuable reference for industry professionals involved in the construction of fast reactor power plants, as well as graduatelevel engineering students of the design and development of sodium cooled fast reactor systems and components. It can be accomplished by using abundant high energy excessive neutrons in the core. The first nuclear power reactor of this kind was the ebri at the idaho national laboratory inl in the usa 1. It is a sodiumcooled fast reactor design in which neutrons are not slowed down and the heat created by fission is carried away by liquid sodium, which is used to boil water. Russias mbir gets construction licence world nuclear news. Economic viability of metallic sodiumcooled fast reactor. A sodium cooled fast reactor sfr has been widely recognized as a technical alternative to effectively manage the snf, owing to its transmutation capability of long lived radiotoxic nuclides included in the snf. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
Successful decay heat removal under wide range of pressurized and depressurized conditions. The reactor complex will be located at the site of the research institute of atomic reactors riar, in dimitrovgrad. Using currently known uranium resources, fast reactors operating in a closed fuel cycle would be able to provide energy for thousands of years as well as easing concerns about waste, says stefano monti, team leader for the iaeas fast reactor technology development section in the department of nuclear energy. Overall system description and safety characteristics of. Nonetheless, an entire power plant consists of many other support components and key structures like coolant pipes, pumps and tanks including their surrounding steel framing, and concrete containment. This choice was made based on sfrs being the most researched and implemented of fast reactor. In this paper, two fast reactor systems are discussed the sodium cooled fast reactor, which has already been built and can be further improved, and the lead cooled fast reactor that could be developed relatively soon. Sodium cooled fast reactor technology is suitable for reviving an industrial capability for their construction at home and internationally we have a legacy of sfr design and construction experience no large high pressure components are require except for steam generator watersteam headers.
A full actiniderecycle fuel cycle is envisioned with two major options. Sodiumcooled fast reactor design principles and approach ii. In turn, the steam is used to drive a turbinegenerator set to generate electricity. The gascooled fast reactor gfr system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development. The development of bn1200 is based on the greatest possible use of tested and scientifically validated and developed technical solutions implemented in bn350, 600, and the bn800 design as well as new technical solutions that increase facility costeffectiveness and safety. July 1, 2005 anlsmfr1 small modular fast reactor design description joint effort by argonne national laboratory anl commissariat a lenergie atomique cea and japan nuclear cycle development institute jnc project leaders y. Terrapower inks deal with chinas cnnc to build fast reactor.
Using currently known uranium resources, fast reactors operating in a closed fuel cycle would be able to provide energy for thousands of years as well as easing concerns about waste, says stefano monti, team leader for the iaeas fast reactor technology development section in the department of. The tm concluded that the decommissioning of fast reactors to reach safe enclosure presented no major. Sodiumcooled fast reactor design principles and approach ii seminar at kaist april 24, 20 yoon il chang visiting professor, kaist world class university. Core and fuel cycle for an advanced sodiumcooled fast reactor. A number of sfrs have been put into operation since then. Current fast reactor construction projects use sodium as the primary coolant lbe cooled reactors limited to russian alfaclass submarine experience thermophysicalproperties. A fast reactor makes use of fission induced by fast neutrons e 0. The tru inventory requirement for a fast reactor including 23 reloads is of the order of 1015 tonsgwe. The latter are defined as plutonium and the socalled minor actinidesneptunium np, americium am, and curium cm. Sep 23, 2015 terrapowers traveling wave reactor twr is designed to be a 1150 megawattelectric liquid sodiumcooled fast reactor that uses depleted uranium as fuel. Sodium deposition from fast reactor gas blanketsfactors influencing the choice of argon or helium cover gas. Characterize the nature of sodium interactions with air and water. Sodium fast reactors with closed fuel cycle crc press book. Gas cooled fast reactor scheme the gas cooled fast reactor gfr system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development.
Other articles where sodium cooled fast reactor is discussed. Transport of thermal energy from the fast reactor core to the turbine requires high heat removal reliability. Some have operated well, while others have done poorly. Department of energys office of scientific and technical information. The fuel assembly is placed inside a reactor vessel where all the nuclear reactions occur to produce the heat and steam used for power generation.
One virtue of a fast reactor is that it is not sensitive to the enormous absorption crosssections of certain fission products for slow neutrons. The bn1200 design must permit the reactor to operate with different cores, including with denser fuel. Other articles where sodiumcooled fast reactor is discussed. Classed as a generation iv reactor, it features a fastneutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides. Safety for the future sodium cooled fast reactors fr09, december 2009, kyoto, japan 7 a.
Sodiumcooled fast reactors have a checkered history. A sodium cooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium the acronym sfr particularly refers to two generation iv reactor proposals, one based on existing lmfr technology using mox fuel, the other based on the metalfueled integral fast reactor. A summary of sodiumcooled fast reactor development. The use of sodiumcooled fast reactors for effectively. While several power reactors have been shut down, bor60, joyo, phenix and bn600 are still operating, the latter being in quasicommercial operation since 1982. The main drawback has been its high capital and operating costs in comparison with traditional light water reactors. Fuel for initial fast reactors today there are excess plutonium inventory from lwr reprocessing, which can be utilized as startup fuel for initial fast reactors.
Smaller core with higher power density, lower enrichment, and lower. A sodium cooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium the acronym sfr particularly refers to two generation iv reactor proposals, one based on existing lmfr technology using mox fuel, the other based on the metalfueled integral fast reactor several sodium cooled fast reactors have been built, some still in operation, and others are in planning or under construction. Russian regulator rostechnadzor has issued a construction licence for the multipurpose sodiumcooled fast neutron research reactor, or mbir by its russian acronym. New sodium cooled reactors are under construction in russia, china and india. Jun 26, 2014 the aircraft reactor experiment, the first msr, was a 2. Optimisation of sodium cooled fast reactors conference. Identify important differences between sodium and other fast reactor coolants leadlbe and helium and why sodium is preferred. The concept of the gascooled fast reactor has been around since the 1960s but has recently enjoyed renewed interest owing to its flexibility for plutonium and minor actinide management and its favourable safety characteristics compared to liquidmetal cooled fast reactors. A sodiumcooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium the acronym sfr particularly refers to two generation iv reactor proposals, one based on existing lmfr technology using mox fuel, the other based on the metalfueled integral fast reactor several sodiumcooled fast reactors have been built, some still in operation, and others are in planning or under construction. Sodiumcooled fastneutron reactor electrical capacity. Much of the basic technology for the sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr has been established through long term development experience with former fast reactor programs, and is being confirmed by the phenix endoflife tests in france, the restart of monju in japan, the lifetime extension of bn600 in russia, and the startup of the china experimental fast reactor in china. In this paper, two fast reactor systems are discussed the sodiumcooled fast reactor, which has already been built and can be further improved, and the leadcooled fast reactor that could be developed relatively soon. General electric and southern company team up to power the planet with nuclear waste the pair will collaborate to commercialize advanced nuclear reactors, including the prism sodium cooled fast.
The sfr is designed for management of highlevel wastes and, in particular. In a sodium cooled fast reactor, commonly called a liquidmetal reactor lmr, the fuel consists of uranium dioxide or uraniumplutonium dioxide pellets french design or of uraniumplutoniumzirconium metal alloy pins u. Gas cooled fast reactors gfrs share the positive attributes of fast reactors. These use the uranium238 in reactor fuel as well as the fissile u235 isotope used in most reactors. Oct, 2014 by far the most advanced of the six is the sodium cooled fast reactor sfr, developed by france, russia and china from a concept pioneered in the united states in the 1950s. An accelerated development of the latter is possible. As one fuel option for a prototype sfr, a metallic fuel, uzr alloy. Liquid metal cooled fast reactor fuel assemblies operational behaviour no. Prototype reactor facility rf with bn350 reactor mangyshlack power combine. Experience gained in russia on sodium cooled fast reactors.