Core and blanket thermal-hydraulic analysis of a molten salt fast reactor based on coupling of OpenMC and OpenFOAM

In the core of a molten salt fast reactor(MSFR),heavy metal fuel and fission products can be dissolved in a molten fluoride salt to form a eutectic mixture that acts as both fuel and coolant.Fission energy is released from the fuel salt and transferred to the second loop by fuel salt circulation.Therefore,the MSFR is characterized by strong interaction between the neutronics and the thermal hydraulics.Moreover,recirculation flow occurs,and nuclear heat is accumulated near the fertile blanket,which significantly affects both the flow and the temperature fields in the core.In this work,to further optimize the conceptual geometric design of the MSFR,three geometries of the core and fertile blanket are proposed,and the thermal-hydraulic characteristics,including the three-dimensional flow and temperature fields of the fuel and fertile salts,are simulated and analyzed using a coupling scheme between the open source codes OpenMC and OpenFOAM.The numerical results indicate that a flatter core temperature distribution can be obtained and the hot spot and flow stagnation zones that appear in the upper and lower parts of the core center near the reflector can be eliminated by curving both the top and bottom walls of the core.Moreover,eight cooling loops with a total flow rate of0.0555 m3 s-1 ensur an acceptable temperature distribusure an acceptable temperature distribution in the fertile blanket.

Geotechnical characterization of peat-based landfill cover materials

Natural methane （CH4） oxidation that is carried out through the use of landfill covers （biocovers） is a promising method for reducing CH4 emissions from landfills. Previous studies on peat-based landfill covers have mainly focused on their biochemical properties （e.g. CH4 oxidation capacity）. However, the utilization of peat as a cover material also requires a solid understanding of its geotechnical properties （thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical）, which are critical to the performance of any biocover. Therefore, the objective of this context is to investigate and assess the geotechnical properties of peat-based cover materials （peat, peat–sand mixture）, including compaction, consolidation, and hydraulic and thermal conductivities. The studied materials show high compressibility to the increase of vertical stress, with compression index （Cc） values ranging from 0.16 to 0.358. The compressibility is a function of sand content such that the peat–sand mixture （1：3） has the lowest Cc value. Both the thermal and hydraulic conductivities are functions of moisture content, dry density, and sand content. The hydraulic conductivity varies from 1.74 × 10^-9 m/s to 7.35 × 10^-9 m/s, and increases with the increase in sand content. The thermal conductivity of the studied samples varies between 0.54 W/（m K） and 1.41 W/（m K） and it increases with the increases in moisture and sand contents. Increases in sand content generally increase the mechanical behavior of peat-based covers; however, they also cause relatively high hydraulic and thermal conductivities which are not favored properties for biocovers.