Accident-tolerant fuel(ATF)has attracted considerable research attention since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.To improve the accident tolerance of the fuel-cladding systems in the current light-water reactors,it ...Accident-tolerant fuel(ATF)has attracted considerable research attention since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.To improve the accident tolerance of the fuel-cladding systems in the current light-water reactors,it is proposed to develop and deploy(1)an enhanced Zrbased alloy or coated zircaloy for the fuel cladding,(2)alternative cladding materials with better accident tolerance,and(3)alternative fuels with enhanced accident tolerance and/or a higher U density.This review presents the features of the current UO2-zircaloy system.Different techniques and characters to develop coating materials and enhanced Zr-based alloys are summarized.The features of several selected alternative fuels and cladding materials are reviewed and discussed.The neutronic evaluations of alternative fuel-cladding systems are analyzed.It is expected that one or more types of ATF-cladding systems discussed in the present review will be implemented in commercial reactors.展开更多
The transport cross-section based on inflow transport approximation can significantly improve the accuracy of light water reactor(LWR)analysis,especially for the treatment of the anisotropic scattering effect.The prev...The transport cross-section based on inflow transport approximation can significantly improve the accuracy of light water reactor(LWR)analysis,especially for the treatment of the anisotropic scattering effect.The previous inflow transport approximation is based on the moderator cross-section and normalized fission source,which is approximated using transport theory.Although the accuracy of reactivity is increased,the P0 flux moment has a large error in the Monte Carlo code.In this study,an improved inflow transport approximation was introduced with homogenization techniques,applying the homogenized cross-section and accurate fission source.The numerical results indicated that the improved inflow transport approximation can increase the P0 flux moment accuracy and maintain the reactivity calculation precision with the previous inflow transport approximation in typical LWR cases.In addition to this investigation,the improved inflow transport approximation is related to the temperature factors.The improved inflow transport approximation is flexible and accurate in the treatment of the anisotropic scattering effect,which can be directly used in the temperature-dependent nuclear data library.展开更多
The WRNM(wide range neutron monitoring)is a newly developed neutron monitoring channel which was initially conceived as a means to meet Regulatory Guide 1.97 requirements for post-accident neutron monitoring.The scope...The WRNM(wide range neutron monitoring)is a newly developed neutron monitoring channel which was initially conceived as a means to meet Regulatory Guide 1.97 requirements for post-accident neutron monitoring.The scope was expanded to include the startup monitoring function with the aim of replacing both the source and IRMs(intermediate range monitors)in BWRs(boiling water reactors).The WRNMs,consisting of a newly designed fixed incore regenerative sensor and new electronics,which include both counting and MSV(mean square voltage)channels,have been tested in several reactors and its capabilities have been confirmed.The channel will cover the neutron flux range from 103 nv to 1.5×103 nv;it has greater than 1 decade overlap between the counting and MSV channels.Because of the regenerative fissile coating the sensor,even though fixed incore,has a life of approximately 6.0 full power years in a 51 kW/L BWR and similar situation has been proposed for newly designed small modular reactor such as BWRX-300 of General Electric Hitachi reactor.展开更多
Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer simple, standardized, and safe modular designs for new nuclear reactor construction. They are factory built, requiring smaller initial capital investment and facilitating shorter co...Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer simple, standardized, and safe modular designs for new nuclear reactor construction. They are factory built, requiring smaller initial capital investment and facilitating shorter construction times. SMRs also promise competitive economy when compared with the current reactor fleet. Construction cost of a majority of the projects, which are mostly in their design stages, is not publicly available, but variable costs can be determined from fuel enrichment, average burn-up, and plant thermal efficiency, which are public parameters for many near-term SMR projects. The fuel cost of electricity generation for selected SMRs and large reactors is simulated, including calculation of optimal tails assay in the uranium enrichment process. The results are compared between one another and with current generation large reactor designs providing a rough comparison of the long-term economics of a new nuclear reactor project. SMRs are predicted to have higher fuel costs than large reactors. Particularly, integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs) are shown to have from 15% to 70% higher fuel costs than large light water reactors using 2014 nuclear fuels market data. Fuel cost sensitivities to reactor design parameters are presented.展开更多
The China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) is scheduled to be operated in the autumn of 2008.In this paper,we report preparations for installing the neutron radiography instrument (NRI) and for utilizing it efficientl...The China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) is scheduled to be operated in the autumn of 2008.In this paper,we report preparations for installing the neutron radiography instrument (NRI) and for utilizing it efficiently. The 2-D relative neutron intensity profiles for the water-vapor two-phase flow inside the robe were obtained using the MCNP code without influence of y-ray and electronic-noise.The MCNP simulation of the 2-D neutron intensity profile for the water-vapor two-phase flow was demonstrated.The simulated 2-D neutron intensity profiles could be used as the benchmark data base by calibrating part of the data measured by the CARR-NRI.The 3-D objective images allow us to understand the flow pattern more clearly and it is reconstructed using the MATLAB through the threshold transformation techniques.And thus it is concluded that the MCNP code and the MATLAB are very useful for constructing the benchmark data base for the investigation of the water-vapor two-phase flow using the CARR-NRI.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFB1900405)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11775316)+3 种基金the Tip-top Scientific and Technical Innovative Youth Talents of Guangdong Special Support Program(No.2016TQ03N575)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.19lgpy299)the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province,China(No.2019A050510022)the Nuclear Power Institute of China(No.HT-ATF-14-2018001)
文摘Accident-tolerant fuel(ATF)has attracted considerable research attention since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.To improve the accident tolerance of the fuel-cladding systems in the current light-water reactors,it is proposed to develop and deploy(1)an enhanced Zrbased alloy or coated zircaloy for the fuel cladding,(2)alternative cladding materials with better accident tolerance,and(3)alternative fuels with enhanced accident tolerance and/or a higher U density.This review presents the features of the current UO2-zircaloy system.Different techniques and characters to develop coating materials and enhanced Zr-based alloys are summarized.The features of several selected alternative fuels and cladding materials are reviewed and discussed.The neutronic evaluations of alternative fuel-cladding systems are analyzed.It is expected that one or more types of ATF-cladding systems discussed in the present review will be implemented in commercial reactors.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFC0307800-05).
文摘The transport cross-section based on inflow transport approximation can significantly improve the accuracy of light water reactor(LWR)analysis,especially for the treatment of the anisotropic scattering effect.The previous inflow transport approximation is based on the moderator cross-section and normalized fission source,which is approximated using transport theory.Although the accuracy of reactivity is increased,the P0 flux moment has a large error in the Monte Carlo code.In this study,an improved inflow transport approximation was introduced with homogenization techniques,applying the homogenized cross-section and accurate fission source.The numerical results indicated that the improved inflow transport approximation can increase the P0 flux moment accuracy and maintain the reactivity calculation precision with the previous inflow transport approximation in typical LWR cases.In addition to this investigation,the improved inflow transport approximation is related to the temperature factors.The improved inflow transport approximation is flexible and accurate in the treatment of the anisotropic scattering effect,which can be directly used in the temperature-dependent nuclear data library.
文摘The WRNM(wide range neutron monitoring)is a newly developed neutron monitoring channel which was initially conceived as a means to meet Regulatory Guide 1.97 requirements for post-accident neutron monitoring.The scope was expanded to include the startup monitoring function with the aim of replacing both the source and IRMs(intermediate range monitors)in BWRs(boiling water reactors).The WRNMs,consisting of a newly designed fixed incore regenerative sensor and new electronics,which include both counting and MSV(mean square voltage)channels,have been tested in several reactors and its capabilities have been confirmed.The channel will cover the neutron flux range from 103 nv to 1.5×103 nv;it has greater than 1 decade overlap between the counting and MSV channels.Because of the regenerative fissile coating the sensor,even though fixed incore,has a life of approximately 6.0 full power years in a 51 kW/L BWR and similar situation has been proposed for newly designed small modular reactor such as BWRX-300 of General Electric Hitachi reactor.
文摘Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer simple, standardized, and safe modular designs for new nuclear reactor construction. They are factory built, requiring smaller initial capital investment and facilitating shorter construction times. SMRs also promise competitive economy when compared with the current reactor fleet. Construction cost of a majority of the projects, which are mostly in their design stages, is not publicly available, but variable costs can be determined from fuel enrichment, average burn-up, and plant thermal efficiency, which are public parameters for many near-term SMR projects. The fuel cost of electricity generation for selected SMRs and large reactors is simulated, including calculation of optimal tails assay in the uranium enrichment process. The results are compared between one another and with current generation large reactor designs providing a rough comparison of the long-term economics of a new nuclear reactor project. SMRs are predicted to have higher fuel costs than large reactors. Particularly, integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs) are shown to have from 15% to 70% higher fuel costs than large light water reactors using 2014 nuclear fuels market data. Fuel cost sensitivities to reactor design parameters are presented.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.50876080)
文摘The China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) is scheduled to be operated in the autumn of 2008.In this paper,we report preparations for installing the neutron radiography instrument (NRI) and for utilizing it efficiently. The 2-D relative neutron intensity profiles for the water-vapor two-phase flow inside the robe were obtained using the MCNP code without influence of y-ray and electronic-noise.The MCNP simulation of the 2-D neutron intensity profile for the water-vapor two-phase flow was demonstrated.The simulated 2-D neutron intensity profiles could be used as the benchmark data base by calibrating part of the data measured by the CARR-NRI.The 3-D objective images allow us to understand the flow pattern more clearly and it is reconstructed using the MATLAB through the threshold transformation techniques.And thus it is concluded that the MCNP code and the MATLAB are very useful for constructing the benchmark data base for the investigation of the water-vapor two-phase flow using the CARR-NRI.
