Reno ANS Presentation RS041-00 6 TWG 2 Gas - Southworth PDF

Generation IV Gas-cooled Reactor
System Concepts
Technical Working Group 2 -- Gas Cooled Reactor Systems
Generation IV Roadmap Session

ANS Winter Meeting Reno, NV
November 13, 2001
1
People Involved in This Work

• Abram, Tim British Nuclear Fuels, LTD.
• Ball, Syd Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Ballot, Bernard Framatome-ANP
• Carre, Franck * Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique
• Finck, Phillip Argonne National Laboratory
• Fukuda, Kosaku International Atomic Energy Agency
• Greneche, Dominique COGEMA
• Hildebrandt, Phil * EMT Inc.
• Kadak, Andy Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kendall, Jim International Atomic Energy Agency
• Khalil, Hussein Argonne National Laboratory
• Kim, shin whan KOPEC
• Lensa, Werner von EURATOM / FZJ Juelich
• Ogawa, Masuro JAERI
• Royen, Jacques OECD-NEA
• Shenoy, Arkal General Atomics
• Southworth, Finis ** *** INEEL
* Co-chair ** Technical Director *** Presenter
Reno ANS Presentation RS041-00 2001 ANS Winter Meeting Reno, NV November 13, 2001 2
Introduction
• Charter- Identify and evaluate advanced gas cooled reactor
system concepts for advancing the Generation IV goals
• A DOE RFI and team solicitations resulted in 21 reactor system
concepts submitted from France, Germany, Japan,
Netherlands, and the U.S.
• The 21 concepts were consolidated into four concept sets
• The four concept sets have been qualitatively screened to
assess their potential to achieve the generation IV goals
• The screening used criteria developed by the Evaluation
Methodology Group in support of each goal, and measured
against existing advanced light water reactor designs
Gas Cooled Thermal Reactor

General Features
• Reference concepts used once through LEU fuel cycles
• TRISO fuel -- SiC and pyrolytic graphite fission product barriers
• Graphite moderated, helium coolant
• “Naturally safe” designs with conductive and radiative decay
heat removal
• High temperature direct Brayton cycle power conversion
• Increased fuel utilization and decreased HLW due to high
thermal efficiency
• Significant fuel cycle flexibility within a reactor design--
LEU once-through, Pu-MA single recycle, W-Pu, HEU,
Th-U233 converter
Pebble Bed Reactor Systems (PBR)

• Five concepts submitted
• Reference concept--
– 115 MWe, 250 MWth, direct Brayton cycle
– Low excess reactivity (continuous on-line refueling)
• Shows promise for

– Modest gains in sustainability
– Significant advance towards safety goals
– Comparable economics
PBR Fuel
• Pebbles are 60 mm
PBR With IHX

Turbomachinery
Module
Reactor IHX Module

Module
Sample 1150 MWe PBR Plant

Ten-Unit MPBR Plant Layout (Top View)
(distances in meters)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Admin
Equip Equip
9 Access
Hatch
7 5 3 Access
Hatch
1 Training
Equip Control
Access Bldg.
10 8 6 Hatch 4 2
Maintenance
Parts / Tools
Primary island with Turbomachinery

reactor and IHX
PBR R&D Needs

• Fuel qualification at higher burnups, fluences, and
temperatures.
• Beyond design basis event behaviors (air and water ingress)
• Fuel manufacturing quality improvements
Prismatic Fuel Modular Reactor

Systems (PMR)
• Five concepts submitted
• Reference Concept--
– 286 MWe, 600 MWth, direct Brayton Cycle
– 850 C core exit temperature
– LEU once-through fuel cycle
• Fuel cycles submitted included waste transmutation, W-Pu
burner, Th-U233 converter.
– Modest gains in sustainability
Conceptual PMR
PMR Response to Loss of Coolant
PMR R&D Needs
• Similar to PBR
• Fuel performance qualification
• Fuel manufacturing quality
• Higher temperature vessel materials qualification
• Turbomachinery bearings
Very High Temperature Reactor

Systems (VHTR)
• Four concepts submitted
• General features of VHTR--
– >900 C coolant core exit temperature
– prismatic core, 600 MWth, LEU once-through cycle

– Gains in sustainability and flexibility
Motivation for VHTRs
• 30 % of world primary fuel use is to generate electricity

• 17 % of electricity uses nuclear fuel
• Nuclear power can offset other primary fuels in applications
other than electricity
• VHTRs may significantly reduce liquid and gaseous fossil
fuel demands
Process Heat Applications

Temperature(C)
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
Glass manufacture
Cement manufacture
Iron manufacture
Direct reduction method with Blast furnace
Electricity generation (Gas turbine)
Gasification of coal
Hydrogen (IS process)
Hydrogen (Steam reforming )
Ethylene (naphtha, ethane)
Styrene (ethylbenzene)
Town gas
Petroleum refineries
Deesulfurization of heavy oil Application
Wood pulp manufacture
Urea synthesis
Desalination, District heating
VHTR 850 – 1500 C

HTGR 850 C
LMFBR 550 C Nuclear Heat
LWR, HWR 320 C
Effect of temperature on
Sustainability
100
Power cost
Percent of current
80
standard (%)
60 Fission product
waste
40
20 Reject heat
cooling water
0 consumption
30 40 50 60 70
Thermal efficiency (%)
IS Process for Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen
Hydrogen Oxygen
Oxygen
Nuclear
Nuclear Heat
Heat
1 O
H2 2 2
400 C 900 C
1
H2 2 O2
+ 2HI Rejected H 2 SO 4 +
Rejected
I2 Heat
Heat 100
100CC
SO 2+ H 2O
2H I + H 2 SO 4
I (Iodine) S (Sulfur)
Circulation I2 + H 2 O + SO 2+ H 2 O
Circulation
SO 2
I2 +
H 2O
H 2O
Water
Water
Temperature Capability of Concepts

Very High Temperature Reactor Coolant Outlet
Concept Set Temperature
1500 C
G-9: GA-VHTR
(EG&NPH)
1200 C
1000 C
950 C
G-17 G-18: AHTR G-12
APBR Reference PHMHR HTTR
HTR-10 (EG& (NPH)
NPH) (EG&NPH)
850 C
700 C
Pebble Bed
Reactor Prismatic Modular Reactor
Concept Set Concept Set
EG-Electrical Generation NPH-Nuclear Process Heat Applications

Reference VHTR with IHX and

Hydrogen Production
VHTR R&D Needs

• Higher temperature fuels (e.g. ZrC instead of SiC)
• Higher temperature materials (e.g. ceramic structures)
• Passive decay heat removal systems (e.g. heat pipes)
• High Temperature IHX
Gas Cooled Fast Reactor Systems

(GFR)
• Four concepts submitted
• No complete reference concept
• Novel features of the four concepts may illuminate future
development pathways.
• Three concepts use helium coolant, one uses CO2.
• Rely upon recycle.
• May allow passive decay heat removal
• Show promise for
– Significant advance in sustainability
– Comparable safety performance
– Unclear economics
Example GFR Prismatic Fuel

Coolant holes
Cermet or Metmet fuel in
a metallic matrix for
concept G2 – Cercer fuel
for concept G7
Replaceable low-
density reflector or
void Replaceable outer
reflector
Permanent side
reflector Active core
GFR R&D Needs
• Fuel, structural and core materials

• Passive safety system capabilities
• Recycle techniques
Summary
• The advanced gas-cooled thermal reactor system concepts
show promise for--
– Modest improvements in sustainability
– Significant improvement toward safety goals
– Comparable economics with the potential for major
improvement in applications other than electricity
• Fast reactor concepts show--
– Significant improvement toward sustainability goals
– Much development is needed to define promising concepts
• All concept sets allow high temperature process heat
applications, in addition to electrical generation. The VHTR
concepts allow more applications and higher efficiencies.
• The next step is to quantitatively assess the concept sets and
define R&D scope.

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Generation IV Gas-cooled Reactor

Technical Working Group 2 -- Gas Cooled Reactor Systems

Generation IV Roadmap Session

People Involved in This Work

* Co-chair ** Technical Director *** Presenter

Gas Cooled Thermal Reactor

Pebble Bed Reactor Systems (PBR)

• Shows promise for

PBR With IHX

Reactor IHX Module

Sample 1150 MWe PBR Plant

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Primary island with Turbomachinery

PBR R&D Needs

• Beyond design basis event behaviors (air and water ingress)

• Fuel manufacturing quality improvements

Prismatic Fuel Modular Reactor

PMR Response to Loss of Coolant

PMR R&D Needs

Very High Temperature Reactor

• Shows promise for

Motivation for VHTRs

• 30 % of world primary fuel use is to generate electricity

Process Heat Applications

VHTR 850 – 1500 C

IS Process for Hydrogen Production

Temperature Capability of Concepts

EG-Electrical Generation NPH-Nuclear Process Heat Applications

Reference VHTR with IHX and

VHTR R&D Needs

Gas Cooled Fast Reactor Systems

Example GFR Prismatic Fuel

GFR R&D Needs

• Fuel, structural and core materials

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* Co-chair Technical Director * Presenter