Implementation of high-fidelity neutronics and thermal–hydraulic coupling calculations in HNET

To perform nuclear reactor simulations in a more realistic manner,the coupling scheme between neutronics and thermal-hydraulics was implemented in the HNET program for both steady-state and transient conditions.For simplicity,efficiency,and robustness,the matrixfree Newton/Krylov(MFNK)method was applied to the steady-state coupling calculation.In addition,the optimal perturbation size was adopted to further improve the convergence behavior of the MFNK.For the transient coupling simulation,the operator splitting method with a staggered time mesh was utilized to balance the computational cost and accuracy.Finally,VERA Problem 6 with power and boron perturbation and the NEACRP transient benchmark were simulated for analysis.The numerical results show that the MFNK method can outperform Picard iteration in terms of both efficiency and robustness for a wide range of problems.Furthermore,the reasonable agreement between the simulation results and the reference results for the NEACRP transient benchmark verifies the capability of predicting the behavior of the nuclear reactor.

CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW CATHODE MATERIAL FOR LTSOFC INVESTIGATED BY IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY

The characteristics of a new Li-NiO cathode were investigated. The crystal structure of Li-NiO was explored by XRD. Electrochemical behaviors of Li-NiO composite cathode were revealed by impedance spectroscopy from 400℃ to 650℃. The diameter of deformed arc increased with the decrease of temperature. Above the melting point of the eutectic salt in composite electrolyte, the Li-NiO curves are similar with two deformed semicircular arcs at high frequency which partially overlaps each other and corresponds...

Equivalent low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference equation of MOC transport calculation

The key issue in accelerating method of characteristics(MOC)transport calculations is in obtaining a completely equivalent low-order neutron transport or diffusion equation.Herein,an equivalent low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference equation is proposed for MOC transport calculations.This method comprises three essential features:(1)the even parity discrete ordinates method is used to build a low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference equation,and different boundary condition treatments are proposed;(2)two new defined factors,i.e.,the even parity discontinuity factor and odd parity discontinuity factor,are strictly defined to achieve equivalence between the low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference method and MOC transport calculation;(3)the energy group and angle are decoupled to construct a symmetric linear system that is much easier to solve.The equivalence of this low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference equation is analyzed for two-dimensional(2D)pin,2D assembly,and 2D C5G7 benchmark problems.Numerical results demonstrate that a low-order angular flux nonlinear finite difference equation that is completely equivalent to the pin-resolved transport equation is established.

Prediction calculations for the first criticality of the HTR-PM using the PANGU code

The high-temperature reactor pebble-bed mod-ule(HTR-PM)is a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor demonstration power plant.Its first criticality experiment is scheduled for the latter half of 2021.Before performing the first criticality experiment,a prediction calculation was performed using PANGU code.This paper presents the calculation details for predicting the HTR-PM first criticality using PANGU,including the input model and parameters,numerical results,and uncertainty analysis.The accuracy of the PANGU code was demonstrated by comparing it with the high-fidelity Monte Carlo solution,using the same input configurations.It should be noted that k eff can be significantly affected by uncertainties in nuclear data and certain input parameters,making the criticality calculation challenge.Finally,the PANGU is used to pre-dict the critical loading height of the HTR-PM first criti-cality under design conditions,which will be evaluated in the upcoming experiment later this year.

Chord length sampling correction analysis for dispersion fuel in Monte Carlo simulation

Dispersion fuels,knowned for their excellent safety performance,are widely used in advanced reactors,such as hightemperature gas-cooled reactors.Compared with deterministic methods,the Monte Carlo method has more advantages in the geometric modeling of stochastic media.The explicit modeling method has high computational accuracy and high computational cost.The chord length sampling(CLS)method can improve computational efficiency by sampling the chord length during neutron transport using the matrix chord length?s probability density function.This study shows that the excluded-volume effect in realistic stochastic media can introduce certain deviations into the CLS.A chord length correction approach is proposed to obtain the chord length correction factor by developing the Particle code based on equivalent transmission probability.Through numerical analysis against reference solutions from explicit modeling in the RMC code,it was demonstrated that CLS with the proposed correction method provides good accuracy for addressing the excludedvolume effect in realistic infinite stochastic media.

Recent advances and challenges of nitrogen/nitrate electro catalytic reduction to ammonia synthesis

The Haber-Bosch process is the most widely used synthetic ammonia technology at present.Since its invention,it has provided an important guarantee for global food security.However,the traditional Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis process consumes a lot of energy and causes serious environmental pollution.Under the serious pressure of energy and environment,a green,clean,and sustainable ammonia synthesis route is urgently needed.Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is a green and mild new method for preparing ammonia,which can directly convert nitrogen or nitrate into ammonia using electricity driven by solar,wind,or water energy,without greenhouse gas and toxic gas emissions.Herein,the basic mechanism of the nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)to ammonia and nitrate reduction reaction(NO_(3)^(-))to ammonia were discussed.The representative approaches and major technologies,such as lithium mediated electrolysis and solid oxide electrolysis cell(SOEC)electrolysis for NRR,high activity catalyst and advanced electrochemical device fabrication for(NO_(3)^(-))RR and electrochemical ammonia synthesis were summarized.Based on the above discussion and analysis,the main challenges and development directions for electrochemical ammonia synthesis were further proposed.

Plasma spray coating on interconnector toward promoted solid oxide fuel cells and solid oxide electrolysis cells

Interconnector is a critical component to construct solid oxide cells (SOCs) stack. Oxidation of metallic interconnectors and Cr poisoning caused by oxidation are important factors that lead to long-term performance degradation of SOCs. Coating on the interconnector surface is an important approach to inhibit the oxidation and Cr migration of the interconnector. Herein, (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95MnO3–δ (LSM) and Mn1.5Co1.5O4 (MCO) are used to fabricate the coatings of interconnector. Two advanced thermal spray technology, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) and low-pressure plasma spray (LPPS), are adopted for the coating preparation. The electrochemical performance, rising and cooling cycle stability, and Cr diffusion inhibition performance of the coatings are tested and evaluated. The result indicates that MCO can generate more uniform and denser coatings than LSM. In addition, MCO coatings prepared by LPPS shows the best electrochemical performance, rising and cooling cycle stability, and Cr diffusion inhibition. The initial area specific resistance (ASR) is 0.0027 Ω·cm2 at 800 °C. After 4 cooling cycle tests, the ASR increases to 0.0032 Ω·cm2 but lower than other samples. Meanwhile, the relative intense of Cr at the interface of SUS430 with MCO coatings fabricated by LPPS is lower than that of MCO fabricated by APS after 4 rising and cooling cycle operations, showing more favorable Cr diffusion inhibition performance.

Enhanced oxygen reduction kinetics by a porous heterostructured cathode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

A novel porous heterostructured Nd_(0.8)Sr_(1.2)CoO_(4)±/Nd_(0.5)Sr_(0.5)CoO_(3-δ)(NSC_(214/113))cathode for intermediate tem-perature solid oxide fuel cells(IT-SOFCs)is developed to significantly enhance oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)kinetics.Compared to single-phase materials,the fabricated porous heterostructured NSC 214/113 shows optimized electrochemical properties,including a better conductivity,20 times faster surface oxygen exchange kinetics,and a comparatively lower area-specific resistance(0.065Ωcm^(2) at 800℃).The single cell with Ni-YSZ|YSZ-GDC|NSC_(214/113) configuration exhibits a high peak power density of 1.10 W cm^(−2) at 800℃,superior to other cells reported in literature with similar heterostructured cathodes.Moreover,the underlying mechanism of the ORR performance enhancement is further investigated,revealing that the formation of heterojunction can lead to a narrowed energy bandgap and a decrease of Co oxidation state,which further induce better conductivity,more available electrons and oxygen vacancies to enhance the ORR process.Taken together,our research also provides new insights into potential application of artificial intelligence(AI)method involved in materials in-telligent identification,cell state estimation,system diagnostic and optimization.The revolutionary force of AI,especially in the field of new electrode material development is now advancing in its full swing.More and greater breakthroughs are still expected.

Phosphonate-Decorated Covalent Organic Frameworks for Actinide Extraction: A Breakthrough Under Highly Acidic Conditions

Although solid-phase extraction is a useful approach for metal ion separation from aqueous solutions,existing sorbents suffer from low extraction effici-encies and/or instability when in contact with strong acidic media.We report here the first study on rational design and fabrication of phosphonate-decorated covalent organic frameworks,COF-IHEP1 and COF-IHEP2,for efficient and selective extraction of of uranium(VI)[U(VI)]and plutonium(IV)[Pu(IV)]from highly acidic solutions.