From Chooz to the Ling'ao NPP:The Technology Transfer of Pressurized Water Reactor Technology from France to China

The transfer of pressurized water reactor(PWR)technology from France to China is an important event in the history of Sino-French scientific and technological relations.China has gradually achieved self-reliance in the field of PWR technology through the introduction and subsequent absorption of France's 900 MW reactors.Compared with the process of introducing and absorbing similar technology from the United States by France,China's experience has been more complicated.This circumstance reflects the differences in the nuclear power technology systems between the two countries.France's industrial strength and early acquisition of nuclear power technology laid a solid foundation for mastering PWR technology.On the other hand,although China established a weak foundation through the implementation of the"728 Project,"and tried hard to negotiate with France,the substantive content of the technology transfer was very limited.By way of the policy transition from"unhooking of technology and trade"to"integration of technology and trade,"China ultimately accomplished the absorption and innovation of PWR technology through the Ling'ao NPP.

Development and Application of Maintenance Template in Pressurized Water Reactor Nuclear Power Plant

Good practices of maintenance optimization in nuclear power field need to be effectively consolidated and inherited,and maintenance optimization can provide technology support to create a long-term reliable and economic operation for nuclear power plants( NPPs) especially for a large number of nuclear powers under construction. Based on the development and application of maintenance template in developed countries,and combining with reliability-centered maintenance( RCM) analysis results and maintenance experience data over the past ten years in domestic NPPs, the development process of maintenance template was presented for Chinese pressurized water reactor( PWR) NPP,and the application of maintenance template to maintenance program development and maintenance optimization combined with cases were demonstrated. A shortcut was provided for improving the efficiency of maintenance optimization in domestic PWR NPP,and help to realize a safe,reliable,and economic operation for domestic NPPs.

Non-integer Order Control Scheme for Pressurized Water Reactor Core Power

Tracking load changes in a pressurized water reactor(PWR)with the help of an efficient core power control scheme in a nuclear power station is very important.The reason is that it is challenging to maintain a stable core power according to the reference value within an acceptable tolerance for the safety of PWR.To overcome the uncertainties,a non-integer-based fractional order control method is demonstrated to control the core power of PWR.The available dynamic model of the reactor core is used in this analysis.Core power is controlled using a modified state feedback approach with a non-integer integral scheme through two different approximations,CRONE(Commande Robuste d’Ordre Non Entier,meaning Non-integer orderRobust Control)and FOMCON(non-integer order modeling and control).Simulation results are produced using MATLAB■program.Both non-integer results are compared with an integer order PI(Proportional Integral)algorithm to justify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.Sate-spacemodel Core power control Non-integer control Pressurized water reactor PI controller CRONE FOMCON.

Neutronic analysis of silicon carbide cladding accident-tolerant fuel assemblies in pressurized water reactors

In resonance with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident lesson, a novel fuel design to enhance safety regarding severe accident scenarios has become increasingly appreciated in the nuclear power industry. This research focuses on analysis of the neutronic properties of a silicon carbide(SiC) cladding fuel assembly, which provides a greater safety margin as a type of accident-tolerant fuel for pressurized water reactors. The general physical performance of SiC cladding is explored to ascertain its neutronic performance. The neutron spectrum, accumulation of ^(239)Pu, physical characteristics,temperature reactivity coefficient, and power distribution are analyzed. Furthermore, the influences of a burnable poison rod and enrichment are explored. SiC cladding assemblies show a softer neutron spectrum and flatter power distribution than conventional Zr alloy cladding fuel assemblies. Lower enrichment fuel is required when SiC cladding is adopted. However, the positive reactivity coefficient associated with the SiC material remains to be offset. The results reveal that SiC cladding assemblies show broad agreement with the neutronic performance of conventional Zr alloy cladding fuel. In the meantime, its unique physical characteristics can lead to improved safety and economy.

Theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor

This article presents a theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor. Through numerically solving the one-dimensional steady-state single-phase conservative equations for the primary circuit and the steady-state two-phase drift-flux conservative equations for the secondary side of the steam generator, the natural circulation characteristics were studied. On the basis of the pre- liminary calculation analysis, it was found that natural circulation mass flow rate was proportional to the exponential function of the power and that the value of the exponent is related to the operating conditions of the secondary side of the steam generator. The higher the outlet pressure of the secondary side of the steam generator, the higher the pri- mary natural circulation mass flow rate. The larger height difference between the core center and the steam generator center is favorable for the heat removal capacity of the natural circulation.

Optimization of the fuel rod＇s arrangement cooled by turbulentnanofluids flow in pressurized water reactor (PWR)

In this paper, response surface methodology(RSM) based on central composite design(CCD) is applied to obtain an optimization design for the fuel rod's diameter and distance cooled by turbulent Al_2O_3–water nanofluid for a typical pressurized water reactor(PWR). Fuel rods and nanofluid flow between them are simulated 3D using computational fluid dynamics(CFD) by ANSYS-FLUNET package software. The RNG k–ε model is used to simulate turbulent nanofluid flow between the rods. The effect of different nanoparticles concentration is also investigated on the Nusselt number from heat transfer efficiency view point. Results reveal that when distance parameter(a) is in the minimum level and diameter parameter(r) is in the maximum possible level, cooling the rods will be better due to higher Nusselt number in this situation. Also, using the different nanoparticles on the cooling process confirms that Al_2O_3 averagely 17% and TiO_2 10% improve the Nusselt numbers.

Passive Cooldown Performance of Integral Pressurized Water Reactor

The design of an integral pressurized water reactor (IPWR) focuses on enhancing the safety and reliability of the reactor by incorporating a number of inherent safety features and engineered safety features. However, the characteristics of passive safety systems for the marine reactors are quiet different from those for the land nuclear power plant because of the more formidable and dangerous operation environments of them. This paper presents results of marine black out accident analyses. In the case of a transient, the passive residual heat removal system (PRHRS) is designed to cool the reactor coolant system (RCS) from a normal operation condition to a hot shutdown condition by a natural circulation, and the shutdown cooling system (SCS) is designed to cool the primary system from a hot shutdown condition to a refueling condition by a forced circulation. A realistic calculation has been carried out by using the RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and a sensitivity analysis has been performed to evaluate a passive cooldown capability. The results of the accident analyses show that the reactor coolant system and the passive residual heat removal system adequately remove the core decay heat by a natural circulation.

Comparison of Small Modular Reactor and Large Nuclear Reactor Fuel Cost

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.

Control system design for a pressure-tube-type supercritical water-cooled nuclear reactor via a higher order sliding mode method

Nuclear power plants exhibit non-linear and time-variable dynamics.Therefore,designing a control system that sets the reactor power and forces it to follow the desired load is complicated.A supercritical water reactor(SCWR)is a fourth-generation conceptual reactor.In an SCWR,the non-linear dynamics of the reactor require a controller capable of control-ling the nonlinearities.In this study,a pressure-tube-type SCWR was controlled during reactor power maneuvering with a higher order sliding mode,and the reactor outgoing steam temperature and pressure were controlled simultaneously.In an SCWR,the temperature,pressure,and power must be maintained at a setpoint(desired value)during power maneuvering.Reactor point kinetics equations with three groups of delayed neutrons were used in the simulation.Higher-order and classic sliding mode controllers were separately manufactured to control the plant and were compared with the PI controllers speci-fied in previous studies.The controlled parameters were reactor power,steam temperature,and pressure.Notably,for these parameters,the PI controller had certain instabilities in the presence of disturbances.The classic sliding mode controller had a higher accuracy and stability;however its main drawback was the chattering phenomenon.HOSMC was highly accurate and stable and had a small computational cost.In reality,it followed the desired values without oscillations and chattering.

Microstructure and stress corrosion cracking of a SA508-309L/308L-316L dissimilar metal weld joint in primary pressurized water reactor environment

Stress corrosion cracking(SCC) of an SA508-309 L/308 L–316 L dissimilar metal weld joint in primary pressurized water reactor environment was investigated by the interrupted slow strain rate tension tests following a microstructure characterization. The 308 L weld metal shows a higher content of δ ferrite than the 309 L weld metal. In addition, no obvious Cr-depletion but carbides precipitation at δ phase boundaries was observed in both 308 L and 309 L weld metals. The slow strain rate tension tests showed that the SCC susceptibility of the base and weld metals of the dissimilar metal weld joint follows the order of SA508 < 308 L weld metal < the heat affected zone of 316 L base metal < 309 L weld metal.The higher SCC susceptibility of 309 L weld metal than that of 308 L weld metal is likely due to the lower content of δ ferrite. In addition, a preferential SCC initiation in the 309 L weld metal adjacent to 308 L weld metal is attributed to few carbides in this region.

Investigation on two－phase critical flow for loss－of－coolant accident of pressurized water reactor

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Wide Range Neutron Monitoring(WRNM)System in Boiling Water Reactors(A Short Communication&Memorandum)

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.

Preliminary study of the tight lattice pressured heavy water reactor loaded with Pu/U and Th/U mixed fuels

To improve nuclear fuel utilization efficiency and prolong fuel cycle burn-up, a tight pitch lattice pressured heavy water reactor was investigated as an alternative of next generation of power reactors. It is shown that the high conversion ratio and negative coolant void reactivity coefficient are challenges in the reactor core physics designs. Various techniques were proposed to solve these problems. In this work, a tight pitch lattice and mixed fuel assemblies pressured heavy water reactor concept was investigated. By utilizing numerical simulation technique, it is demonstrated that reactor core mixed with Pu/U and Th/U assemblies can achieve high conversion ratio (0.98), long burn-up (60 GWD/t) and negative void reactivity coefficients.

乏燃料棒M5锆合金包壳的透射电镜分析

压水堆燃料元件的锆合金包壳,在服役期间会经受高中子注量辐照,其微观组织将发生很大变化,从而影响其宏观性能,因此锆合金包壳的中子辐照行为研究一直是核领域的研究重点。但由于材料经中子辐照后具有较强的放射性,相关的实验必须在热室内进行,因此针对辐照后燃料包壳微观组织的研究也一直是工作的难点。本文在中国原子能科学研究院热室设施上,通过透射电镜分析手段,研究了M5锆合金包壳材料中子辐照后的微观组织。样品来源于国内商业压水堆AFA3G型乏燃料棒,其燃耗分别为14 GW·d/tU和41 GW·d/tU。从燃料棒上截取长度约10 mm的包壳样品,在热室内完成去芯块与化学清洗,获得空包壳样品,然后通过机械制样方法,制备出?3 mm薄片状包壳基体样品,最后采用电解双喷减薄方法,制备出包壳透射电镜观察分析样品。另外,为对比锆包壳辐照后的组织变化,采用同样方法制备了相同材料的冷态观察分析样品。冷态样品与辐照样品的观察分析结果表明:冷态Zr合金包壳基体组织内部存在原生的第二相粒子,基体内部整体较为干净,纳米析出相稀少,未观察到明显的位错结构;辐照后,基体内原生的第二相粒子尺寸和分布与冷态样品差异不明显,但出现了明显的纳米析出相和高密度位错组织;随着燃耗的增加,纳米析出相尺寸有增加的现象;低燃耗与高燃耗样品位错组织具有相似性,表明在14 GW·d/tU燃耗下,锆合金包壳内由辐照产生的位错组织已基本趋于饱和状态;电子选取衍射结果表明,辐照后,基体内原生的第二相粒子虽存在一些非晶组织,但仍以bcc晶体结构为主,表明在41 GW·d/tU燃耗下,第二相粒子保持了一定的辐照稳定性;另外,第二相的EDS结果表明,随着燃耗的增加,Nb元素的含量有贫化趋势;分析认为,Zr合金经中子辐照,第二相粒子中的Nb原子扩展至Zr基体内,将促进Nb元素以纳米富Nb相形式在Zr基体中析出。

国和一号关键核安全技术研发

基于当前各类能源技术基础和核电技术发展水平判断,核能是社会清洁低碳转型与可持续发展的重要支撑,高安全高可靠性的大型先进压水堆核电机组是未来30年内的主力机型。本文围绕大型先进压水堆核电站国家科技重大专项所面临的重大挑战,主要阐述了通过解决“高功率核燃料冷却难”“超高温熔融物滞留难”和“高温高压高放射性包容难”三大关键技术难题,来保证从设计上消除大规模放射性释放可能性或进一步降低核电批量化建设的核安全风险。

Response characteristics of PWR primary circuit under SBLOCAs considering steam bypass discharging

Small-break superposed station blackout(SBO)accidents are the basic design accidents of nuclear power plants.Under the condition of a small break in the cold leg,SBO further increases the severity of the accident,and the steam bypass discharg-ing system(GCT)in the second circuit can play an important role in guaranteeing core safety.To explore the influence of the GCT on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the primary circuit,RELAP5 software was used to establish a numerical model based on a typical pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant.Five different small breaks in the cold-leg super-posed SBO were selected,and the impact of the GCT operation on the transient response characteristics of the primary and secondary circuit systems was analyzed.The results show that the GCT plays an indispensable role in core heat removal during an accident;otherwise,core safety cannot be guaranteed.The GCT was used in conjunction with the primary safety injection system during the placement process.When the break diameter was greater than a certain critical value,the core cooling rate could not be guaranteed to be less than 100 K/h;however,the core remained in a safe state.

Development of CONTHAC-3D and hydrogen distribution analysis of HPR1000

An in-house code,CONTHAC-3D,was developed to calculate and analyze thermal-hydraulic phenomena in containments during severe accidents.CONTHAC-3D is a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics code that can be applied to predict gas flow,diffusion,and steam condensation in a containment during a severe hypothetical accident,as well as to obtain an estimate of the local hydrogen concentration in various zones of the containment.CONTHAC-3D was developed using multiple models to simulate the features of the proprietary systems and equipment of HPR1000 and ACP100,such as the passive cooling system,passive autocatalytic recombiners and the passive air cooling system.To validate CONTHAC-3D,a GX6 test was performed at the Battelle Model Containment facility.The hydrogen concentration and temperature monitored by the GX6 test are accurately predicted by CONTHAC-3D.Subsequently,the hydrogen distribution in the HPR1000 containment during a severe accident was studied.The results show that the hydrogen removal rates calculated using CONTHAC-3D for different types of PARs agree well with the theoretical values,with an error of less than 1%.As the accident progresses,the hydrogen concentration in the lower compartment becomes higher than that in the large space,which implies that the lower compartment has a higher hydrogen risk than the dome and large space at a later stage of the accident.The amount of hydrogen removed by the PARs placed on the floor of the compartment is small;therefore,raising the installation height of these recombiners appropriately is recommended.However,we do not recommend installing all autocatalytic recombiners at high positions.The study findings in regard to the hydrogen distribution in the HPR1000 containment indicate that CONTHAC-3D can be applied to the study of hydrogen risk containment.

压水堆主泵及液态金属泵转子动力学研究进展

核主泵是核电站的关键设备之一,也是反应堆冷却系统的唯一旋转机械设备,其稳定运转对整个反应堆的正常工作至关重要,因此,针对核反应堆主泵开展转子动力学研究,探究主泵转子部件的模态振型、固有频率和支撑系统的刚度阻尼、液膜厚度十分必要。以国内外有关压水堆主泵及液态金属泵的转子动力学研究为重点,围绕压水堆主泵、钠冷快堆主泵、熔盐堆主泵、铅冷快堆主泵4种核主泵类型,从核主泵及其转子部件的结构特点出发,对现阶段主泵导轴承润滑性能和主泵转子结构固有频率、模态分析、临界转速等转子动力学特性的研究进展进行综述和展望,以期对有关核主泵转子动力学特性的计算分析起到一定的借鉴和指导作用。

压水堆滞流分支管热分层现象的数值模拟

在核电系统热力管道内,热分层现象较为常见,会造成应力集中并引起管道结构变形,进而带来安全隐患。滞流分支管与冷却剂主管道相连接,管内流体与一回路主管道冷却剂存在较大温差,受到湍流渗透和阀门泄漏等因素的影响,分支管内容易发生热分层现象。对滞流分支管热分层的温度变化特性和流动特性进行研究分析,为后续的实验研究和应力分析提供理论依据。建立了滞流分支管模型,在泄漏流量为0.062 kg·s^(-1)、泄漏温度为488.15 K、泄漏压力为6 MPa条件下,采用SST k-ω模型(Shear Stress Transport k-ωmodel)对滞流分支管热分层现象展开三维数值模拟研究。模拟结果表明:热分层现象容易出现在水平管段,无保温措施及大管径会加剧热分层现象,而弯管段能有效降低截面温差;滞流分支管的水平管段内存在回流现象,而大小头管段结构导致管内流场出现二次回流,回流现象不利于管道内冷热流体的混合,使热分层的影响时间更长。滞流管分支管的热分层现象与等截面管道存在明显区别。

低温等离子体处理^(14)C烷烃类化合物的实验研究

压水堆中的^(14)C气态流出物主要以烷烃类化合物的形式存在。本研究以^(14)C烷烃类化合物中占比最大且化学性质最稳定的^(14)CH_(4)作为处理目标,引入低温等离子体技术,对其放电行为和CH_(4)处理性能进行探究。结果表明:在常温常压、输出电压17.89 kV、气体流速0.83 cm/s的最优条件下,等离子体的CH_(4)处理效率可达99.37%,CO_(2)选择性可达46.99%;通过提高输出电压、反应温度以及降低气体流速均能有效提升等离子体的CH_(4)处理性能;除CO_(2)外,等离子体处理CH_(4)过程中伴随产生的副产物有30余种,以有机物为主;等离子体处理CH_(4)的动力学过程符合准一级反应动力学模型,相应的速率常数为1.1048 m^(3)/(kW·h)。以上结果表明,等离子体技术在^(14)C废气处理和监测领域,尤其是^(14)C烷烃类化合物处理方面具有广阔的发展前景。