Multi-objective optimization and evaluation of supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle for nuclear power generation

The supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle is considered a promising energy conversion system for Generation IV reactors for its simple layout,compact structure,and high cycle efficiency.Mathematical models of four Brayton cycle layouts are developed in this study for different reactors to reduce the cost and increase the thermohydraulic performance of nuclear power generation to promote the commercialization of nuclear energy.Parametric analysis,multi-objective optimizations,and four decision-making methods are applied to obtain each Brayton scheme’s optimal thermohydraulic and economic indexes.Results show that for the same design thermal power scale of reactors,the higher the core’s exit temperature,the better the Brayton cycle’s thermo-economic performance.Among the four-cycle layouts,the recompression cycle(RC)has the best overall performance,followed by the simple recuperation cycle(SR)and the intercooling cycle(IC),and the worst is the reheating cycle(RH).However,RH has the lowest total cost of investment(C_(tot))of$1619.85 million,and IC has the lowest levelized cost of energy(LCOE)of 0.012$/(kWh).The nuclear Brayton cycle system’s overall performance has been improved due to optimization.The performance of the molten salt reactor combined with the intercooling cycle(MSR-IC)scheme has the greatest improvement,with the net output power(W_(net)),thermal efficiencyη_(t),and exergy efficiency(η_(e))improved by 8.58%,8.58%,and 11.21%,respectively.The performance of the lead-cooled fast reactor combined with the simple recuperation cycle scheme was optimized to increase C_(tot) by 27.78%.In comparison,the internal rate of return(IRR)increased by only 7.8%,which is not friendly to investors with limited funds.For the nuclear Brayton cycle,the molten salt reactor combined with the recompression cycle scheme should receive priority,and the gas-cooled fast reactor combined with the reheating cycle scheme should be considered carefully.

Increasing the Efficiency and Level of Environmental Safety of Pro-Environmental City Heat Supply Technologies by Low Power Nuclear Plants

In connection with the current prospect of decarbonization of coal energy through the use of small nuclear power plants (SNPPs) at existing TPPs as heat sources for heat supply to municipal heating networks, there is a technological need to improve heat supply schemes to increase their environmental friendliness and efficiency. The paper proves the feasibility of using the heat-feeding mode of ASHPs for urban heat supply by heating the network water with steam taken from the turbine. The ratio of electric and thermal power of a “nuclear” combined heat and power plant is given. The advantage of using a heat pump, which provides twice as much electrical power with the same heat output, is established. Taking into account that heat in these modes is supplied with different potential, the energy efficiency was used to compare these options. To increase the heat supply capacity, a scheme with the use of a high-pressure heater in the backpressure mode and with the heating of network water with hot steam was proposed. Heat supply from ASHPs is efficient and environmentally friendly even in the case of significant remoteness of heat consumers.

Conceptual Strategy for Mitigating the Risk of Hydrogen as an Internal Hazard in Case of Severe Accidents at Nuclear Power Plant Considering Existing Risks and Uncertainties Associated with the Use of Traditional Strategies

Hydrogen challenge mitigation stands as one of the main objectives in the management of severe accidents at Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Key strategies for hydrogen control include atmospheric inertization and hydrogen removal with Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs) being a commonly accepted approach. However, an examination of PAR operation specificity reveals potential inefficiencies and reliability issues in certain severe accident scenarios. Moreover, during the in-vessel stage of severe accident development, in some severe accident scenarios PARs can unexpectedly become a source of hydrogen detonation. The effectiveness of hydrogen removal systems depends on various factors, including the chosen strategies, severe accident scenarios, reactor building design, and other influencing factors. Consequently, a comprehensive hydrogen mitigation strategy must effectively incorporate a combination of strategies rather than be based on one strategy, taking into consideration the probabilistic risks and uncertainties associated with the implementation of PARs or other traditional methods. In response to these considerations, within the framework of this research it has been suggested a conceptual strategy to mitigate the hydrogen challenge during the in-vessel stage of severe accident development.

PSA study of the effect of extreme snowfall on a floating nuclear power plant:case study in the Bohai Sea

This study presents a probabilistic safety analysis(PSA)method for the external event of extreme snowfall on a floating nuclear power plant(FNPP)deployed in the Bohai Sea.We utilized the Weibull and Gumbel extreme value distributions to fit the collected meteorological data and obtained a hazard curve for the event of an extreme snowfall where the FNPP is located,providing a basis for the frequency of extreme snowfall-initiating events.Our analysis indicates that extreme snowfall primarily affects the ventilation openings of the equipment,leading to the failure of devices such as the diesel generators.Additionally,extreme snowfall can result in a loss of off-site power(LOOP).Therefore,the developed extreme snowfall PSA model is mainly based on the LOOP event tree,considering responses such as snowfall removal by personnel.Our calculations indicate a core damage frequency(CDF)of 1.13×10^(-10) owing to extreme snowfall,which is relatively low.The results of the cut-set analysis indicate that valve failures in the core makeup tank(CMT),passive residual heat removal system(PRS),and in-containment refueling water storage tank(IRWST)significantly contribute to the CDF.

Development and Research of Non⁃Stirring Conveying Device for Waste Resin in Nuclear Power Plant

Blockage in the storage and transportation of waste resin is a difficult problem in the radioactive waste treatment process of nuclear power plants.In this study,in order to solve the problems of unstable resin transport concentration and easy blockage of conveying equipment and pipelines in nuclear power plants in China,a set of non⁃stirring conveying devices is developed,and theoretical calculations,simulation analysis and experimental verification are carried out.By transporting resin using the no stirring conveying device developed in this paper,it is not only to eliminate the risk of blockage and ensure the safety of transportation,but also to adjust the concentration of conveying resin to change the transport efficiency according to the operating conditions.The effective bearing rate of waste resin storage tank can be improved,so that the comprehensive performance of waste resin storage and transportation in nuclear power plants can be greatly improved.

Investigation on Flow Accelerated Corrosion Mitigation for Secondary Circuit Piping of the Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant

Flow accelerated corrosion（FAC） is the main failure cause of the secondary circuit carbon steel piping in nuclear power plants.The piping failures caused by FAC have resulted in numerous unplanned outages and tragic fatalities.The existing researches focus on the main factors contributing to FAC,which include metallurgical factors,environmental factors and hydrodynamic factors. Some effective FAC management methods and programs with long term monitoring and inspection data analysis are recommended.But a comprehensive FAC management system should be developed in order to mitigate and manage FAC systematically.In this paper,the FAC influencing factors are analyzed in combination with the operating conditions of the secondary circuit piping in the Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant（TQNPP）,China（Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Company Limited,China）.A comprehensive FAC mitigation and management system is developed for TQNPP secondary circuit piping.The system is composed of five processes,viz.materials substitution,water chemical optimization,long-term monitor strategy for the susceptible piping,integrity evaluation of the local thinning defects,and repair or replacement.With the implementation of the five processes,the material of FAC sensitive pipe fittings are modified from carbon steel to stainless steel,N_2H_4 and NH_3 are finally selected as the water chemical regulator of secondary circuit,the secondary circuit pips are classified according to FAC susceptibility in order to conduct long term monitoring strategy,and an integrity evaluation flow for local thinning caused by FAC in carbon steel piping is developed.If the component with local thinning defects is not fit-for-service,corresponding repair or replacement should be conducted.The comprehensive FAC mitigation and management system with five interrelated processes would be a cost-effective method of increasing personnel safety,plant safety and availability.

Decomposition of oil cleaning agents from nuclear power plants by supercritical water oxidation

Oil cleaning agents generated from nuclear power plants(NPPs)are radioactive organic liquid wastes.To date,because there are no satisfactory industrial treatment measures,these wastes can only be stored for a long time.In this work,the optimization for the supercritical water oxidation(SCWO)of the spent organic solvent was investigated.The main process parameters of DURSET(oil cleaning agent)SCWO,such as temperature,reaction time,and excess oxygen coefficient,were optimized using response surface methodology,and a quadratic polynomial model was obtained.The determination coefficient(R^(2))of the model is 0.9812,indicating that the model is reliable.The optimized process conditions were at 515 C,66 s,and an excess oxygen coefficient of 211%.Under these conditions,the chemical oxygen demand removal of organic matter could reach 99.5%.The temperature was found to be the main factor affecting the SCWO process.Ketones and benzene-based compounds may be the main intermediates in DURSET SCWO.This work provides basic data for the industrialization of the degradation of spent organic solvents from NPP using SCWO technology.

AN INTERNATIONAL VIEW OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR FAULTS DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

An extensive survey of computer based systems that apply different approaches for faults diagnostics and identifications in nuclear power plants (NPPs) was presented. In the light of reviewed material, the classification criteria were developed. The classification of computational techniques (class of computing devices, class of programming languages, and simulation programs) was discussed. The classification of theoretical aspects applied (brief aspects, and detailed aspects) in computer based diagnostic systems were established. The classification of metholology applied (symbolic reasoning methodology, event based methodology, and function based methodology) in the diagnostic systems was also depicted. In the end, the personal comments on the reviewed material, and scope of the study were described.

Modeling the Effect of Thermal Diffusion Process from Nuclear Power Plants in Vietnam

In this study, we evaluate the ecological impact of effluent cooling water from the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant II, using a two-dimensional hydraulic model to simulate thermal diffusion from the effluent outfall. Sites selected for this study were Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant and Vinh Hai seawater in four different scenarios. This paper utilized the relationship between surface water temperature and the water temperature at a depth of -15 m to calculate the water temperature at intake and outlet at a depth of -14 m. A combination between the results of interpolated and results of model showed that effluent cooling water from Ninh Thuan plant affected the largest incidence about 2450 m in the North, 880 m in the South and 960 m in the West. It can be considered as safe distance to not to affect the coral reefs ecosystem in the North and sea turtle conservation area in the South. This study was first in this region to have an integrated approach using two-dimensional model.

Tsunami Impacts on Nuclear Power Plants along Western Coast of India Due to a Great Makran Earthquake: A Numerical Simulation Approach

The major seismicity source in the northern Arabian Sea is the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ) that defines the tectonic boundary between the Arabian plate and the Eurasian plate, located offshore Iran and Pakistan over which an instrumentally registered earthquake (Mw 8.1) generated a tsunami on 27 November, 1945. It has caused severe cataclysm to a vulnerable population along the surrounding coastlines, including India. It has been on a long seismic quiescence since this last event. The population and industrialization have exponentially increased along the coastal areas in last half decade. The highly exposed coastal locations to the tsunamis are the areas where the nuclear power plants are located. In the present work, a numerical simulation of a great tsunamigenic earthquake (M 9) is presented that predicts the generation, propagation, run-up and travel time using TUNAMI N2 for estimating tsunami impacts along the nuclear power plants of the western coast of India. TUNAMI N2 code was designed for shallow water wave equations, which uses the finite-difference method based on staggered-leap frog scheme. Thus, it has potential to simulate a far-field tsunami with much more accuracy than other methods. It is observed that the tsunami will strike along the coast of Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (Maharashtra), Tarapur Nuclear Power Plant (Maharashtra), Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant (Karnataka) and Mithi-Virdi Nuclear Power Plant (Gujarat) after 210, 215, 225 and 230 minutes, respectively. Results show that the tsunami run-up is highest for Jaitapur coast (2.32 m). The Mithi-Virdi coast is the least effected (0.93 m) while Kaiga (2.15 m) and Tarapur coast (2.12 m) might have faced quite intense tsunami consequences. The arrival times and run-ups of the tsunami along the coast of different power plants have been calculated since these parameters are of vital importance in mitigation of the coastal hazard, evacuation planning and installation of early warning system in order to save the inhabited communities from the disaster.

Towards an Ethical and Ecological Approach to Electricity Generation: A Comparative Analysis of Coal and Nuclear Power in the USA

According to the US Energy Information Administration, about 4118 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) electricity was generated at large-scale generation facilities in 2019. About 63% of this was from fossil fuels, e.g., coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases. Environmental exposure to particulates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, arsenic, radioactive fly ash, and other pollutants are extremely detrimental to the human cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems. Such exposure increases the risk of lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, respiratory infections, and other illnesses. In light of the challenges associated with renewables providing large quantities of base load power, as well as other factors, the benefits offered by nuclear power should be reexamined by policy makers to move the country towards a more ecological and ethical method of electric power production. This paper offers a concise analysis of many of the salient issues, comparing electricity generation from coal plants and light water nuclear reactors.

Research on Monitoring and Earlywarning System of Marine Organisms for the Intake of Nuclear PowerPlants

An monitoring and earlywarning system is proposed for marine organisms and the cause of water intake blockage is analyzed. Based onthe intelligent sensing technology, computer software and hardware technology and digital signal processing technology, the buoy monitoring platformsystem is developed by internet of things technology, cloud computing and the application of large data. Remote realtime monitoring of aquatic organisms and foreign bodies is realized based on underwater acoustic detection and low light imaging technology. Data processing center is established to store, analyze and process monitoring information and display it in real time, and provide emergency decision support. Through development and test of relevant key equipments, the reliability of cold source system of nuclear power plants is improved, which effectively reduces theinfluence of marine biological invasion on security and economic operation of the units.

Evaluation of protective quality of prestressed concrete containment buildings of nuclear power plants

The permeability and sorptivity properties of the two prestressed concrete containment buildings(PCCBs) of a nuclear power plant in South China,which had been under operation for 5 years,were measured by using the autoclam permeability system.The air permeability,sorptivity and water permeability indexes of No.1 PCCB are smaller than or equal to 0.11 ln(102 Pa)/min,0.98×10-7 m3/min1/2 and 1.93×10-7 m3/min1/2,respectively,and the air permeability,sorptivity and water permeability indexes of No.2 PCCB are smaller than or equal to 0.17 ln(102 Pa)/min,1.6×10-7 m3/min1/2 and 4.43×10-7 m3/min1/2,respectively.Based on the criteria for evaluating the protective quality of concrete structures in terms of their permeability and sorptivity properties,proposed by the research organization of the autoclam permeability system,the protective quality of No.1 PCCB is still in very good grade and that of No.2 PCCB is not in very good grade but in good grade,and the in-service inspection of the protective quality of No.2 PCCB should be strengthened in the future.

The third phase contract of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant signed

China and Canada nailed down a deal to build the third phase of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang Province in East China on Nov. 26, 1996. The contract was signed in Shanghai by China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd(AECL). AECL will construct two 700 MW heavy water reactors for the Chinese nuclear power plant.

Variants of Nuclear Power Plants of Small and Medium Power with Heavy Liquid-Metal Coolants

New design solutions have been proposed for a BRS-GPG type reactor circuit, which are different from transport and stationary low and medium-powered reactor installations cooled with heavy liquid-metal coolants, and which correspond to the evolutionary development of such installations. While developing these solutions, the available experience in creating and operating Soviet pilot and commercial power plants cooled with lead-bismuth coolants was used, including investigations, primarily experimental ones, carried out by team of authors in justification of a capacity range (50 - 250 MW) of low and medium-powered reactor plants with horizontal steam generators (BRS- GPG) proposed and elaborated at the NNSTU.

Study on Site Specific Design Earthquake Ground Motion of Nuclear Power Plants in China

The main technical backgrounds and requirements are introduced with regard to earthquake ground motion design parameters in several domestic and American standards,codes and guides involved in the seismic analysis and design activities of nuclear power plants in China.Based on the research results from site seismic safety evaluation of domestic nuclear power plant projects in the last years,characteristics and differences of site specific design spectra are analyzed in comparison with standard response spectra,and the suitability of standard response spectra for domestic nuclear power plant projects is discussed.

SRDAAR－QNPP：a computer code system for the real－time dose assessment of an accident release for Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant

The paper presents a computer code system 'SRDAAR- QNPP' for the real-time dose as-sessment of an accident release for Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant. It includes three parts:thereal-time data acquisition system, assessment computer. and the assessment operating code system. InSRDAAR-QNPP, the wind field of the surface and the lower levels are determined hourly by using amass consistent three-dimension diasnosis model with the topographic following coordinate system.A Lagrangin Puff model under changing meteorological condition is adopted for atmosphericdispersion, the correction for dry and wet depositions. physical decay and partial plume penetrationof the top inversion and the deviation of plume axis caused by complex terrain have been taken in-to account. The calculation domain areas include three square grid areas with the sideline 10 km, 40krn and 160 km and a grid interval 0.5 km, 2.0 km, 8.0 km respectively. Three exposure pathwaysare taken into account:the external exposure from immersion cloud and passing puff, the internalexposure from inhalation and the external exposure from contaminated ground. This system is ableto provide the results of concentration and dose distributions within 10 minutes after the data havebeen inputed.

Study on integrated development and hybrid operation mode of nuclear power plant and pumped-storage power station

The nuclear power plant is suitable for base-load operation, while the pumped-storage unit mainly gives play to capacity benefit in the electric power system;hence, the integrated development and hybrid operation mode of the two can better meet the needs of the electric power system. This article first presents an analysis of the necessity and superiority of such mode, then explains its meaning and analyzes the working routes. Finally, it proposes the business modes as follows: low price pumping water electricity plus nuclear power in the near term;nuclear power shifted to pumped storage power participating in market competition in the middle term;and, in the long term, nuclear power shifted to pumped storage power as primary and serving as an electric power system when needed.