水下航行器微型核电源堆芯设计

Reactor Core Design of Micro Nuclear Power Source Applied for Underwater Vehicle

热管冷却反应堆因其体积小、功率密度高、使用寿命长、环境适应性强的特点,在飞行器、水下航行器动力系统等领域具有广泛的应用前景,具有重要研究意义。本文在调研国内外相关研究的基础上,针对水下航行器静默式微型核电源,提出了一种热功率2.4 MW、长寿命、低噪声的锂热管冷却堆芯设计方案。采用蒙特卡罗程序进行中子学计算,得到堆芯功率分布、反应性反馈与临界安全特性;采用MCNP5与点燃耗程序ORIGEN2的耦合程序MCORE计算堆芯寿期。结果表明,堆芯最大功率峰因子为1.42,堆芯寿期达到14a,堆芯参数符合设计要求,为该型核电源的设计与应用提供了一定的参考。

The heat pipe cooled reactor featured with small volume,high power density,long lifetime and high adaptability to environment,has promising applications for space exploration and underwater vehicles.Thus there is great significance of conducting reactor design and analysis.Based on a series of literature reviews,a 2.4 MWth lithium heat pipe cooled reactor core with long lifetime and low level noise was designed.Monte Carlo program MCNP was used for calculating the power distribution,reactivity feedback and critical safety characteristics of the reactor core.A code MCORE coupling MCNP5 and ORIGEN2 was used for calculating the core lifetime.The results show that the peak power factor is 1.42,the core lifetime is 14 a,and core parameters satisfy the requirements,which provide reference to the design and application of the micro nuclear power source.